Barr in communication with Jan. 6 House panel over possible cooperation: reports

Former Attorney General William Barr is reportedly in communication with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot about potentially cooperating with its probe, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday.

Two sources with direct knowledge told Axios, which first reported the news, that Barr is discussing providing formal testimony before the panel. One source familiar with Barr’s thinking told the outlet that the former Trump official will likely cooperate.

Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that Barr has “tentatively agreed to give sworn testimony behind closed doors.”

Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) previously said that Barr had been in informal discussions with his panel.

Committee Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and committee lawyers met informally with Barr last fall at his home, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. One source told the outlet the meeting centered around interactions Barr had with former President Trump before and after the 2020 election.

Barr drew the ire of the former president after telling Trump that there was no evidence of mass fraud committed in the last presidential election, ultimately resigning from his post in Dec. 2020. 

Trump has since lashed out at Barr, who has called the former president’s claims about fraud in the 2020 election “bullshit,” saying back in March “he was weak, ineffective, and totally scared of being impeached, which the Democrats were constantly threatening to do. They ‘broke’ him.”

The development comes as the committee gets ready to hold eight public hearings next month. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said on Thursday that she felt the panel’s investigation was “headed in a good direction,” confirming she met with the committee a second time the day before. 

The Hill has reached out to the committee for comment. The Hill could not immediately reach Barr for comment.