[ad_1]
But it is still possible that they reach an agreement by Thursday, which means that Barr could finally show himself.
The Department of Justice did not immediately comment.
Democratic President Jerry Nadler of New York wants to allow all members of his panel, at Thursday's hearing, to have a series of questions of five minutes each, depending on the source. He also wishes to allow a further round of questions of 30 minutes for each party, which will allow the committees of the two parties to conduct interrogations during their respective rounds.
Nadler also moved that the committee meet in camera to discuss the parts of the report that have been redacted.
But Barr rejected these proposals for additional questions, according to the source. The Department of Justice informed Nadler's office that Barr did not want the committee's counsel to be allowed to question him, the source said, prompting the Attorney General to threaten not to run for the week. next if Nadler followed this format, the source said. He also opposed holding an in camera meeting to discuss the full report.
It is unusual – but not unprecedented – to allow committee counsel to interview witnesses. However, this would allow subject matter experts to respond to questions that legislators may have missed in previous rounds. Barr proposed allowing a small group of lawmakers to consider a less redacted report, but Democrats in the House issued a subpoena for the full report.
Barr is due to testify Wednesday before the Judiciary Committee of the Senate and Thursday before the Judiciary Committee of the House. And he must always attend the Senate hearing.
Although Senate Judiciary President Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, has supported Barr's treatment of the Mueller Report, the feud around testimony is the latest in a series of growing conflicts between Nadler and Barr about the investigation conducted by the special advocate.
Nadler issued a subpoena for the unedited Mueller report and the underlying evidence of the special advocate. He is ready to go to court to get the documents if Barr refuses to comply. Barr proposed to allow some congressional leaders to consult a less expurgated version of the Mueller report, hiding only information about the grand jury, but Democrats rejected the proposal.
But the dispute between Barr and the Democrats is deeper than the report. Democrats have criticized the way in which Barr ended the investigation on Mueller, accusing him of having published a letter misinterpreting Mueller's findings on collusion and obstruction and raising suspicions about his decision not to sue Trump after Mueller came to a conclusion. Barr's decision to hold a press conference in the morning prior to the release of the report was perceived by the Democrats as a blatant attempt to turn the report into a defense of the president.
Barr's scheduled testimony comes well before the House Democratic's plans for Mueller, who was also scheduled to appear next month to discuss the report and the investigation. If Barr does not appear before the Judiciary Committee of the House, it is difficult to say how this would affect the panel's plans for Mueller's testimony. Graham said that he did not want to hear Mueller himself because it would be too much of a circus.
[ad_2]
Source link