Barr's non-appearance triggers contempt threats, a comparison with Nixon and further discussion of impeachment

Mike DeBonis

Congress reporter covering the House of Representatives

John Wagner

National journalist heads the political press team at The Post newspaper

May 2nd

The overthrow of the Democratic Party by Attorney General William P. Barr on Thursday sparked a merciless war between the White House and Congress, bringing Parliament closer to the conviction of Canada's chief law enforcement official. in defiance of Congress and President Nancy Pelosi to look like President Trump to President Richard M. Nixon.

Near-daily clashes between the two branches of government increase pressure on Pelosi (D-Calif.) For it to start an impeachment procedure against Trump, a politically heavy decision that she resisted in l # 39; absence of a strong public feeling and bipartisan support. Many Democrats say the 2020 election is the best way to overthrow the president.

But Democrats are furious with Barr, who refused to testify on Thursday at a hearing scheduled by the House Judiciary Committee for dealing with Robert S. Mueller III's special council report, and Trump's challenge to multiple demands. documents and witnesses from the Congress. Democrats view the administration's refusal to cooperate as a threat to democracy, which has profound implications.

"Ignore the Congressional summonses, fail to honor Congressional summons – it was Article III of the Nixon dismissal," said Pelosi at a private meeting with his colleagues. colleagues, according to the notes taken by an individual present for the remarks. "This person not only ignored the subpoenas, he also stated that he would not honor any subpoenas. What more do we want?

Pelosi stepped up his rhetoric this week as more and more Democrats press for tough measures to crack down on the president.

Republicans insisted that Democrats were simply determined to target Trump, but that they were unwilling to accept a lengthy investigation that revealed no criminal conspiracy between the campaign Trump and Russia.

"I think the Democrats are going way too far," said Rep. Mike Simpson (Idaho), one of the few Republicans at home to have criticized Trump once. "The problem is that they tried to convince the American people that they had collaborated with the Russians in the last two years, and now we find out that's wrong. . . . And it's like, 'Ok, we have to save our bacon. We must find something! 'And that's what they do.'

Republican lawmakers also refuted the Democrats' argument that they were intended to protect congressional powers and that the GOP had the constitutional responsibility to join them. Trump's congressional allies – reluctant to say anything against him – rallied to his side.

Appearing at a live Washington Post event on Thursday morning, the minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Essentially accused the US authorities of enforcing the law to treason during the Investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"Their actions are a coup d'etat," McCarthy said, suggesting that the anti-Trump bias had influenced the probe's origins. "I do not believe that they respected the law."

Tensions between the Trump administration and Congress could ease off next week when House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) said his panel is likely to adopt a contempt quote. Mr. Barr, unless this one Mueller Report.

Nadler had summoned the document and imposed a deadline on Wednesday. But Barr refused to hand it over to him, officials at the Justice Ministry claiming the request "is not a legitimate check". Barr also refused to testify on Thursday, rejecting the Democrats' plan to have him questioned by a lawyer alongside lawmakers.

Democrats denounce more than one witness who refutes a congressional committee, but rather a threat to democracy that would reverberate long after Trump's departure. The president promised to "fight against all subpoenas" of Democrats, sued to prevent accounting firms and banks from complying with the rules, and asked past and present employees to ignore repeated requests from Capitol Hill.

"He is trying to make the Congress inert as a separate and coequal branch of government," Nadler said. "If we do not take a stand together, today we risk losing forever the power to stand up to any president in the future."

The quote for contempt of Barr will open a long legal battle against the Mueller report, while Democrats will bring the case to a civil court. The issue could take months, if not years, to resolve, as was the case in 2012 when the House, led by the Republican, sued Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for documents related to the investigation. "Fast and Furious". In 2012, the House also voted in favor of contempt of the incumbent, the first attorney general in office in Canada for contempt of Congress.

Capitalizing on Barr's refusal to show his efforts, the Democrats of the Judiciary Committee held their hearing anyway in an event that presented all the pitfalls of a major audience – television cameras, armed security guards, lawmakers deployed on the platform. But in the center of the room was an empty witness chair behind a Barr nameplate.

A few minutes before it began, rep Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) Entered the room carrying a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken and a plastic chicken. Camera clicks suddenly echoed across the room as observers giggled at his insinuation that Barr was too afraid to stand for questioning.

Rep. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.), The Republican at the head of the committee, defended Barr. "I think he proved yesterday that he was terrified of no one," said Collins, noting that Barr had been testifying for about six hours in the Senate.

Later in the day, Senator Thom Tillis (N.-C.) mocked Cohen in the Senate to make fun of Barr, showing a picture of the Congressman eating chicken . White House press secretary Sarah Sanders suggested Nadler resign. "Look, we lost confidence in Jerry Nadler a long time ago," she said.

But the Democrats maintained their argument that Barr did not show because he feared their questions.

"He did not want to come to a room where the president would not use his mallet to protect him as Senator Lindsey Graham had done yesterday," said Pramila representative Jayapal (D-Wash.), Referring to the Republican President of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, before which Barr testified on Wednesday.

Democrats have also accused Barr of making misleading statements in Congress. At congressional hearings last month, Barr said he was unaware of any concerns that Mueller's team could have expressed about a four-point summary. pages that he would have written about Mueller's findings.