[ad_1]
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Monday night that President Trump "has demonstrated daily his obstruction of justice" in a White House-congressional dispute over the terms of the prosecutor's testimony. General William Barr before the Judiciary Committee of the House.
Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees this week on the report of special advocate Robert Mueller. However, the Department of Justice informed the House committee on Sunday that Barr would not be attending the hearing scheduled for Thursday if the committee's lawyers sought to question him.
When asked if she had a message for Barr Monday evening, Pelosi said, "Respect the constitution. Honor your oath of office. Honor the Congress request. For the American people. "
It is unusual for committee counsel to interview a witness. But committees can usually set their own rules, and other panels have made similar exceptions. The Democrats scheduled Wednesday a committee vote on a proposal allowing both parties to leave 30 minutes of questions on each side to the staff lawyers. The Department of Justice and the Republican Committee have been hesitant about this arrangement.
DOJ CALLS NADLER SUBPOENA TO REPORT MUELLER'S PREMATURE AND INNESSESSARY & # 39;
"The Attorney General has agreed to appear before the Congress," Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for the Justice Ministry, told reporters on Sunday. "Therefore, members of Congress should be the ones asking the questions. [Barr] remains pleased to discuss with MPs their questions regarding the Mueller Report. "
In response, the House Judiciary Committee Chair, Jerrold Nadler, DN.Y., told reporters that "it is up to no one in the executive branch to tell the legislature how to manage our affairs" and warned that The panel "will take whatever action we must take" if Barr does not attend Thursday's hearing, an apparent reference to a subpoena.
For his part, Trump promised last week that his administration would "fight against all subpoenas" issued by Congressional Democrats in various investigations, including offers to get the president's tax returns, the financial statements of his company and the testimonials of former collaborators.
"The only way they [Democrats] The chance is to constantly pursue me on nonsense, "Trump told reporters Wednesday. "But they should be really focused on the legislation."
Democrats in the House have summoned the Department of Justice for the unredacted version of the Mueller report and the underlying elements gathered during the investigation. In response, the Department of Justice stated that it would put the full report, with the exception of the grand jury documents, available to a small group of members – an offer that the Democrats have so far refused. The dispute could eventually end up in court.
PELOSI: "We are not here yet" on the imprint
Pelosi hinted that Congress would have more to say about the dismissal after lawmakers – and the American public – digest all the findings of the several-year-long investigation into Russia's interference in the country. 39, election of 2016 and on the possible obstruction of Trump.
The Democrats blamed Barr for coming to his own conclusion that Trump had not hindered justice after Mueller had discovered that he could not exonerate the president on this point. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr was participating in "an incredible public effort" by the Trump administration to put a positive face on Mueller's findings.
The Republican Representative of the Judiciary Committee, Doug Collins, R-Ga., Accused Nadler of "doing everything in his power to sabotage a high quality hearing in which the Attorney General volunteered to talk about the report and its conclusions went along. "
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"I think more or less, they want it to look like an impeachment hearing, to have the feeling of an impeachment hearing," Collins told the committee's Democrats. "Because they do not want to attend an impeachment hearing, they just want people to think that they are."
"At this point, I think the Democrats do not really know what they want to do," Collins said. "The American people do not want to see an impeachment, but the Democrats, to feed their base, must make it look like an impeachment."
Jason Donner of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link