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WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee moved forward Thursday morning with a hearing on special counsel Robert Mueller's report even though the star witness they hoped to question, Attorney General William Barr, opted against testifying.
After gaveling into the hearing, Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., blasted Barr for not showing up and also the Department of Justice for not complying with his subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and its underlying documents.
“We will have no choice but to move quickly to hold the attorney general in contempt if he stalls or fails to negotiate in good faith,” Nadler said. “If he does not provide this committee with the information it demands and the respect it deserves, Mr. Barr’s moment of accountability will come soon enough.”
Nadler: 'Barr's moment of accountability will come'
May 2, 201902:47Barr and the committee's Democratic leadership were at odds over the format of the hearing — specifically whether the attorney general could be questioned by staff in addition to lawmakers. Barr had made clear he only wanted to be questioned by House members.
Nadler said Thursday that the dispute unfolding between the Trump administration and House Democrats over their subpoenas of White House and administration officials has larger implications beyond just the Mueller report.
“The challenge we face is, if we don't stand up to [President Donald Trump] together, today, we risk forever losing the power to stand up to any president in the future,” he said. “The risk of not having the president as a dictator is very much at stake.”
Ranking member Doug Collins, R-Ga., slammed Nadler in his opening remarks, calling it "silly" that the chairman pushed to have staff question Barr in executive session on the rationale that the lawmakers’ five-minute rounds would not provide enough time for all their questions.
“The stunt and the circus continues over here,” Collins said, adding that the staff whom Nadler had wanted to pose questions to Barr should themselves “run for Congress, put on a pin, find a committee."
Mocking Barr for not appearing, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., brought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to the hearing, with a ceramic chicken sitting atop of the bucket. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., grabbed a piece and was eating it on the dais.
Barr’s decision not to appear at the committee hearing, which comes a day after he faced a grilling from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, could lead Nadler to subpoena the attorney general.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement on Barr's decision that "even after the attorney general volunteered to testify, Chairman Nadler placed conditions on the House Judiciary Committee hearing that are unprecedented and unnecessary."
Nadler said Wednesday night that he was not planning to issue a subpoena immediately to compel Barr's testimony and instead would focus on the Department of Justice having missed the subpoena deadline for the full unredacted Mueller report, which was set for Wednesday.
If that cannot be worked out in the coming days, Nadler said his committee would begin contempt proceedings against Barr, which would be separate from any issues over his refusal to testify Thursday.
In response to the committee's subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, the Justice Department wrote that Barr's "decision to release the report with minimal redactions and his willingness to testify were already extraordinary accommodations reflecting his respect for meeting the legitimate information needs of the Committee and its Members."
"But this subpoena is not legitimate oversight," Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd continued in a letter to the committee Wednesday night. "The requests in the subpoena are overbroad and extraordinarily burdensome," referring to Nadler's request for the unredacted report and its underlying documentation.
If the Judiciary panel votes to subpoena the attorney general, the House could vote to find him in contempt of Congress. It could then refer that to the U.S. attorney in Washington, asking her to pursue criminal charges. Historically, however, that move has seldom worked because prosecutors typically decline to refer the cases to a grand jury.
The House could also go to court and file a contempt lawsuit against the attorney general, but judges have often been reluctant to referee what they consider political disputes.
Ultimately, the House could have little recourse to force Barr to testify, as outlined in the Congressional Research Service report, which said "efforts to punish an executive branch official for non-compliance with a subpoena through criminal contempt will likely prove unavailing."
As for the civil lawsuit option, the same report said, "relying on this mechanism to enforce a subpoena directed at an executive official may prove an inadequate means of protecting congressional prerogatives."
At the Senate hearing Wednesday, Democrats pressed Barr about a letter Mueller sent him that was critical of his initial four-page description of the special counsel's 400-plus page report, saying it led to public confusion.
Barr said he spoke with Mueller over the phone after receiving his letter and that the special counsel told him he did not believe the attorney general's description of the report, which Barr had sent to Congress, to be inaccurate.
Barr later said Mueller's letter was "a bit snitty, and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people."
Several prominent Democrats, including several 2020 contenders, have since called for Barr's resignation.
