Rep. Jim Jordan slammed efforts by House Democrats to pursue the impeachment of Attorney General William Barr, citing partisan intent in the Justice Department.
A recent resolution submitted by Rep. Steve Cohen notably called out Barr’s role in the Justice Department’s decision to change sentencing recommendations for former Trump adviser Roger Stone, as well as his role in clearing protesters from surrounding St. John’s Episcopal Church last month.
Jordan, who is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the Democratic motives are likely pushed by U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Russia inquiry.
“[It’s] ridiculous,” Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said. “The thing that scares him about Bill Barr is the investigation he has tasked John Durham to complete … They are afraid of what that might show, mainly the spying that took place, and that is what’s set these folks off.”
Barr had previously accused Democrats of spying on four individuals tied to President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“[Barr] used the word spying, and the Democrats went crazy,” he said. “He used that word because that’s exactly what they did. They spied on four American citizens associating with the presidential campaign, probably hasn’t ever been done in American history. And for one of those American citizens, they used the now-famous dossier that was paid for by the Clinton campaign, which they didn’t tell the court to get the warrant to spy on him, that was written by a guy, Christopher Steele, who had told the FBI, told the Justice Department he was desperate to stop Trump from getting elected.”
“And yet, they use that as the basis to go spy on a fellow American citizen, and now, they have the audacity to criticize Bill Barr, who’s trying to clean all this up and get to the bottom of it,” Jordan continued. “It’s ridiculous. It’s completely ridiculous, and I think the American people understand it.”
Barr has recently said Durham has made progress in his investigation, but much of it has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The investigation is expected to continue after the November election.
