House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Attorney General William Barr went “off the rails” in his testimony before the House and Senate this week.
Pelosi made the comment hours after Barr told Senate lawmakers “spying did occur” on President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“How very dismaying and disappointing that the chief law enforcement officer of our country is going off the rails yesterday and today,” Pelosi said as she and other leaders arrived at a Democratic issues retreat Wednesday. “He is attorney general of the United States of America, not the attorney general of Donald Trump.”
Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats have condemned or at least questioned Barr’s testimony about spying, which he provided at a hearing before a Senate spending panel.
Barr, before joining the Trump administration, was widely respected by both parties as a veteran lawyer who served as attorney general for President George H.W. Bush.
Democrats have soured on Barr, however, and believe he is working to protect Trump.
Republicans endorse Barr’s plan to investigate how the Justice Department initiated the investigation into Trump, which began during his campaign.
Barr said he will try to determine if the government engaged in unauthorized surveillance.
Pelosi said “there is no doubt” Russians attempted to influence the election.
Democrats want Barr to provide Congress with the entire report of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the matter, which according to the attorney general’s summary, could not establish collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Democrats question Barr’s summary and want to see the full report.
“You would think every resource in our country would say we want to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Pelosi said, “instead of this obstruction to giving the truth to the American people.”
