Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., put Attorney General William Barr on notice after it was revealed he tasked a U.S. attorney with examining the origins of the federal Russia investigation.
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried repeatedly to get to the bottom of whether the White House has inappropriately ordered or pressured the Justice Department to open investigations. Attorney General Barr: I’m still waiting for an answer,” the 2020 candidate tweeted Tuesday evening.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried repeatedly to get to the bottom of whether the White House has inappropriately ordered or pressured the Justice Department to open investigations.
Attorney General Barr: I’m still waiting for an answer.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) May 15, 2019
Harris, the former attorney general of California, has dogged Barr ever since a viral exchange during a May 1 hearing on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Harris asked Barr if Trump or anyone else at the White House suggested to him that he open an investigation into anyone. Barr struggled to answer, saying at one point that he was “trying to grapple with the word ‘suggest.'”
Harris moved on with her line of questioning, telling CNN afterward that Barr was “clearly” not going to cooperate and probably was worried about exposing himself to perjury.
She followed up that exchange with a letter to the Justice Department inspector general, asking that he investigate whether Barr “received or acted upon pressure from the president or the White House to open up investigations into any individuals.”
Harris didn’t stop there, seizing on President Trump saying on Thursday that former Secretary of State John Kerry violated the Logan Act by speaking with the Iranian government and should be charged with a crime. “What I would like to see with Iran, I would like to see them call me. John Kerry, he speaks to them a lot. John Kerry tells them not to call. That is a violation of the Logan Act. And frankly, he should be prosecuted on that,” Trump said. Kerry quickly denied the accusation.
Harris wrote another letter, this one addressed directly to Barr.
“Today, the President all but confirmed that he has made such a request when he called publicly for the prosecution of a former cabinet secretary and then stated that his ‘people’ disagreed with him,” Harris wrote. “In light of the President’s deeply troubling statements, I request that you supplement your testimony and clarify your answers to my question.”
The letter, which included a transcript of their May 1 exchange, requested that Barr answer a slew of questions by May 23.
Harris’ tweet Tuesday evening, which mentioned “investigations,” suggested Barr had yet to comply and followed what might be another thread the senator could follow. This week it was revealed that Barr enlisted U.S. Attorney John Durham with reviewing the genesis of the Russia investigation, which Trump often called a “witch hunt” and his allies believe may have been started on politically motivated pretenses.
While not a front-runner, Harris is a top-tier candidate for president. She sits in fourth place, according to RealClearPolitics’ latest average of polls, with 7.7% support. Harris trails former Vice President Joe Biden and fellow Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
After the Barr hearing, the New York Times reported Harris sought to reset her campaign with a more adversarial approach towards Trump, and by extension the attorney general.
Their confrontation on May 1 has already provided Harris with a tougher image, exemplified by the Rev. Wendell Anthony, the head of the Detroit NAACP, who introduced her at an event in the Motor City. “Don’t try to cover up because Kamala will sure enough make you choke up,” Anthony said.
