House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Thursday he would give Attorney General William Barr “a couple more days” to provide Congress with an unredacted version of the Mueller report — and if he does not comply, the panel “will have no choice” but to vote him in contempt of Congress.
Barr was a no-show at the House Judiciary hearing. He refused to testify because Democrats planned to allow staff lawyers to ask questions.
Barr, 68, spent more than six hours answering questions before the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and was willing to answer questions from House lawmakers, but not staff.
“Ordinarily at this point, I would introduce the witness, but instead we will conclude this proceeding,” Nadler, D-N.Y., said. “We cannot permit him or anyone in the administration to dictate the terms of this hearing. We will not hear from the attorney general today but this committee intends to obtain the information it needs to conduct legislative oversight.”
Watch:
.@RepJerryNadler is holding a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the #MuellerReport with Attorney General Bill Barr.
There’s just one problem: Bill Barr isn’t there. pic.twitter.com/McbYEGsOAy
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 2, 2019
Democrats say they want to vote to hold Barr in contempt if he doesn’t comply with the subpoena quickly.
“We all believe strongly the next step is to hold the attorney general in contempt for failing to comply with the subpoena,” Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., a member of the Judiciary Committee said. “It is our position the attorney general is in contempt of Congress and we have a responsibility to compel his compliance with a lawfully issued subpoena.”
“Let’s hope there is something productive over the weekend,” Judiciary panel member Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said.
Democrats would not rule out a move to impeach Barr.
“Nothing is on the table, nothing is off the table,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said.
[Related: 5 takeaways from the Barr hearing ]
Barr has offered a small group of lawmakers a chance to view some of the redactions in the 400-plus page report but set terms that would prohibit them from leaving with notes or discussing the contents with anyone.
“An accommodation designed to prevent us from taking official action is no accommodation at all,” Jeffries said.
Rep. Doug Collins, Ga., the top GOP lawmaker on the panel, accused Nadler of depriving the committee of their chance to question Barr about the Mueller report by setting “a circus political stunt” to look like an impeachment proceeding.
“The reason Attorney General Barr is not here today is because Democrats decided they did not want him here today,” Collins said.
