DB: Attorney General William Barr isn’t likely to show up to Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee Hearing after chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) proposed a format change.
According to Fox News, Nadler wants Judiciary Committee staff to question Barr instead of members of Congress, prompting the Department of Justice to push back.
“The attorney general agreed to appear before Congress; therefore Congress does the questioning,” a DOJ official told Fox News.
A Democratic senior committee aide told The Associated Press that DOJ officials are also opposed to the committee’s plan to enter a closed session if members wish to discuss redacted portions of Mueller’s report.
“Attorney General Barr wasn’t asked to testify before the committee—he offered,” a Republican House Judiciary Committee spokesman told Fox News. “He provided the Mueller report voluntarily. He invited Democrat leaders to view the less redacted report in person. Yet the only thing, apparently, that will satisfy Democrats, who refuse to read the less redacted report, is to have staff pinch hit when a cabinet-level official appears before us.” read more
“…Nadler wants Judiciary Committee staff to question Barr instead of members of Congress…”
It is interesting how this is being pushed by the media, as if Barr is avoiding testifying, and in any capacity. Barr initially offered to appear, then nadler started changing the rules. Daily.
This is just a maneuver to prevent the representatives from having the bad optics of their bias and prejudice displayed before the voting public. They don’t want their members, who will be up for re-election again next year, leaving bad impressions. They learned something from the Kavanaugh hearings. They’ll have the lackeys do it, then they can dissociate later, if necessary. That they do all the time. It is a variation on the ‘under the bus’ routine. They are afraid of showing their real faces. If the representatives themselves can’t accomplish their responsibilities, they are deficient and should leave office.
Our government was not designed to have representatives of representatives performing the duties of office.
Nadler has nothing to worry about because the press is doing his dirty work. Nora O’Donnell called Trump a liar this morning.
He was getting catfished by Congress.
Nadler knows the mental limitations of his fellow Dems. He knows that Barr will end up schooling the fools on civics and legal matters. Screw the staffers. If they want to ask the questions, then they should get themselves elected.
When Nadler has to cave to Barr, watch these Congress weasels try to wear earpieces and read texts, so their staffers Abdul, Achmed and Hakeem can coach them through the questions.
Barr should have said, “When I swiped right on meeting Fat Jerry for coffee and conversation, I didn’t agree to meet some lightweight interns who run their Twitter accounts. No, sir. I saw the pic and I’m a chubby chaser for Fat Jerry. He’s my white whale. The Moby Dickhead to my Ismael.”
These représentatives don’t even write most bills/laws- they have the lobbyists do that for them.
Why anyone would think or expect that they are able to ask questions themselves, is beyond me. Remember omar reading her questions from a piece of paper, and not being able to pronounce the words which she supposedly wrote? Yeah, that’s some of what they want to avoid.
Good for Barr for standing up for Representative Government.
No staff asking questions- I want the dance of the droids on C-Span.
@toby miles April 29, 2019 at 12:21 pm
> This is just a maneuver to prevent the representatives from having the bad optics of their bias and prejudice displayed before the voting public.
And they’re stupid. And lazy. Too stupid and lazy to read and comprehend the “assigned” material, themselves.
(Not that there’s anything wrong with that. As long as their titles weren’t “bribed” from the title kiosks.)
Oh, and @toby miles April 29, 2019 at 12:21 pm
> Our government was not designed to have representatives of representatives performing the duties of office.
You can’t be that old. The Supreme Court says it’s write there in The Constitution. America is to be ruled by regulation, laws are antithetical to a republic.