SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Attorney General William Barr appears at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 1, 2019, on the Mueller Report. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
'Difference Between Democracy and Dictatorship': Dems Threaten Barr With Contempt Over Refusal to Testify
Barr's refusal to testify before House Judiciary tomorrow and Trump's blanket refusal to comply with all subpoenas and requests from the House flouts our Constitutional checks and balances.
May 02, 2019
After Attorney General William Barr announced he will not show up for his scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday and refused to comply with a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, House Democrats said they plan to hold Barr in contempt if he continues to flout congressional demands.
"Compliance with congressional subpoenas is not optional," Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. "If good-faith negotiations don't result in a pledge of compliance in the next day or two, the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general."
"Chairman Nadler just received a letter from Barr refusing to comply with our subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials. This is extremely dangerous behavior."
--Rep. Pramila Jayapal
As Common Dreams reported, Barr objected to Nadler's proposal to let committee staff lawyers question the attorney general following the time allotted to members of Congress.
Speaking to reporters after Barr announced he would not show up for the House hearing, Nadler said the attorney general is "is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)--a member of the House Judiciary Committee--said Wednesday night that she will urge Nadler to move ahead with a contempt citation against Barr.
"Chairman Nadler just received a letter from Barr refusing to comply with our subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials. That is unacceptable," Jayapal tweeted. "This is extremely dangerous behavior."
In an appearance on CNN late Wednesday, Jayapal said Barr and President Donald Trump's refusal to comply with congressional requests and subpoenas shows the White House has "no respect" for checks and balances.
"I think what we're talking about is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship," Jayapal said.
Watch:
\u201cTonight on @ac360, @andersoncooper and I discussed this administration's lack of respect for Congress as a co-equal branch of government. Congress and the American people have a right to know what's in the unredacted #MuellerReport.\u201d— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@Rep. Pramila Jayapal) 1556764406
In a column on Thursday, The Week's Joel Mathis said "there's a simple solution for the House to enact if Barr really doesn't show up [for Thursday's hearing]: Formally hold him in contempt of Congress, then send him to jail."
Former labor secretary Robert Reich wrote this week that while no sitting Attorney General has ever been arrested, there were times in history when such a move was seriously considered:
When President Richard Nixon tried to stop key aides from testifying in the Senate Watergate hearings, in 1973, Senator Sam Ervin, chairman of the Watergate select committee, threatened to jail anyone who refused to appear.
Congress hasn't actually carried through on the threat since 1935--but it could.
According to Mathis, "Barr's defiance of the committee isn't happening in a vacuum: It's part of a sweeping effort by President Trump's administration to defy nearly all oversight by Congress."
"There's no point in using incremental half-measures to get him and his administration to do the right, lawful thing," Mathis wrote. "It's time to make a radical, unmistakable stand. If not, legislators will deserve the contempt Barr has so clearly aimed at them."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After Attorney General William Barr announced he will not show up for his scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday and refused to comply with a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, House Democrats said they plan to hold Barr in contempt if he continues to flout congressional demands.
"Compliance with congressional subpoenas is not optional," Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. "If good-faith negotiations don't result in a pledge of compliance in the next day or two, the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general."
"Chairman Nadler just received a letter from Barr refusing to comply with our subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials. This is extremely dangerous behavior."
--Rep. Pramila Jayapal
As Common Dreams reported, Barr objected to Nadler's proposal to let committee staff lawyers question the attorney general following the time allotted to members of Congress.
Speaking to reporters after Barr announced he would not show up for the House hearing, Nadler said the attorney general is "is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)--a member of the House Judiciary Committee--said Wednesday night that she will urge Nadler to move ahead with a contempt citation against Barr.
"Chairman Nadler just received a letter from Barr refusing to comply with our subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials. That is unacceptable," Jayapal tweeted. "This is extremely dangerous behavior."
In an appearance on CNN late Wednesday, Jayapal said Barr and President Donald Trump's refusal to comply with congressional requests and subpoenas shows the White House has "no respect" for checks and balances.
"I think what we're talking about is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship," Jayapal said.
Watch:
\u201cTonight on @ac360, @andersoncooper and I discussed this administration's lack of respect for Congress as a co-equal branch of government. Congress and the American people have a right to know what's in the unredacted #MuellerReport.\u201d— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@Rep. Pramila Jayapal) 1556764406
In a column on Thursday, The Week's Joel Mathis said "there's a simple solution for the House to enact if Barr really doesn't show up [for Thursday's hearing]: Formally hold him in contempt of Congress, then send him to jail."
Former labor secretary Robert Reich wrote this week that while no sitting Attorney General has ever been arrested, there were times in history when such a move was seriously considered:
When President Richard Nixon tried to stop key aides from testifying in the Senate Watergate hearings, in 1973, Senator Sam Ervin, chairman of the Watergate select committee, threatened to jail anyone who refused to appear.
Congress hasn't actually carried through on the threat since 1935--but it could.
According to Mathis, "Barr's defiance of the committee isn't happening in a vacuum: It's part of a sweeping effort by President Trump's administration to defy nearly all oversight by Congress."
"There's no point in using incremental half-measures to get him and his administration to do the right, lawful thing," Mathis wrote. "It's time to make a radical, unmistakable stand. If not, legislators will deserve the contempt Barr has so clearly aimed at them."
After Attorney General William Barr announced he will not show up for his scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday and refused to comply with a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, House Democrats said they plan to hold Barr in contempt if he continues to flout congressional demands.
"Compliance with congressional subpoenas is not optional," Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. "If good-faith negotiations don't result in a pledge of compliance in the next day or two, the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general."
"Chairman Nadler just received a letter from Barr refusing to comply with our subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials. This is extremely dangerous behavior."
--Rep. Pramila Jayapal
As Common Dreams reported, Barr objected to Nadler's proposal to let committee staff lawyers question the attorney general following the time allotted to members of Congress.
Speaking to reporters after Barr announced he would not show up for the House hearing, Nadler said the attorney general is "is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)--a member of the House Judiciary Committee--said Wednesday night that she will urge Nadler to move ahead with a contempt citation against Barr.
"Chairman Nadler just received a letter from Barr refusing to comply with our subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials. That is unacceptable," Jayapal tweeted. "This is extremely dangerous behavior."
In an appearance on CNN late Wednesday, Jayapal said Barr and President Donald Trump's refusal to comply with congressional requests and subpoenas shows the White House has "no respect" for checks and balances.
"I think what we're talking about is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship," Jayapal said.
Watch:
\u201cTonight on @ac360, @andersoncooper and I discussed this administration's lack of respect for Congress as a co-equal branch of government. Congress and the American people have a right to know what's in the unredacted #MuellerReport.\u201d— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@Rep. Pramila Jayapal) 1556764406
In a column on Thursday, The Week's Joel Mathis said "there's a simple solution for the House to enact if Barr really doesn't show up [for Thursday's hearing]: Formally hold him in contempt of Congress, then send him to jail."
Former labor secretary Robert Reich wrote this week that while no sitting Attorney General has ever been arrested, there were times in history when such a move was seriously considered:
When President Richard Nixon tried to stop key aides from testifying in the Senate Watergate hearings, in 1973, Senator Sam Ervin, chairman of the Watergate select committee, threatened to jail anyone who refused to appear.
Congress hasn't actually carried through on the threat since 1935--but it could.
According to Mathis, "Barr's defiance of the committee isn't happening in a vacuum: It's part of a sweeping effort by President Trump's administration to defy nearly all oversight by Congress."
"There's no point in using incremental half-measures to get him and his administration to do the right, lawful thing," Mathis wrote. "It's time to make a radical, unmistakable stand. If not, legislators will deserve the contempt Barr has so clearly aimed at them."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.