UPDATE (3:54 p.m. ET): Debbie Macuasel-Powell (D-Fl) noted that Florida had more coronavirus than most nations, and asked Barr if he still supported his previous claims that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was doing a fine job. Barr said, “Managing this kind of things requires a lot of different kinds of things and requires difficult choices.”
Barr would not commit to follow DoJ policy to not disrupt the election by releasing the Durham report. When he asked Rep. Macuasel-Powell if she knew the policy, she said yes, and pulled it out to read. Barr then quickly interjected that he knew it so it was not read into the record.
UPDATE (3:39 p.m. ET): Prior to the break, Greg Stanton (D-Az.) tries to get Barr to commit to have DoJ stay out of state matters regarding vote counting, a purview of state law. Barr refused to make that commitment, saying only “I will follow the law.”
UPDATE (3:35 p.m. ET): After theatrics from Jim Jordan, Barr asked for a 5 minute break, which Chairman Nadler initially denied. Barr said, “I waited 45 minutes for you,” referring to the delay in starting the hearing because Nadler was in a traffic accident on the way into the hearing. Nadler pointed out that there are only a couple more representatives in the queue, to which Barr snidely responded, “You’re a real class act.” Jordon continued to yell, “He’s asking for a courtesy,” before Nadler adjourned for five minutes.
UPDATE (3:27 p.m. ET): Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) reminded Barr that he said, regarding the DoJ’s lawsuit to negate the ACA, that he expected the president to figure out a new plan by October. Looked to get Barr to commit to drop his commitment that, “the entire ACA must fall” and he would drop the lawsuit.
“I’m a lawyer. I’m not responsible for health care policy,” Barr said. Then, talking over McBath “People will have health care coverage, regardless of if I lose this case. History has shown….”
UPDATE (3:21 p.m. ET): Joe Neguse (D-Co.) asked Barr to explain his previously sworn statement that the paperwork provided regarding the dismissal of USA SDNY Berman was correct and complete. That paperwork included a statement that Geoffrey Berman has stepped down. “He may not have known it (that Berman was stepping down)” when Barr’s DoJ released a statement to that effect. Berman, in fact, refused to step down, and he was not notified of his termination, even after that press release was distributed.
UPDATE (3:16 p.m. ET): Sylvia Garcia (D-Tx) pushed Barr on how Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was released from prison although he did not meet the DoJ criteria for early release. She brought up the case of Andrea Circle Bear, who had a high-risk pregnancy and gave birth while on a ventilator, but was not released; Ms. Circle Bear died weeks later.
UPDATE (3:09 p.m. ET): Mary Kay Scanlon (D-Pa.) reminded Barr that Trump said the election will be undermined by “millions of ballots printed by foreign ballots”. Barr made to admit that there is no evidence that foreign governments can sway elections using counterfeit ballots, though he said “I have common sense.”
Scanlon implored Barr to stop spreading fear and disinformation about mail-in ballots, noting that five states vote entirely through a mail-in ballot system.
Scanlon also noted that Barr contributed a total of $730,000 to republican candidates and conservative causes, including $58,000 to Senators in four months prior to confirmation. “Are you surprised that I’m a republican?”
UPDATE (3:02 p.m. ET): Tom Tiffany (R-Wi.) announced his intent to question Barr about the murder of Bernell Trammell, a Black Milwaukee resident who was murdered last week in his house. There is no evidence that the man was shot, though Tiffany calls “likely, perhaps, a political execution.” Again, there is no suspect in custody and no motive has been established in the murder of this individual.
UPDATE (2:58 p.m. ET): J. Luis Correa (D-Ca.) Cited a DoJ opinion in 1989 that undocumented residents must be included in the Census count. Barr states that the Commerce Secretary has the power, delegated by Congress, to define “inhabitant.” Correa’s point was that the Constitution demands the Census count all inhabitants.
UPDATE (2:52 p.m. ET): In what can only be considered a lackluster “gotcha” moment, Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) tried to slip in a zinger with “Why do we have to negotiate a cease fire with a peaceful protest?”–trying to characterize protesters as soldiers who are conducting a war.
UPDATE (2:46 p.m. ET): Val Demings (D-Fl.) pressed Barr on the dismissal of Geoffrey Berman, the former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, with Barr debating the term “stepping down,” trying to make it sound as though Berman voluntarily stepped down, which he clearly told Barr he wasn’t.
UPDATE (2:37 p.m. ET): Barr claims that the reason peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square were pushed back, using pepper balls and tear gas, was because “the night before, the decision was made to move the perimeter back to H Street.” That would make it highly coincidental that just a half hour after the federal advance was made, Trump decided to walk over holding a Bible for a photo op.
UPDATE (2:33 p.m. ET): It’s clear that Barr has come into this session with the strategy to talk over and interrupt Democratic representatives in order to disrupt the flow of questions from Democrats.
UPDATE (2:30 p.m. ET): Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) took an odd line of questioning, asking “What’s more important: going to church or going to a protest?…. What’s more important: going to work or going to a protest?” Apparently, he was trying to claim there was a First Amendment right to “[go] to work.”
UPDATE (2:25 p.m. ET): Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has pointed out that the courts, including SCOTUS, has upheld public health regulations regarding coronavirus which Barr’s DoJ has fought in court.
UPDATE (2:17 p.m. ET): Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) asked Barr if the president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Chicago requested federal assistance. FACT CHECK: the FOP President is not a public official and has no authority to request federal aid.
UPDATE (2:08 p.m. ET):
David Cicilline (D-RI): Is it ever appropriate for the President to accept or solicit foreign assistance in an election?
Barr: It depends on the type of assistance.
Cicilline Is it ever appropriate for the President or a presidential candidate to accept or solicit foreign assistance in an election?
Barr: (long pause) No, it is not appropriate.
Cicilline: I’m sorry you had to struggle with it, Mr. Attorney General.
UPDATE (1:47 p.m. ET): Ted Lieu (D-Ca.) questioned Barr about Fourth Amendment protections against illegal arrests with no probable cause. Lieu corrected Barr on legal precedent regarding probable cause. Barr later claimed that police changed “modus operandi” to sweep up people who were not necessarily committing crimes, but may have information regarding the people who committed the crime, contradicting the defense of the police he made earlier: that they had probable cause to detain individuals.
UPDATE (1:41 p.m. ET): Tom McClintock (R-Ca.) asked Barr why anyone would want to cooperate with the FBI when they threaten legal actions against family members (referring to the Flynn case), Barr claimed no current US Attorney would find probable cause to prosecute Flynn on what he described as “esoteric made up crime” not a “meat and potatoes crime.” He also said no US Attorney found sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt; Flynn actually pleaded guilty twice, but Barr still ordered the withdrawing of charges despite that.
UPDATE: (1:37 p.m. ET): Questioning by Eric Swalwell (D-Ca.):
Swalwell (D-Ca.): Are you investigating President Trump for commuting the sentence of Roger Stone?
Barr: No.
Swalwell: Why not.
Barr: Why should I?
Swalwell then outlined a series of activities and statements by Trump and Stone which implied Stone had information about Trump’s lies sworn to under oath.
Swalwell: You don’t read the president’s tweets?
Barr: No.
Barr stated earlier that he read Trump’s tweets; he quoted a specific time stamp (“1:13 a.m.”) of a Trump tweet.
UPDATE (1:31 p.m. ET): In responding to Andrew Biggs (R-Az.) questions about federal agents using chemical weapons on peaceful protesters to clear Lafayette Square so Trump could get a photo op in front of St. John’s Church, Barr replied, “It’s akin to saying we invaded the Philippines so Douglas MacArthur to walk along the beach.”
UPDATE (1:25 p.m. ET): Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reminded Barr about his statements to Fox “news” in which he called Trump’s response to the coronavirus “superb.” Jeffries quizzed Barr about specific actions of the Trump Administration.
Regarding Trump’s claim that the US would have “close to zero cases,” Barr replied: I’d have to see the context.
Barr improperly pushed blame onto the Obama administration: “The problem with the testing program was a function of President Obama’s mishandling of the CDC. … National supply of PPE was run down during the Obama Administration and never replaced.” FACT CHECK: Donald Trump became president at 12:01 p.m. on January 20, 2017 and had done nothing to refill the supplies of the federal government in the three years before the coronavirus hit.
UPDATE (1:20 p.m. ET): Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) asks, “Would St. John’s Church (in Lafayette Square in Washington, DC) be standing today if you did not take action?” Jordan conflates the actions of local police to get a firetruck to the scene on Sunday when there was a small fire at the church with the Monday action where Barr ordered the clearing of the square so Trump could get a photo op.
Barr announced John Bash, a federal attorney from Texas, is looking into unmasking on a larger scale than the Flynn issue with his conversation with Russia, about which Flynn lied.
UPDATE (1:15 p.m ET): Cedric Richmond (D-La.) asked if Barr had evidence of wide spread mail-in voter fraud. Barr said he didn’t know of it in the past but Barr calls it a reality: “If you have wholesale mail-in voting, you have a substantially increase in fraud.”
UPDATE: (1:07 p.m. ET): Karen Bass (D-Ca.) questioned Barr about the case of Elijah McLain, a young Black man who was stopped by police in Aurora, CO while walking home, put into a chokehold and injected with ketamine; Barr stated he didn’t know about the case. Bass also noted the disparity between the treatment of people like George Floyd and McLain versus white mass murders.
Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) asked about the likelihood of the spread of antifa, an anti-fascist movement, putting people in danger.
UPDATE (12:55 p.m. ET): Martha Roby (R-Al.) asks about children looking at improper websites, which have nothing to do with the subject at hand.
UPDATE (12:51 p.m. ET): Ted Deutch (D-Fl) asked Barr if there was a case where a felon had threatened the life of a witness and threatened a judge when the DoJ recommended a lower sentence; Barr could only reply that the “The judge agreed with me.”
UPDATE (12:39 p.m.): Ken Buck (R-Co.) claims antifa is a group of fascists. FACT CHECK: Antifa literally stands for “anti fascist.”
UPDATE: (12:36 p.m.): Hank Johnson (D-Ga) notes that Stone sentences were within sentencing guidelines, Barr agreed, but stated they were not within DoJ policy. Barr then claimed the sentencing was outside sentencing guidelines, contradicting what he had just testified.
UPDATE (12:28 p.m. ET): Doug Collins (R-Ga) proposes that there was a “Brady violation” because agents did not give Flynn exculpatory information prior to the FBI interview of Flynn in January 2017. FACT CHECK: Brady covers the distribution of exculpatory information prior to a prosecution. Judge Emmitt Sullivan determined there was no such violation.
Barr also claimed that the Durham investigation has determined there was no basis to investigate Flynn, but the Durham investigation has released no conclusions.
UPDATE (12:14 p.m. ET): Louie Gohmert (R-Tx) said that the protests are spreading COVID, and the federal government should “shut down the protests to stop the spread of COVID.” FACT CHECK: Studies show protests are not spreading the virus.
Barr said that the injuries sustained by police “far exceed” those inflicted on protesters. There’s no data to support that claim.
UPDATE (12:08 p.m. ET): Barr claimed he doesn’t believe “there is not systemic racism in policing” although he stated in his opening that there was an imbalance of policing in black communities.
UPDATE (11:56 a.m. ET): Barr claims he intervened in the Roger Stone case because the sentencing recommendations of the line prosecutors, which called for 7-9 years in prison, was out of line with other similar cases prosecuted.
UPDATE (11:47 a.m. ET): Barr claimed that “mayors and cities” have asked for federal help in law enforcement. FACT CHECK: The mayor of Portland and governor of Oregon, as well as the mayor of Seattle (among others) have stated they do NOT want federal agents coming uninvited into their cities.
UPDATE (11:40 a.m. ET): In Barr’s opening statement, he recognized the death of John Lewis, but noted that 11 unarmed white men have been killed by police this year, while only eight Black men have been killed by police this year. FACT CHECK: Black men account for about 6% of US population; white men account for approximately 31% of the US population, putting the per capita death rate greatly out of proportion.
UPDATE (11:30 a.m. ET): Jim Jordan played a 10-minute video starting with Democratic leaders and media referring to “peaceful protestors” and then showing violence at protests (without noting the time and place of those scenes). Chairman Nadler noted that republicans had not submitted the video to the committee with the 48 lead time required.
11:24 a.m.: In his opening statement, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler levied a number of accusations against Attorney General William Barr about favoritism toward President Trump’s political friends and improperly replacing staff to put people who will do Trump’s political will into positions to do that.
Judiciary Minority Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH) said the complaints against Barr are based Barr’s investigation into the Russia FBI operation. He ran through a series of talking points and names, including mentioning a “secret agent lady,” while he continued to focus on Russia, not the topics Nadler raised.