28/04/2019 William Barr: Attorney General's appearance at House hearing now in doubt because of dispute with Democrats - CNNPolitics

Barr's appearance at House hearing now in

doubt because of dispute with Democrats
By Manu Raju, Jeremy Herb and Laura Jarrett, CNN
Updated 1836 GMT (0236 HKT) April 28, 2019

(CNN) — Attorney General William Barr has warned Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee he won't
show up to this week's highly anticipated hearing if they stick to the format the chairman has proposed for the
questioning, according to a committee source with knowledge of the matter.

Skipping this week's hearing would amount to a dramatic escalation in the growing fight between the Trump
administration and House Democrats over a range of oversight requests, including over access to the
unredacted report from special counsel Robert Mueller, the subject of Thursday's hearing.

But it's still possible they could reach a deal by Thursday, meaning Barr might ultimately show.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler told CNN on Sunday morning that Barr would not "dictate the format of
the Judiciary Committee."

"The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period," Nadler, a New York
Democrat, said.

Asked what he would do if Barr doesn't comply, Nadler said: "Then we will have to subpoena him, and we will
have to use whatever means we can to enforce the subpoena."

Nadler, wants to allow all members of his panel at Thursday's hearing to have one round of questioning of five
minutes each, according to the source. He also wants to allow for a subsequent round of questioning of 30
minutes for each side, allowing both parties' committee counsels to also engage in questioning during their
respective turns — which has turned into a key sticking point for the Justice Department.

"The attorney general agreed to appear before Congress. Therefore, members of Congress should be the ones
doing the questioning," said Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec. "He remains happy to engage with
members on their questions regarding the Mueller report."

Nadler also is proposing that the committee should go into closed session to discuss the sections of the report
that are redacted.

But Barr has rejected those proposals for additional rounds of questioning, according to the source. The Justice
Department has informed Nadler's o ce that Barr doesn't think the committee counsels should be allowed to
question him, the source said, prompting the attorney general to threaten to not show up next week if Nadler
follows this format, the source said.

A separate source said that the Justice Department made it clear in negotiations: their position is that it's a
congressional hearing, and so only members should do the questioning.

Barr also has objected to holding a closed session to discuss the full report.

It's unusual — but not unprecedented — to allow committee counsels to question witnesses. But doing so
would allow the subject-matter experts to follow up on questions the lawmakers may have missed from earlier
rounds. Barr has proposed allowing a small group of lawmakers to review a less-redacted report, but House
Democrats have issued a subpoena for the full report.

A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee Republicans criticized Nadler's fight with Barr over the
format after the attorney general o ered to testify voluntarily.

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28/04/2019 William Barr: Attorney General's appearance at House hearing now in doubt because of dispute with Democrats - CNNPolitics
"The only thing, apparently, that will satisfy Democrats, who refuse to read the less-redacted report, is to have
sta pinch hit when a cabinet o cial appears before us," the spokesperson said. "What actual precedent is
there for our committee making such demands of a sitting attorney general as part of our oversight duties? The
attorney general isn't a fact witness, and this committee's investigations — as Democrat leadership reminds us
daily — don't constitute impeachment, so Democrats have yet to prove their demands anything but abusive and
illogical in light of the transparency and good faith the attorney general has shown our committee."

Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and the House Judiciary
Committee on Thursday. And he's still expected to attend the Senate hearing.

While Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, has backed Barr's handling of
the Mueller report, the quarrel over the testimony is the latest in a series of escalating disputes between Nadler
and Barr over the special counsel investigation.

Nadler has issued a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and the special counsel's underlying evidence,
and is prepared to go to court to obtain the documents if Barr will not comply. Barr has o ered to allow select
congressional leaders to view a less-redacted version of the Mueller report, with only grand jury material
blacked out, but Democrats have rejected that proposal.

But the dispute between Barr and Democrats runs deeper than the report. Democrats have slammed Barr's
handling of the end of the Mueller investigation, accusing him of releasing a letter that mischaracterized
Mueller's findings on both collusion and obstruction and raising suspicions over his decision not to prosecute
Trump after Mueller did not reach a conclusion on Trump. Barr's decision to hold a press conference the
morning before the report was released was seen by Democrats as a blatant attempt to spin the report in
defense of the President.

Barr's scheduled testimony comes ahead of House Democratic plans for Mueller to also appear next month to
discuss the report and investigation. If Barr does not appear before the House Judiciary Committee, it's not
clear how that would a ect the panel's plans for Mueller's testimony. Graham has said he does not want to hear
from Mueller himself because it would be too much of a circus.

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