US Attorney General Bill Barr has refused to testify at a House of Representatives hearing Thursday on his handling of the Mueller report, setting up a showdown that could see Democrats take legal steps to compel his appearance.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said Barr had also refused to supply the panel with a full and unredacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible obstruction by President Donald Trump.
Nadler said Barr, who testified for five hours at a Senate hearing Wednesday, did not want to appear before the House panel if he was subjected to questioning by a lawyer from the committee in addition to its members.
"He is terrified at having to face a skilled attorney," Nadler said, adding that "when push comes to shove, the administration cannot dictate the terms of our hearing in our hearing room."
The Justice Department acknowledged that Nadler's rules change to allow lawyers to question Barr prompted the boycott.
"Unfortunately, even after the attorney general volunteered to testify, Chairman Nadler placed conditions on the House Judiciary Committee hearing that are unprecedented and unnecessary," department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement.
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"The attorney general remains happy to engage directly with members on their questions regarding the report and looks forward to continue working with the committee on their oversight requests." An angry Nadler said his committee has been stonewalled by the administration and could subpoena Barr for the unredacted report.
"Compliance with congressional subpoenas is not optional and 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," Nadler said.
A subpoena for Barr to testify could be issued as well, Nadler added.
The back-and-forth followed a stormy Senate hearing, where Barr faced allegations that he "whitewashed" the Mueller report and misled lawmakers.
Democrats had seized on Mueller's own letter to Barr, in which the special counsel complained that the attorney general's four-page summary of the report "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of his conclusions.
Multiple 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, called on Barr to resign. Nadler meanwhile said he was hoping Mueller will testify before the committee on May 15.
"The (Justice) Department announced they have no objection and we're seeking to firm up the date," Nadler said.
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