The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last Wednesday, May 01, 2019 in which US Attorney General William Barr wash harshly grilled by Democratic Senators, provided ample proof that partisan politics continues to prevail over matters that required unbiased judgment.
AG Barr was called on to discuss special counsel Mueller’s Report after he released a redacted copy last April 18, 2018. AG Barr though released a 448-page report in which 11% of the text had been redacted. Nearly 40% of the pages released by AG Barr had at least one redaction, comprising well over 900 redacted text blocks in all. The report was divided into 2 volumes:
VOLUME 1 – Mueller’s report on investigations to which a conclusion was reached that there was Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election won by Donald Trump. Such interference is deemed a violation of U.S. criminal law.
VOLUME 2 – Mueller’s report citing instances in which President Trump made attempts to obstruct justice by trying to control the ongoing investigations and by trying to wield his presidential influence on those who refused to abide with his instructions.
What Barr’s Testimony Revealed during the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
The overall impression that AG Barr gave is that he viewed Mueller’s report as a condensation of false accusations that Donald Trump was part of the group who were coordinating with the supposed Russian interference. A stance for which he received grilling questions coming mostly from Democratic Senators.
On several occasions, AG Barr asserted that Donald Trump was falsely accused,. It was his defense on why he concluded that the Mueller investigation did not provide enough evidence to support that Trump was in collusion with the alleged Russian interference. He believes that obstruction of justice was not present because Trump was merely acting on his constitutional à uthority to supervise groundless and unfounded proceedings.
Barr’s testimony also revealed that partisan politics was at work since several times during the hearing, and whenever AG Barr fumbled with his answers, Panel Chairman Lindsey Graham (Rep-S.C.) came to Barr’s rescue by saying the Attorney General is being slandered.
Calls for AG Barr’s Resignation after Conclusion of Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
Democratic Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand who are also in the running for president in the 2020 elections, joined other Democrats on calls for AG Barr to resign. The general consensus is that AG William Barr had lied to Congress and therefor not worthy of the trust placed on him as head of the Department of Justice.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Dem-Ca.) prefers to reserve judgment until after their turn to question AG Barr on Thursday via the House’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Still, Speaker Pelosi opined that after the Senate hearing, AG Barr’s responses and comments do not live up to the standards conforming to an attorney general.