Attorney General William Barr will not testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, CNBC reported. The move comes after Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday regarding his handling of the Mueller report.
Mueller sent Barr a letter in late March, stating that the summary Barr released “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of the full report.
The Attorney General criticized the special council for not coming to a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump had committed an obstruction of justice offense.
The Department of Justice spokeswoman released a statement saying that the conditions Chairman Jerrold Nadler placed on the committee hearing are “unprecedented and unnecessary,” and that Nadler’s insistence on having staff question Barr is “inappropriate.”
“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,” the statement concluded.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler also confirmed that Barr will not be appearing before the House Committee on Thursday.
“Given his lack of candor in describing the work of the special council, our members were right to insist that staff council be permitted to question the attorney general,” Nadler said.
“When push comes to shove the administration can not dictate the terms of our hearing in our hearing room,” he continued.
Nadler also stated that the Department of Justice has refused to comply with the House’s subpoena to release a full, un-redacted version of the Mueller report. Nadler also stated that he plans to continue to work with Barr in order to reach a “reasonable accommodation and access to the full report,” but that compliance with congressional subpoenas is “not optional”, CNBC adds.
Nadler stated that if negotiations with Barr fail to result in a pledge of compliance within “the next day or two,” Nadler’s next step will be “seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general.”
Nadler concluded his statement saying he “hopes and expects” that Barr will change his mind and attend the hearing, but he does not plan to issue a subpoena on Thursday, CNBC notes.
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