Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday faced the House Judiciary Committee for the first time in a contentious hearing that covered a range of matters involving the Justice Department, from its treatment of cases involving two of President Trump’s associates, to the federal response to protests in Washington, D.C., and Portland, to election integrity and vote-by-mail in the November election.
Barr was peppered with questions from the committee for more than five hours, across which exchanges between the attorney general and Democrats became laden with sarcastic quips and partisan jabs.
“You are a real class act,” Barr sarcastically told Chairman Jerrold Nadler after the congressman denied his request for a five-minute break as the hearing neared its end.
“Reclaiming my time” was employed frequently by Democrats as they pressed Barr on whether he was doing Mr Trump’s bidding in federal cases involving Roger Stone and Michael Flynn and questioned him on the deployment of federal officers to U.S. cities to quell unrest.
Barr made clear his displeasure with Democrats from the outset, saying in his written opening statement that they “have attempted to discredit me by conjuring up a narrative that I am simply the president’s factotum who disposes of criminal cases according to his instructions.”
