House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy blasts Rep. Jerry Nadler over Barr
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy defended Attorney General William Barr on Thursday as many Democrats continue to call for Barr's ouster. He called Barr "transparent" in his testimony before the Senate on Wednesday as Democrats pressed him on a letter he received from Mueller that expressed some concern that Barr's initial letter summing up the special counsel report's conclusions did not "fully capture" the substance of his report.
Earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said Barr had lied to Congress and that she "lost sleep" over Barr's testimony Wednesday before the Senate. McCarthy disputed Pelosi's contention.
"I do not believe Attorney General Barr lied. I believe he's been very transparent in all of this," McCarthy said. "If people are looking at who has lied in the process, simply look at (House Judiciary) Chairman [Jerry] Nadler."
While Barr was a no-show before Nadler's committee Thursday morning, Nadler said in his opening statement that the attorney general's decision not to appear was emblematic of a bigger issue with the administration, a pattern in which officials have declined to appear before congressional committees, and President Trump has "prevented us from obtaining information about voting rights, the ACA (Affordable Care Act), and family separations."
"Chairman Nadler asked the attorney general to come and he said, 'Yes,'" McCarthy said. "After the attorney general said he would come to the committee, to speak to every member, they moved to change the rules." This was a reference to Nadler's plan to allow committee lawyers to question Barr during his House appearance.
"Nadler has been wanting to impeach the day after the election. He can't have the facts to prove why he should, but he will not stop."
While Nadler's committee could now move to vote to hold Barr in contempt for refusing to turn over an un-redacted version of Mueller's report, McCarthy told reporters that Democrats' continued efforts to "go after" the president and his associates has "got to stop."
This is a developing story.
