William Barr Could Face Contempt Citation, Says House Democrat
In an interview with Fox News broadcast Sunday, House Democrat David Cicilline warned that Attorney General William Barr could face contempt citation, The Hill reports.
Cicilline suggested that Barr will — if he refuses to comply with requests for underlying documents pertaining to Robert Mueller’s Russia probe — almost certainly face a contempt citation. The Democrat, who is on the House Judiciary Committee, reminded Fox News’ viewership that Barr has until Monday to produce the documents.
“I think if the attorney general does not [produce the documents], the chairman will ask the committee to move forward with a contempt citation,” Cicilline said.
“Members of our committee need to see the full report and the supporting documents so we can continue to do our work, conduct oversight in a responsible and sober way.”
It comes as no surprise that Cicilline is threatening Barr with a contempt citation, given that House Democrats have been taking aim at the attorney general, and vowing to take legal action against him.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Barr’s testimony before Congress prompted the opposition party to go on the offensive. “We’re going to use every means at our disposal in order to do our jobs,” Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland announced, echoing the prevailing sentiment among House Democrats frustrated by Barr.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no Trump-Russia conspiracy, but his findings pertaining to obstruction of justice — even though Mueller refrained from charging Trump with the crime — are not nearly as explicit. The Democrats have accused Barr of deliberately mischaracterizing Mueller’s obstruction findings in order to protect President Trump, so they are now exploring legal options.
House Democrats could even start potential impeachment proceedings against the attorney general, or — in theory, at least — invoke inherent contempt. The latter could even lead to William Barr’s arrest, even though that option remains highly unlikely since a congressional arrest has not been ordered since the 1930s.
Rep David Cicilline (D-RI) talks about the possibility of AG Barr being held in contempt of Congress #FNS pic.twitter.com/gz5z1wDiqS
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 5, 2019
All aggressive legal action would almost certainly come across intense Republican pushback, and the GOP-controlled Senate would almost certainly refuse to impeach the attorney general.
Republican politicians have consistently defended Barr against accusations of bias, and so has conservative media. Echoing President Donald Trump, Fox News host Lou Dobbs suggested that the accusations against William Barr are part of an elaborate plot to “overthrow” the United States government.
William Barr is using the Democrats’ fear of impeachment against them. https://t.co/3NF17aBmaf
— Slate (@Slate) May 5, 2019
As Mediaite reports, Dobbs vowed on air that the Democrats will face “serious penalty and pain” for criticizing the attorney general.
“The dimms [sic] have made a serious miscalculation. Attempting to intimidate, to coerce, to try to destroy Attorney General Barr will likely result in serious penalty and pain for those radical dimms [sic],” the host said.
