Bill Maher is not holding back when it comes to Donald Trump’s seemingly-too-close relationship with Attorney General William Barr.
The late-night comedian took aim at Barr in the opening monologue to Real Time this week, accusing Barr of being nothing more than a lackey to do Trump’s bidding. As the Daily Beast noted, Hannity was not holding his tongue.
“This Bill Barr is so far up Trump’s a**, he bumped into Hannity,” Maher joked, referencing the Fox News host who reportedly talks to Trump by phone nightly and who regularly defends Trump on his show and attacks Trump’s critics.
Barr had come under widespread criticism for his handling of the Russia report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Barr released a summary that concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of justice, but Mueller wrote the attorney general a letter saying he had misrepresented the findings. In Senate testimony this week, Barr also admitted that he had not read all of the underlying evidence before reaching the conclusion.
Bill Maher also reserved some criticism for Democrats for focusing more on “gotcha” moments with Barr than holding the attorney general accountable for upholding the laws.
But that could be changing. Democrats in the House have threatened to issue a subpoena after Barr was a no-show at a House Judiciary Committee meeting this week. Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler wrote a letter saying that Democrats could hold Barr in contempt of Congress if he continues to refuse to appear.
Nadler added that the Trump administration is trying to cut down Congress’s power to enact oversight over the judicial branch.
“If left unchecked, this act of obstruction will make it that much harder for us to hold the Executive Branch accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse, or to enact legislation to curb that kind of misconduct—no matter which party holds this chamber or the White House at a given moment,” Nadler said, via ABC News .
Donald Trump has said that he plans to fight all subpoenas, and even enlisted his personal lawyers to sue Democrats who are seeking the release of his tax returns. Democrats have criticized not only Trump but other members of the administration who have enabled the obstruction, with William Barr one of the biggest targets.
Democrat Adam Schiff is calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign. https://t.co/3ZvqAPx1ts
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 3, 2019
Many Democrats, including House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, have called on William Barr to resign. The attorney general has not shown any indication that he plans to do it.
