House Judiciary Committee finds Attorney General Barr in contempt

Did you hear that?

After a long hearing in which Republicans brought up a series of amendments and attempted to derail proceedings over the issue of grand jury testimony, the House Judiciary Committee voted 24 to 16 along party lines to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt.

Throughout the day, Republicans insisted that because the subpoena to Barr requested “the full report and supporting materials” it was illegal for Barr to comply because that would mean handing off grand jury material protected under rule “6E.” Nadler cited multiple past cases, but Republicans argued that none of them applied because they involved the independent counsel law. Then because they involved impeachment cases.

But Nadler and Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee went through their long list of efforts to negotiate with Barr and the DOJ before the vote, making it clear that there was little choice but to take this action.