House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler announced Tuesday the committee had secured the testimony of two witnesses who can lend insight into Attorney General William Barr's “unprecedented politicization” of the Justice Department.
One of the witnesses House Democrats subpoenaed is Aaron Zelinsky, who worked on the prosecution of Trump bestie Roger Stone and resigned from the team handling the case after Barr intervened in an attempt to lighten Stone's sentence.
The other is John Elias, who was tasked with reviewing a fuel efficiency deal between California and big auto makers, which the Trump administration has sought to undermine. "Mr. Elias can speak to the Department's improperly motivated activity by the Antitrust Division," a statement from Nadler read.
A third witness, former Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer, who served under George H.W. Bush, will also testify about "what is at stake when there is a breakdown of the Department's independence at the hands of its own leadership," read the statement.
Some 2,000 Justice Department alumni have signed on to a letter calling for Barr's resignation in the wake of his interference in the cases of both Stone and former national security adviser Mike Flynn. Senate Democrats have also sought an internal investigation into Barr's role in violently clearing peaceful protesters from outside the White House.
Barr has repeatedly declined to testify before House Judiciary Democrats, and Nadler has made noise about subpoenaing him if he failed to appear once the coronavirus scare died down. Presumably that's now since the House has resumed conducting hearings and testimony can be conducted remotely.
Nadler’s statement noted that despite Barr's failure to give congressional testimony, he has "made time for multiple television interviews."