Sen. Maize Hirono (D-HI) called AG Barr a liar to his face and told him to resign during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
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Sen. Hirono said:
You told senator Chris van Hollen that you didn’t know if Bob Mueller supported your conclusions, but you knew. You lied. And now we know. A lot of respected nonpartisan legal experts and elected officials were surprised by your efforts to protect the president. But I wasn’t surprised. You did exactly what I thought you would do. That’s why I voted against your confirmation. I suspected you would try to protect the president and, indeed, you did. In 1989, this isn’t something you hadn’t done before. In 1989 when you refused to show Congress an OLC opinion that led to the arrest of Manuel Noriega. In 1992 when you recommended pardons for the subjects of the Iran Contra scandal. And last year when you wrote the 19-page memo telling Donald Trump as president can’t be guilty of obstruction of justice and then didn’t recuse yourself from the matter.
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From the beginning, you are addressing an audience of one. That person being Donald Trump. That’s why before the bombshell news of yesterday evening, 11 of my Senate colleagues and I called on the Department of Justice inspector general, and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate the way you have handled the Mueller report. I wanted them to determine whether your actions then complied with the department’s policies and practices and whether you have demonstrated sufficient impartiality to continue to oversee the 14 other criminal matters that the special counsel referred to in other parts — to other parts of the Department of Justice. Now we know more about your deep involvement in trying to cover up for Donald Trump. Being attorney general is a sacred trust. You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. You should resign.
Sen. Hirono is leading the effort to get Barr’s handling of the Mueller report investigated. Barr has lied to Congress. He is a liar, and his resignation would be letting him off easy. There is going to be an investigation into Barr’s conduct surrounding the Mueller report. Sen. Hirono was right. Barr should resign, but it more likely that he will need to be impeached.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
