The Hearing of Attorney General Barr Is an Abomination

 

I can’t take it anymore. Watching the attack by Democrats on AG Barr at his hearing is a demonstration of the worst kind of politics imaginable. The House Judiciary Committee is not interested in receiving any kind of information. They are only interested in insulting, attacking, and silencing the Attorney General. I’ve seen my share of hearings, but this one was beyond the pale.

Grandstanding and false statements by the Democrats are very familiar. But they clearly coordinated their strategy with each other. First, they would insult him, state hyperbole, and eventually they would ask him a question, demanding a yes or no answer. They repeatedly cut him off when he tried to explain his response, or when he asked for clarification of what was supposed to be a question, and they continued to interrupt him. It’s clear they were trying to establish a basis for impeaching him, but every one of them should be removed from office.

I called out loud when one Representative said she was disappointed at how he had treated her so disrespectfully. Good grief.

I’m ashamed to think that these people are supposed to represent this country. As we say in Yiddish, it’s a schande (shame).

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  1. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn: I’m ashamed to think that these people are supposed to represent this country. As we say in Yiddish, it’s a schande (shame).

    I watched it for a while and, like you, couldn’t take it anymore. Barr is calm and factual, but I found myself wishing he’d just get up and walk out. It’s okay with the Dems if Holder called himself Obama’s wingman, but Lord help a man in the same position appointed by a Republican president. They asked him questions and wouldn’t wait for his answer to the point that it was nothing but grandstanding. If Barr has a fault, it is that he is too nice to those arrogant, vile, disgustingly mean people who should never have been elected in the first place.

    Barr did get in a couple of  good jabs but not nearly enough. 

    • #31
  2. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    Answer of the day. https://twitter.com/lizrnc/status/1288177797987471366?s=21

    I wasn’t watching but listening because I was typing in my comments on my ricochet thread so I didn’t see Raskin’s reaction. That befuddled face he made was a classic. 

    • #32
  3. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    But you missed the good news:

    1. Barr made the dems look like complete hacks & partisans
    2. Barr reveled he has appointed a 2nd prosecutor to investigate all the unmasking of Trump campaign/administration officials BY OBAMA officials. About bloody time!
    • #33
  4. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    • #34
  5. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Representative Pramila Jayapai (WA-7) was the most unfair questioner.  She asked a convoluted compound question that had me answering her out loud from my living room.  She also ran out her time, so AG Barr had no time to answer.  If I had been the chair, I would have said that that compound question was unfair, and “Attorney General Barr, you must be given a fair opportunity to answer that compound question.  Since the question took 3 minutes to ask, you may have 3 minutes to answer.”  The Democrats would go wild.

    If I were a trial judge I would have objected to her on my own motion.  If she wouldn’t shut up, I would hold her in contempt.

    She represents a D+33 district; Washington State’s next most liberal district, WA-9, is only D+23.  She represents Seattle’s notorious Capitol Hill neighborhood, home of “CHAZ” or the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.”  The only way to knock her out will be in the primary.  I will see if she has a strong challenger next cycle.  There is something gratifying in giving money to the opponents running against Squad-like members like Pramila Jayapai!

    What a terrible human being.

    • #35
  6. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    Jayapal also has no clue what jurisdiction means- she complained that federal law enforcement officials didn’t intervene in an altercation between right wing protesters and STATE officials on a state facility  but did in Portland on a FEDERAL facility.

    • #36
  7. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    MiMac (View Comment):

    Jayapal also has no clue what jurisdiction means- she complained that federal law enforcement officials didn’t intervene in an altercation between right wing protesters and STATE officials on a state facility but did in Portland on a FEDERAL facility.

    I was shouting that at her, but she wouldn’t stop talking.  

    • #37
  8. GrannyDude Member
    GrannyDude
    @GrannyDude

    I want a t-shirt that says “You’re A Real Class Act.” 

     

    • #38
  9. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Jon1979 (View Comment):
    polling over the past few days apparently showed the Democrats that their support for the Antifa-led riots in Portland, Seattle and elsewhere are not playing all that well with voters.

    What is telling is that anyone needs polling to determine if people are against rioting, burning and looting. 

    This nation’s only hope is to agree that rioting, burning and looting are the worst option in the decision tree. 

    • #39
  10. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Jules PA (View Comment):
    This nation’s only hope is to agree that rioting, burning and looting are the worst option in the decision tree. 

    In these times, @julespa, getting consensus on condemning that option may be too optimistic. Sigh.

    • #40
  11. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Jules PA (View Comment):
    This nation’s only hope is to agree that rioting, burning and looting are the worst option in the decision tree.

    In these times, @julespa, getting consensus on condemning that option may be too optimistic. Sigh.

    If someone actually took a shot at Trump, I really don’t think we’d even get consensus from the mainstream media outlets and the people they employ on whether or not that’s a bad thing, and certainly not from the sewer that is Twitter and the rest of social media (any eventual media consensus that arrived that attempting to assassinate a president while a Republican is in the White House is a bad thing would probably be because flash surveys showed it was polling badly among the voters….)

    • #41
  12. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    https://thefederalist.com/2020/07/29/democrats-refused-to-let-barr-speak-because-they-know-hes-right/
    Clips of them not allowing Barr to respond.

    • #42
  13. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Representative Pramila Jayapai (WA-7) was the most unfair questioner. She asked a convoluted compound question that had me answering her out loud from my living room. She also ran out her time, so AG Barr had no time to answer. If I had been the chair, I would have said that that compound question was unfair, and “Attorney General Barr, you must be given a fair opportunity to answer that compound question. Since the question took 3 minutes to ask, you may have 3 minutes to answer.” The Democrats would go wild.

    If I were a trial judge I would have objected to her on my own motion. If she wouldn’t shut up, I would hold her in contempt.

    She represents a D+33 district; Washington State’s next most liberal district, WA-9, is only D+23. She represents Seattle’s notorious Capitol Hill neighborhood, home of “CHAZ” or the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.” The only way to knock her out will be in the primary. I will see if she has a strong challenger next cycle. There is something gratifying in giving money to the opponents running against Squad-like members like Pramila Jayapai!

    What a terrible human being.

    Primarying her would at least mean that her replacement would have no seniority, but the problem with Leftist districts like hers is that any challengers may well be even more radical and insane.

    The Post-Intelligencer put her performance like this:

    Pramila Jayapal Expertly Cut to the Heart of William Barr‘s Hypocrisy

    The Democrat took the attorney general to task for sending troops to quell Black Lives Matter demonstrations but doing nothing when armed militias swarmed government buildings in Michigan and elsewhere to demand the economy reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Jayapal began by asking Barr whether he felt it was appropriate to order federal officers to “tear gas, pepper spray, and beat protesters” in Lafayette Park, in Washington, D.C., so that President Trump could walk to St. John’s Church to brandish a Bible for a photo op, Barr ignored the question to dispute whether tear gas was used. Jayapal rightly pointed out that this is a semantic distinction that has been widely debunked. Tear gas-like chemical agents were indeed used on peaceful demonstrators, according to U.S. Park Police.

    I love that “debunked.” What the Democrats were doing was classic bunk. Not quite literally, in that they represent many more places than Buncome County, but they were all “speaking to Buncome,” not to AG Barr. It remains to be seen if all of them were speaking for Buncome as well. 

    If the P-I is any indication, at least some of them were.

     

     

    • #43
  14. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    I think the Republicans will gain more than the Democrats will gain. The opportunities to have fun with it abound. This collection of clips with Barr playing bagpipes in the background is funny. 
    https://twitter.com/danscavino/status/1288284820041236481?s=21

    • #44
  15. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    EHerring (View Comment):

    I think the Republicans will gain more than the Democrats will gain. The opportunities to have fun with it abound. This collection of clips with Barr playing bagpipes in the background is funny.
    https://twitter.com/danscavino/status/1288284820041236481?s=21

    Bless you! Look what I’m missing by not being on Twitter! Then again . . . 

    • #45
  16. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    EHerring (View Comment):

    I think the Republicans will gain more than the Democrats will gain. The opportunities to have fun with it abound. This collection of clips with Barr playing bagpipes in the background is funny.
    https://twitter.com/danscavino/status/1288284820041236481?s=21

    L.O.V.E.

    Thank you for wading through the swamp that is Twitter and sharing your gold.

    • #46
  17. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    I really love how the Dems keep saying that national guardsmen Adam Demarco said that excessive force was used in Lafayette park-yet neglecting to mention he is a failed Democratic candidate for the Congress

    • #47
  18. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    I intend to point to this hearing when dealing with anyone who objects to Trump primarily because of his uncouth or “crude” tone. 

    • #48
  19. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    I hope that the White House refuses any future invitations or subpoenas to appear at a “hearing” before any committee of the House of Representatives, and cites this “hearing” as the reason for the refusal. This “hearing” demonstrates that the House is not pursuing its Constitutionally set forth role of oversight, since they refused to hear any information from the witness.  

    • #49
  20. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    I hope that the White House refuses any future invitations or subpoenas to appear at a “hearing” before any committee of the House of Representatives, and cites this “hearing” as the reason for the refusal. This “hearing” demonstrates that the House is not pursuing its Constitutionally set forth role of oversight, since they refused to hear any information from the witness.

    Yes. They insist they need the testimony of the witness for the information they and the public don’t yet have and then they lecture and badger the witness as if they are scolding a child. The witness delivers very little information in the process because the Congress Members use most of the time making speeches attacking the witness and the Administration.

    • #50
  21. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    MiMac (View Comment):

    I really love how the Dems keep saying that national guardsmen Adam Demarco said that excessive force was used in Lafayette park-yet neglecting to mention he is a failed Democratic candidate for the Congress

    They only knew to call him because he wanted them to use his words.

    • #51
  22. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    I hope that the White House refuses any future invitations or subpoenas to appear at a “hearing” before any committee of the House of Representatives, and cites this “hearing” as the reason for the refusal. This “hearing” demonstrates that the House is not pursuing its Constitutionally set forth role of oversight, since they refused to hear any information from the witness.

    Sorry to show my ignorance but where in the Constitution does Congress have oversight of the Executive Branch?

    • #52
  23. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    I hope that the White House refuses any future invitations or subpoenas to appear at a “hearing” before any committee of the House of Representatives, and cites this “hearing” as the reason for the refusal. This “hearing” demonstrates that the House is not pursuing its Constitutionally set forth role of oversight, since they refused to hear any information from the witness.

    Sorry to show my ignorance but where in the Constitution does Congress have oversight of the Executive Branch?

    I think it’s primarily in Congress’s spending power. Making sure the money they appropriate is being used for the purposes for which they appropriated it. 

    I suppose one can make an argument that the Executive should never submit to Congressional inquiries, but I was trying to be as charitable as possible toward the Congressional motives here.

    • #53
  24. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    I hope that the White House refuses any future invitations or subpoenas to appear at a “hearing” before any committee of the House of Representatives, and cites this “hearing” as the reason for the refusal. This “hearing” demonstrates that the House is not pursuing its Constitutionally set forth role of oversight, since they refused to hear any information from the witness.

    Sorry to show my ignorance but where in the Constitution does Congress have oversight of the Executive Branch?

    I think it’s primarily in Congress’s spending power. Making sure the money they appropriate is being used for the purposes for which they appropriated it.

    I suppose one can make an argument that the Executive should never submit to Congressional inquiries, but I was trying to be as charitable as possible toward the Congressional motives here.

    And the Executive Branch has oversight to be sure laws aren’t followed. It needs to do a little more re the Legislative Branch.

    • #54
  25. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):

    Did you hear Barr’s answer to the rant about Trump in front of the church? Priceless.

    Where in the time frame of the recorded session is that? I watched it on c-span.  I also wanted to hear his response on Russia. I watched it up until a few minutes beyond his five minute recess.  It was appalling – all of it. I don’t want to watch it all – they would not let him talk.

    • #55
  26. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    Front Seat Cat (View Comment):

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):

    Did you hear Barr’s answer to the rant about Trump in front of the church? Priceless.

    Where in the time frame of the recorded session is that? I watched it on c-span. I also wanted to hear his response on Russia. I watched it up until a few minutes beyond his five minute recess. It was appalling – all of it. I don’t want to watch it all – they would not let him talk.

    When they asked Barr about the church officers condemning the government response, Barr asked if it was before or after they put out the fire.

    • #56
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