Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, pushed fellow House representatives to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for his decision not to hand over an unredacted copy Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
The redactions, which pertained were enacted to protect grand jury information, were considered unacceptable by Congress, despite the Justice Department’s legal obligation to protect said information.
While Nadler has called on Barr to hand over the full report, on multiple occasions, according to Fox News, his position on the job of Attorney General was decidedly different in 2012 when then-Attorney General Eric Holder refused to hand over the documents related to the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal.
In that case, the documents pertained to when DOJ officials tracked thousands of guns smuggled across the border but did not stop them.
“Just joined the #walkout of the House chamber to protest the shameful, politically-motivated GOP vote holding AG [Eric] Holder in contempt,” Nadler tweeted in 2012.
Just joined the #walkout of the House chamber to protest the shameful, politically-motivated GOP vote holding AG Holder in contempt
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) June 28, 2012
At the time, more than 100 Democrats walked out of the vote that would have held Holder in contempt, and then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi argued that Republicans were making a political move in pushing holder for the information.
“What is happening here is shameful,” said Pelosi.
President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. Pointed out the irony and inconsistency in Nadler’s position in 2012 and today.
Ahhh the irony. Political hacks gonna hack. https://t.co/T8xFiaivU5
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 8, 2019
Nadler scheduled a vote to decide whether his committee will hold Barr in contempt of Congress for missing the Monday morning deadline to hand over the report subpoenaed by the committee.
“Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation, and other constitutional responsibilities,” Nadler said in a statement Monday according to the Post.
“The Attorney General’s failure to comply with our subpoena, after extensive accommodation efforts, leaves us no choice but to initiate contempt proceedings in order to enforce the subpoena and access the full, unredacted report.”
Rep. Doug Collins, who serves as the ranking Republican on the panel, said in his statement that Barr would be breaking the law if he complied and released the full report.
“Chairman Nadler knows full subpoena compliance requires Attorney General Barr to break the law. Yet, instead of introducing legislation allowing the attorney general to prove Congress grand jury material, Democrats move to hold him in contempt,” Collins said.
“They know the Justice Department is working to negotiate even as they peruse contempt charges, making their move today illogical and disingenuous. Democrats have launched a proxy war smearing the attorney general when their anger actually lies with the president and the special counsel, who found neither conspiracy nor obstruction.”
