Georgia Rep. Douglas Collins called out congressional Democrats for what he called torpedoing the testimony of Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday, in an Op-Ed published by Fox News, saying that they pretended to want to impeach the president without actually taking action.
“On March 29, Attorney General William Barr volunteered to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on May 2 to answer questions about the Mueller report and his decisions surrounding it. Every single member on this committee was looking forward to the attorney general’s testimony,” Collins said.
“Unfortunately, ludicrous demands from the chairman made it impossible for the attorney general to join the committee as he intended.”
According to Collins, “the chairman insisted staff ask questions of the attorney general at today’s oversight hearing… To say Chairman Jerry Nadler’s, D-N.Y, demands are unprecedented would be an understatement.”
Collins outlined ways in which Nadler had changed the rules, prior to Barr’s testimony, treating the proceedings as if they were making a very specific inquiry.
“Chairman Nadler bet he could use staff questioning—which has only been done at this committee under impeachment proceedings—to give the impression they are, in fact, conducting an impeachment proceeding. But that bet didn’t pay off.
“Until Speaker Pelosi passes a House resolution launching an impeachment inquiry, the procedural and legal rules governing impeachment do not apply. The branch of government that makes our laws is bound, at the very least, by its own rules and procedures,” Collins explained.
“Democrats, therefore, can’t have it both ways. They can’t try to pacify their liberal base by pretending to pursue impeachment without actually taking the plunge.
“The reality of our chamber and this distinguished committee is that when it comes to impeachment, you’re either in, or you’re out. And right now, Democrats have opted out.
According to Collins, Democrats are attempting to distract the public and their fellow lawmakers from their lack of impeachment, after months of calling for President Donald Trump’s removal.
“The chairman says William Barr is trying to ‘blackmail’ our committee and he is ‘terrified’ of appearing before us, though he just spent the day with Senators Harris, Whitehouse, and Leahy,” Collins went on.
“To be precise, the attorney general sat through nearly six hours of questioning in the Senate Wednesday—including a second round of questions conducted solely by Democratic senators.
He would have joined lawmakers in the House Thursday but for Democrats’ extraordinary decision to change the committee’s procedures for the first time in over two centuries.
“House Democrats have failed at every turn to negotiate in good faith or accept the Justice Department’s considerable accommodations.
“As a result of desperate liberal tactics, Americans have lost another chance for closure.
“Not only have Democrats ignored the results of the Mueller investigation, they continue to ignore the crisis at the southern border.
“I implore my colleagues to abandon hollow theatrics and return to legislating.
House Judiciary Committee members should examine the report provided by the attorney general, ask earnest questions, and heed the pleas of hardworking Americans who understand that our time is better spent making progress than chasing ghosts.”
