Pelosi Bashes Barr after Testimony
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tore into Attorney General William Barr after his testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, accusing him of acting like a “henchman” for President Donald Trump.
“He was like a blob. He was like a, just a henchman for the president of the United States, instead of the attorney general of the United States of America,” Pelosi said on MSNBC.
Pelosi particularly targeted Barr over the administration’s decision to send federal law enforcement officers to certain cities. Barr has defended the move to send officers to guard federal property in Portland, Ore., amid protests that have at times turned violent.
“(P)easeful protest is who we are and what we do. And do some other people come along and try to disrupt? Yes. But you don’t send in people acting like storm troopers into the scene and evoking even more, even more unease and unrest,” Pelosi said, The Hill reported.
The remarks come after Barr sustained withering criticism from Democrats during Tuesday’s hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
Several Democratic lawmakers sought to cast Barr as a loyalist to the president who has used his tenure as the nation’s top cop to protect Trump and his allies from scrutiny and boost the White House’s “law and order” message in the run-up to the presidential election.
“The job of the attorney general is to defend the best interests of the people and serve as the people's lawyer, but during your time as attorney general you have consistently undermined democracy, undermined the Constitution and undermined the health, safety and well-being of the American people,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). “All to personally benefit Donald Trump.”
Barr denied allegations of wrongdoing, maintaining he’s worked to “restore the rule of law” after the Justice Department “strayed” from its mission before his tenure.
