Prelude To Impeachment: House Judiciary Votes Barr In Contempt Of Congress

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The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. It now goes to the House floor for a full vote.

The final vote was 24-16.

Before the vote Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler shot down the White House’s executive privilege claim over the Mueller report, ““In response to our latest good faith offer, the department abruptly announced that if we move forward today, it will ask President Trump to invoke what on all the materials subject to our subpoena. Just minutes ago, it took that dramatic step. Besides misapplying the doctrine of executive privilege, since the White House waived these privileges long ago and the department seemed open to sharing these materials with us just yesterday, this decision represents a clear escalation and the trump administration’s blanket defiance of Congress constitutionally mandated duties. I hope that the department will think better of this last-minute outburst and return to negotiations.”

Video of the vote:

Barr is the second attorney general in history to be held in contempt

Barr is the second attorney general in history to be voted in contempt of Congress. The resolution will move to the House floor where it will pass, and then the matter will go to court. In practical terms, holding Barr in contempt is another step toward establishing a record that will be used in court to get the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence.

The vote was historic, but it is just the first history-making marker on the road to getting the truth about Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

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.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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