Attorney General Bill Barr snapped at Democratic Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse when he asked the Trump official a question “on penalty of perjury” during his Tuesday testimony before Congress.
The exchange began with Neguse reminding Barr of his previous statement that the White House fully cooperated with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, then beginning to probe Barr about the investigation. (RELATED: Attorney General Bill Barr Testimony Delayed After Rep. Jerry Nadler Gets Into Car Accident)
“Today, yes or no, Mr. Barr – under penalty of perjury – do you testify that that statement was true at the time you made it?” Neguse asked.
“I thought it was true at the time I made it,” Barr said. “Why wasn’t it true?”
Barr then began speaking again before Neguse shouted over him, saying that he was “reclaiming” his time, saying Barr had already answered the question.
“No, actually I need to answer that question,” Barr said.
“Mr. Attorney General, you did answer the question,” Neguse replied.
Barr then became frustrated, saying, “You said ‘under penalty of perjury.’ I’m gonna answer the damn question, OK?”
Barr explained that he believes his earlier statement referred to the White House being willing to turn over documents relevant to the Trump-Russia investigation.
The interaction was just one of several notable exchanges from Barr’s testimony on Tuesday, which spanned topics from the Russia investigation and the upcoming 2020 election to Trump’s handling of the George Floyd protests.
Democratic Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond also questioned Barr regarding Trump’s repeated assertions that mass mail-in voting could cause a “rigged” election in November.
Though Barr agreed with the president that resorting to mass mail-in voting would make election fraud more likely, he rebuffed the possibility that Trump could challenge the clear result of an election, saying he was not “aware of” any way a U.S. president could challenge the clear result of an election.