House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler began Tuesday’s hearing by attacking Attorney General William Barr — and then announced that his time had expired before Barr was given a chance to respond.
Nadler focused his comments on the recent deployment of federal law enforcement officers to cities like Portland, Oregon, arguing that Barr had sent them in order to get “footage for campaign ads” for President Donald Trump’s reelection bid. (RELATED: Attorney General Bill Barr Testimony Delayed After Rep. Jerry Nadler Gets Into Car Accident)
WATCH:
Nadler began by questioning Barr about the use of federal law enforcement officers in conjunction with Operation Legend, arguing that it was simply a repackaging of Operation Relentless Pursuit, a similar initiative that Barr explained had been derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the fall, we did inaugurate an anti-crime initiative because we were concerned about increasing violent crime in a number of cities and we called that Relentless Pursuit. Unfortunately, COVID intervened, and our agents who were detailed for these assignments cannot perform the operation, so the operation was squelched by COVID,” Barr said. (RELATED: Bill Barr Vs. Media: The AG Likes To Get Feisty With Reporters)
Nadler then asked Barr whether he had discussed the use of federal law enforcement officers with President Trump in the context of the 2020 campaign, but Barr patently refused to disclose what he and the president had talked about.
Nadler concluded by accusing Barr of using federal officers to create footage for campaign videos.
.@RepJerryNadler on federal officers being sent to Portland to stop the riots:
“The president wants footage for his campaign ads and you appear serving it up to him as ordered… The protesters aren’t mobs. They are mothers, and veterans and mayors.” pic.twitter.com/MXDJzG2v9x
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 28, 2020
“Shame on you!” Nadler scolded Barr as he wrapped up his comments. Barr pushed back, asking for a chance to respond, but Nadler simply repeated, “Shame on you! My time has expired. My time has expired.”