司法部长威廉·巴尔星期二将在众议院司法委员会作证，这是他担任美国最高执法官员一年半以来的第一次。
民主党人就一长串争议和他在总统感兴趣的问题上的反复干预对他进行质询唐纳德·特朗普。
巴尔是在经历了一年多的僵持和拖延之后出现的——自2019年5月他就前特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒关于俄罗斯干涉2016年选举的报告向参议院小组作证以来，他从未在任何国会委员会露面——后来他拒绝在众议院露面。
听证会是这样展开的:
2020年7月28日，华盛顿特区，司法部长威廉·巴尔在国会游客中心的国会礼堂向众议院司法委员会听证会作证
下午3:58听证会延期
经过五个小时的争论，纳德勒主席宣布听证会延期。
下午2:30巴尔说，使用催泪瓦斯“驱散非法集会”
在一次交流中，民主党众议员戴维·西奇林(David Cicilline)问了巴尔一个关于在波特兰德公司的克里斯托弗·戴维(Christopher David)身上使用催泪弹的问题，巴尔是一名海军老兵，他在病毒视频中被联邦特工殴打。巴尔说，“我不知道那是什么样的催泪弹。”
巴尔继续为联邦在波特兰的存在和对抗议者使用武力进行辩护，声称需要代理人来防止“对联邦法院的暴力攻击”转移到全国各地
当被Cicilline问及警察对和平抗议者使用武力是否合适时，Barr说是在集会不合法的时候。
巴尔说:“这是适当的使用催泪弹时，它表明-驱散非法集会，先生，不幸的是，和平示威者受到影响。”
但巴尔继续否认6月1日在拉斐特公园使用了催泪弹，尽管一名美国国民警卫队少校周二在另一场众议院听证会上作证说有催泪弹，而且那天他在街上捡了炮弹。
2020年7月28日，司法部长威廉·巴尔出现在华盛顿国会山的众议院监督委员会面前。
西奇林还问巴尔，接受或请求外国选举援助是否合适。
在被进一步追问之前，巴尔说:“要看是哪种援助。”“不，这不合适。”
Cicilline打趣道:“好吧，很抱歉，司法部长先生，你不得不在这个问题上挣扎。”
当密歇根州众议员普拉米拉·贾亚帕尔(Pramila Jayapal)质问巴尔，为什么今年早些时候密歇根州的白人民族主义抗议者没有面对与黑人生活物质抗议者同样的联邦回应时，巴尔认为这是州长的事情。
贾亚帕尔还称巴尔否认在拉斐特公园使用催泪瓦斯是“语义上的区别。”
下午1:52委员会休会
众议院司法委员会休会约五分钟。
下午1点48分，巴尔回答了关于他为什么不为斯通减刑调查特朗普的问题，为国际收支平衡委员会撤销科恩家庭监禁的决定辩护
马萨诸塞州民主党众议员埃里克·斯威尔。，迫使巴尔解释他为什么没有对特朗普展开调查，其依据是他对斯通的减刑，以及之前在巴尔确认期间的证词，他在证词中说，总统赦免某人以换取该人不入罪的承诺是非法的。
“我为什么要这样?”当斯威尔问他为什么不调查特朗普时，巴尔说。
斯威尔接着问巴尔，他是否知道总统的一条推文，说斯通不与穆勒的检察官合作的决定显示了“勇气”，巴尔回答说他没有阅读总统的推文。巴尔接着说，他认为斯威尔是在运用“鲁伯·戈德堡”理论，他说事实的模式证明了对特朗普的调查是正当的。
巴尔说:“如果我采用这一标准，将有更多的人在接受调查。”
2020年7月28日，DC，美国国会游客中心，司法部长威廉·巴尔在国会礼堂的众议院司法委员会听证会前作证。
巴尔接着为联邦监狱局的决定辩护，该决定试图撤销对迈克尔·科恩的软禁，因为他拒绝签署一项限制他出版一本书的协议——一名法官上周推翻了这一决定，称DOJ的行为似乎是“报复性的”
巴尔说:“人们似乎不明白的是，他的家庭监禁没有受到监狱管理局的监督。”“它是由美国法院系统的缓刑办公室监督的，美国法院系统对不写作有要求。”
加州共和党众议员汤姆·麦克林托克(Tom McClintock)随后敦促巴尔回答为什么那些参与俄罗斯早期调查的人没有被起诉。
巴尔回答说，COVID-19危机推迟了美国司法部长约翰·达勒姆(John Durham)在调查中打算采取的一些行动，似乎是指召集大陪审团，然后他补充说，“他工作非常努力，正义不是像你点披萨那样按时间表点的东西。”
然后他告诉麦克林托克，他“理解”他的担心，即如果特朗普在11月被击败，可能会危及杜伦的调查。
巴尔还批评民主党没有谴责那些试图破坏联邦法院的人。
巴尔说:“让我为这个国家担忧的是，在我的记忆中，这是我们两大政党之一民主党的领导人第一次没有站出来谴责暴民暴力和对联邦法院的袭击。”“为什么我们不能说，你知道，针对联邦法院的暴力必须停止?我们能听到这样的声音吗?”
2020年7月28日，司法部长威廉·巴尔出现在华盛顿国会山的众议院司法委员会。
下午1点21分，巴尔对斯通发泄愤怒，面对2020年选举的问题
巴尔似乎越来越愤怒，因为民主党人对他提出了一个又一个指控，同时要么拒绝让他回答，要么打断他，说当他试图回答时，他们在浪费时间。
在对巴尔干预特朗普的长期盟友罗杰·斯通的量刑建议的质询中，众议院议员泰德·多伊奇。，试图探究为什么巴尔会否决检察官谁发布了他们的建议对斯通的判决基于明确阐述的DOJ准则，以及谁提出了巴尔在第一时间的案件。
巴尔回击道，法官艾米·伯曼·杰克逊最终判处斯通三年监禁，低于巴尔驳回的最初建议。
"法官同意我的观点，国会议员，法官同意我的观点!"巴尔说着，多伊奇向他施压。
2020年7月28日，华盛顿，司法部长威廉·巴尔在众议院司法委员会听证会上
多伊奇说:“这里的问题是，罗杰·斯通是否因为是总统的朋友而受到不同的待遇。”“司法部长先生，你能想到其他案件吗?在这些案件中，被告威胁要杀死一名证人，威胁一名法官，对一名法官撒谎，而司法部声称这些仅仅是技术问题。”
巴尔拒绝直接回答这个问题，而是重复了他之前的声明，即法官伯曼·杰克逊“同意”他降低的推荐。
在随后与副总统候选人、加州民主党众议员凯伦·巴斯(Karen Bass)的讯问中，巴尔表示，他不熟悉引人注目的伊莱贾·麦克莱恩死亡案，这名23岁、手无寸铁的黑人男子于2019年8月被科罗拉多州奥罗拉警方逮捕后死亡。
众议员塞德里克·里士满质疑巴尔毫无根据的说法，即增加邮寄投票将导致广泛的欺诈。
巴尔在被问及他是否认为2020年总统选举将被“操纵”时表示，“我没有理由认为会是这样。”不过，他补充道，他坚持自己的主张，即增加邮寄投票会带来大规模欺诈的“高风险”。
巴尔说:“我所说的，说得很清楚，我不是在说那些必须离开这个州或者特别需要离开这个州的人——不能去投票。”“我说的是将选举大规模改为邮寄投票。”
众议员哈基姆·杰弗里斯(Hakeem Jeffries)向巴尔提出了特朗普的声明，他说这些声明提出了这样一个观点，即如果特朗普在11月被击败，他可能不会离任。当被问及如果特朗普落选但拒绝离职，他会怎么做时，巴尔回答说:“如果结果明确，我会离职。”
当被要求为他对特朗普应对COVID-19危机的赞扬进行辩护时，巴尔认为，前总统巴拉克·奥巴马在很大程度上应该为美国目前的测试滞后负责。
巴尔说:“测试系统的问题是由于奥巴马总统在疾病预防控制中心处理不当，以及试图将一切集中在疾病预防控制中心。”
杰弗里斯回击道:“这是不准确的。”
下午12:40巴尔要求休息
巴尔要求休庭，众议院司法听证会休会约五分钟。
2020年7月28日，美国国会游客中心，司法部长威廉·巴尔在国会礼堂的众议院司法委员会听证会上作证
下午12点35分，巴尔否认他最初清除抗议者的命令与特朗普的照片有关
得克萨斯州众议员希拉·李庚翔试图说服巴尔，让他相信“系统性种族主义”并不广泛存在于全国各地的警察部门。
巴尔说:“我不同意在这个国家的警察部门普遍存在系统性的种族主义。”
当被问及特朗普政府时期提起的民事权利诉讼数量有限时，巴尔表示，他认为第241条和第242条下的起诉“非常有力”，同时补充道，今年的一些起诉已经中断，因为大陪审团在COVID-19危机期间基本上被暂停。
田纳西州的民主党众议员史蒂夫·科恩(Steve Cohen)继续就巴尔参与清理6月1日拉斐特广场大部分和平抗议活动一事，对他进行了激烈的质询。
巴尔说，他第一次得知特朗普总统可能“在下午的某个时候”离开白宫，他只是“在下午晚些时候”才得知他可能会去圣约翰教堂拍照——但他再次否认他最初下令清除抗议者与拍照有关
在与众议员道格·柯林斯的交流中。巴尔说，他同意那些称派往波特兰的执法人员为“风暴部队”的人可能会危及当地的警察。
巴尔说:“我认为这是可能的。”“我认为称这些联邦执法官员为突击队是不负责任的。”
重提巴尔对美国广播公司新闻的评论，批评特朗普总统在罗杰·斯通案件上的推文。试图让巴尔承认特朗普的推文影响了他否决检察官量刑建议的决定。
巴尔回答:“这是在指导方针，但它不在司法部的政策在我看来。”“让我问你。你认为这公平吗?你认为一个67岁的人被判入狱7到9年公平吗?”
巴尔似乎忘记了司法部也曾一度试图修改对弗林的量刑建议，然后才撤回对他的指控。
下午12点06分，巴尔反驳了关于他将DOJ政治化的指控，称官员们在波特兰“为自己辩护”
纳德勒开始了他的提问，指出巴尔在7月22日的白宫新闻发布会上错误地指出，在堪萨斯城的“传奇行动”的试播在短短几周内就逮捕了200人。
“正确，”当纳德勒提到巴尔“说错话”时，巴尔说
事实上，在巴尔发表言论的时候，堪萨斯城的“传奇行动”只导致了一次逮捕。
纳德勒利用这次交流试图指责巴尔利用司法部的权力协助特朗普竞选连任。他敦促他回答是否与特朗普讨论过竞选活动，巴尔承认在对话中提到过，但试图将此与执法事务分开。
巴尔一再进行反击，称他拒绝该部门试图镇压抗议而不是逮捕那些实施暴力和破坏联邦财产的人。他还认为，纳德勒将“传奇行动”下的反犯罪倡议和向暴徒威胁联邦财产的城市部署联邦官员混为一谈。
在与委员会中的共和党人路易斯安那州众议员迈克·约翰逊的首次交流中，巴尔试图否认他将司法部政治化的说法。
“我起诉了(政府的)哪些敌人?你能指出一项指控吗?”巴尔说。“你你说我帮了总统的朋友。所引述的斯通案和弗林案都是我认为有必要进行某种干预以纠正法治的案例。”
他重申，他认为对罗杰·斯通的起诉是“正义的”，他只是出于这样一种信念才进行干预，即检察官最初建议对他处以过重的刑罚。
巴尔说:“总统的朋友不应该得到特殊的待遇，但他们也不应该受到比其他人更严厉的对待。”
当被问及他是否认为司法部长的角色是“总统的僚机”，正如埃里克霍尔德(Eric Holder)自己所说，巴尔回答说，“不，我已经描述了我认为司法部长的职责是什么。”
他补充说，波特兰的联邦官员的行为主要是为了“防御”试图破坏法院的暴力暴徒。
巴尔说:“我们不是在找麻烦。”“如果州和市能够像其他司法管辖区那样提供执法服务，我们就不需要在法院增加执法官了。”
上午11:46巴尔说司法部独立于特朗普运作
在开场白中，巴尔为自己在司法部处理案件时的“独立判断”进行了辩护，坚称自己没有不恰当地取悦总统。
巴尔说:“自从我明确表示，我将尽我所能，追查这起假‘俄罗斯’丑闻所涉及的严重侵权行为，委员会中的许多民主党人都试图通过编造一个故事来诋毁我，说我只是总统的杂役，根据他的指示处理刑事案件。”“从邀请我参加听证会的信来看，这似乎是你今天的议程。”
巴尔接着说，特朗普“没有试图干涉”他的起诉决定，这可能包括减少对总统的老朋友、竞选顾问罗杰·斯通的量刑建议，以及撤销对他的第一任国家安全顾问迈克尔·弗林的指控。
巴尔说:“我在刑事问题上的决定是由我根据法律和事实作出的独立判断，没有来自白宫或国务院以外任何人的任何指示或干涉。”
上午11点33分，纳德勒称巴尔“帮助和教唆了特朗普最严重的失败”，乔丹在俄罗斯调查后，播放了抗议活动周围的暴力视频
在出席听证会的路上发生了一场小车祸后，纳德勒表示自己没事。他首先将巴尔描绘成一名腐败的演员，公然滥用国家最高执法机构的权力，从个人和政治上为特朗普谋利。
纳德勒说:“你的任期标志着一个持续的战争，对该部门的专业核心，显然是为了争取总统的青睐。”"你在这个部门任职期间，帮助和纵容了总统最大的失败。"
2020年7月28日，华盛顿，国会游客中心，众议院司法委员会主席杰里·纳德勒在询问司法部长威廉·巴尔之前
他指责巴尔最近对抗议者采取的行动以及对波特兰和西雅图骚乱的处理。巴尔在波特兰和西雅图为被派去保护联邦法院的联邦官员的行为进行了辩护。
纳德勒说:“其他人已经忽视了民权法的重要性，但现在我们看到联邦政府的全部力量，对公民示威游行，以促进自己的公民权利。”“美国司法部以如此站不住脚的借口或如此琐碎的目的，积极寻求与美国公民的冲突，这是没有先例的。”
纳德勒接着预览了众议院民主党人将寻求与巴尔对抗的几个争议，包括但不限于在经历动荡和抗议的城市部署联邦执法、关于大规模选民欺诈的毫无根据的声明，以及通过调查发起俄罗斯调查的调查人员来“放大”特朗普的阴谋。
纳德勒说:“这些行动发出的信息是明确的，在这个司法部门，总统的敌人将受到惩罚，他的朋友将受到保护，无论代价如何，无论自由的代价如何，无论正义的代价如何。”“政府把司法部扭曲成一个影子，只有在它第一次为当权者服务之后，它才能为大多数美国人服务。”巴尔先生，这个委员会有责任保护美国人民免遭这种腐败。”
共和党高级成员吉姆·乔丹接着接手，用他的话来强调在俄罗斯调查开始时被指控的虐待行为。
“刺探，那一个字。这就是为什么他们在找你，司法部长先生。”
乔丹接着介绍了一段约10分钟长的视频剪辑，视频剪辑来自媒体和其他政界人士，他们将全国各地的抗议称为“和平抗议”，并附有暴力片段和圣路易斯退休警察队长大卫·多恩(David Dorn)的一名家庭成员的情感陈述。大卫·多恩于6月2日在该市被抢劫者开枪打死。
2020年7月28日，华盛顿特区，司法部长威廉·巴尔在国会众议院监督委员会面前宣誓。
上午9:38听证会在纳德勒车祸后被推迟
一位委员会消息人士证实，众议院司法委员会主席杰里·纳德勒(Jerry Nadler)在前往听证会的途中遭遇车祸，但他没事，当时正坐出租车前往国会山。
汽车撞到了什么东西，但纳德勒没有受伤。
听证会的开始将被推迟至少45分钟。
Contentious 5-hour House hearing with AG William Barr concludes
Attorney General William Barr is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday for the first time in his year-and-a-half long tenure as the nation's top law enforcement official.
Democrats are grilling him over a long list of controversies and his repeated interventions in matters of interest to PresidentDonald Trump.
Barr's appearance follows more than a year of stand-offs and delays -- he hasn't appeared before any congressional committee since May 2019 when he testified to a Senate panel on his handling of former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election -- later declining to appear before the House.
Here's how the hearing unfolded:
3:58 p.m. Hearing adjourned
Chairman Nadler adjourned the hearing after a contentious five hours.
2:30 p.m. Barr says use of tear gas appropriate 'to disperse unlawful assembly'
In an exchange during which Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., asks Barr a question about the use of tear gas on Portlander Christopher David -- a Navy veteran seen on viral video being beaten by federal agents -- Barr says, "I don't know what kind of gas it was."
Barr went on to defend the federal presence in Portland and the use of force against protesters, claiming that agents are needed to prevent "violent attacks on federal courts" from "metastasizing around the country."
Asked by Cicilline if it's ever appropriate for officers to use force against peaceful protesters, Barr says it is when the gathering is unlawful.
"It is appropriate to use tear gas when it's indicated -- to disperse an unlawful assembly and sir, unfortunately peaceful protesters are affected by that," Barr said.
But Barr continued to deny the use of tear gas at Lafayette Park on June 1, even as a U.S. National Guard major testified in a different House hearing Tuesday that there was, and that he picked up the shells on the street that day.
Cicilline also asks Barr whether it's ever appropriate to accept or solicit foreign election assistance.
"Depends what kind of assistance," Barr said, before being pressed further. "No, it's not appropriate."
"OK, sorry you had to struggle with that one, Mr. Attorney General," Cicilline quipped back.
When Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Mich., challenged Barr on why white nationalist protesters in Michigan earlier this year did not face the same federal response as Black Live Matter protesters, Barr argues it's a matter for governors.
Jayapal also called Barr's denials that tear gas was used in Lafayette Park a "semantic distinction."
1:52 p.m. Committee takes a recess
The House Judiciary Committee take a recess for approximately five minutes.
1:48 p.m. Barr fields questions on why he isn't investigating Trump for Stone commutation, defends BOP decision to revoke Cohen's home confinement
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Mass., presses Barr on why he hasn't launched an investigation into Trump based on his commutation of Stone's sentence and previous testimony during Barr's confirmation in which he said it would be illegal for a president to pardon someone in exchange for a promise that the person not incriminate him.
"Why should I?" Barr said when Swalwell asks why he wasn't investigating Trump.
Swalwell goes on to ask Barr if he was aware of a tweet from the president that said Stone's decision not to cooperate with Mueller's prosecutors showed "guts," and Barr answers he didn't read the president's tweets. Barr then said he believes Swalwell was operating on a "Rube Goldberg" theory in saying the pattern of facts justified an investigation into Trump.
"If I applied this standard there would be a lot more people under investigation," Barr said.
Barr then defends the Federal Bureau of Prisons' decision to try and revoke Michael Cohen's release to home confinement after he refused to sign an agreement restricting him from publishing a book -- a decision that a judge reversed last week stating DOJ's actions appeared "retaliatory."
"Something that people don't seem to understand is that his home confinement was not being supervised by the Bureau of Prisons," Barr said. "It was being supervised by the probation office which is part of the U.S. Court system and it was the U.S. Court system that had the requirements about not writing."
Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California then pushes Barr for answers on why those involved in the early stages of the Russia investigation have not been prosecuted.
Barr answers that the COVID-19 crisis delayed some actions U.S. Attorney John Durham was looking to take as part of his investigation, seemingly referring to convening grand juries, before adding, "He is working very diligently and justice isn't something you order up on a schedule like you order pizza."
He then tells McClintock that he "understood" his concern that should Trump be defeated in November it could endanger Durham's investigation.
Barr also criticizes Democrats for what he describes as their failure to condemn those who have sought to vandalize federal courthouses.
"What makes me concerned for the country is this is the first time in my memory that the leaders of one of our great two political parties, the Democratic party, are not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts," Barr said. "Why can't we just say, you know, the violence against federal courts has to stop? Could we hear something like that?"
1:21 p.m. Barr vents anger in exchange on Stone, faces questions on 2020 election
Barr appears to be growing increasingly rankled as Democrats lob accusation after accusation against him, while either declining to let him respond or interrupting him, saying they are reclaiming their time when he tries to answer.
During a probing line of questioning about Barr's intervention in the sentencing recommendation for longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Pa., attempts to drill down why Barr would overrule prosecutors who had issued their recommendations for Stone's sentencing based on clearly spelled out DOJ guidelines, as well as who raised the case with Barr in the first place.
Barr fires back, noting that Judge Amy Berman Jackson eventually sentenced Stone to three years in prison, below the original recommendation Barr had overruled.
"The judge agreed with me, Congressman, the judge agreed with me!" Barr said as Deutch pressed him.
"The issue here is whether Roger Stone was treated different because he was friends with the president," Deutch said. "Mr. Attorney General, can you think of any other cases where the defendant threatened to kill a witness, threatened a judge, lied to a judge, where the Department of Justice claimed that those were mere technicalities?"
Barr declines to answer the question directly, instead repeating his previous statement that Judge Berman Jackson "agreed" with his lowered recommendation.
During later questioning with vice presidential hopeful Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., Barr says he is not familiar with the high-profile case of the death of Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old unarmed Black man who died after he was apprehended by Aurora, Colorado, police in August 2019.
Rep. Cedric Richmond questions Barr on his unfounded claims that increased mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud.
Barr, asked whether he believed the 2020 presidential election will be "rigged," says, "I have no reason to think it will be." He adds, though, that he stood by his claims that increased mail-in voting presents a "high risk" of massive fraud.
"What I have talked about, made very clear is that I'm not talking about accommodations by people of who have to be out of the state or have particular need not to -- inability to go and vote," Barr said. "What I'm talking about is the wholesale conversion of the election to mail-in voting."
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries confronts Barr with statements from Trump that he says raise the idea that Trump might not leave office if defeated in November. Asked what he would do if Trump loses but refuses to leave office, Barr answers, "If the results are clear I would leave office."
Asked to defend his praise of Trump's response to the COVID-19 crisis, Barr argues former President Barack Obama was largely to blame for the current lag in testing the country is experiencing.
"The problem with the testing system was a function of President Obama's mishandling at the CDC and efforts to centralize everything in the CDC," Barr said.
"That is inaccurate," Jeffries shoots back.
12:40 p.m. Barr asks for a recess
Barr asks for a recess, and the House Judiciary hearing stands adjourned for approximately five minutes.
12:35 p.m. Barr denies his original order to clear the protesters was related to Trump's photo-op
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas seeks to push Barr on his statements that he doesn't believe "systemic racism" exists broadly in police departments across the country.
"I don't agree there's systemic racism in police departments generally in this country," Barr said.
Confronted by Lee about the limited number of civil rights prosecutions conducted during the Trump Administration, Barr says he believes prosecutions under Section 241 and 242 "are extremely strong," while adding some prosecutions this year have been disrupted because grand juries have largely been suspended during the COVID-19 crisis.
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee goes on to aggressively question Barr about his involvement in the clearing of the mostly peaceful protest in Lafayette Square on June 1.
Barr says he first learned President Trump might come out of the White House "sometime in the afternoon" and that he only learned "later in the afternoon" that he might visit St. John's Church for his photo-op -- but again denies his original order to clear the protesters was related to the photo-op.
In an exchange with Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Barr says he agreed that those who have referred to law enforcement sent to Portland as "storm troopers" are potentially endangering the officers on the ground.
"I think that's possible," Barr said. "I think it's irresponsible to call these federal law enforcement officers storm troopers."
Reviving Barr's comments made to ABC News criticizing President Trump's tweets on the Roger Stone case, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., seeks to get Barr to admit that Trump's tweet influenced his decision to overrule the prosecutors' sentencing recommendation.
"It was within the guidelines but it was not within Justice Department policy in my view," Barr replied. "Let me ask you. Do you think it's fair? Do you think it is fair for a 67-year-old man to be sent to prison for seven to nine years?"
Barr then appears to forget that the Justice Department also sought at one point to revise the sentencing recommendation against Flynn before it moved to withdraw the case against him altogether.
12:06 p.m. Barr pushes back against accusations he has politicized the DOJ, says officers are "on the defense" in Portland
Nadler begins his line of questioning noting that Barr incorrectly stated at a July 22 press conference at the White House that the pilot launch of "Operation Legend" in Kansas City had yielded 200 arrests in a span of mere weeks.
"Correct," Barr said, when Nadler noted Barr "misspoke."
"Operation Legend" in Kansas City has, in fact, had only resulted in one arrest in Kansas City at the time Barr made his remarks.
Nadler uses the exchange to try to accuse Barr of wielding the Justice Department's powers to assist in Trump's campaign for reelection. He pushes him to answer whether he's discussed the campaign with Trump, and Barr acknowledges it has come up in conversations but seeks to disconnect that from law enforcement matters.
Barr repeatedly pushes back, saying he rejects the idea that the department has sought to suppress protests rather than arrest those committing violence and vandalism of federal property. He also argues Nadler was conflating the anti-crime initiative under "Operation Legend" and the deployment of federal officers to cities where rioters have threatened federal property.
In his first exchange with a Republican on the committee, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Barr seeks to negate claims that he has politicized the Justice Department.
"What enemies [of the administration] have I indicted? Could you point to one indictment?" Barr said. "You you say I helped the president's friends. The cases that are cited, the Stone case and the Flynn case, are both cases where I determined that some intervention was necessary to rectify the rule of law."
He repeats that he believes the prosecution of Roger Stone was "righteous" and that he only intervened out of a belief that the prosecutors initially recommended an excessive sentence for him.
"The president's friends don't deserve special breaks but they also don't deserve to be treated more harshly than other people," Barr said.
Asked if he believes the role of the attorney general was to be the "president's wingman," as Eric Holder one referred to himself, Barr answers, "No, I have already described what I think the duty of the attorney general is."
He adds of the actions by federal officers in Portland that they are largely, "on the defense" against violent rioters trying to damage the courthouse.
"We are not looking for trouble," Barr said. "If the state and city would provide the law enforcement services that other jurisdictions do we would have no need for additional Marshals in the courthouse."
11:46 a.m. Barr says Justice Department operates independent from Trump
In his opening remarks, Barr defends his "independent judgment" in Justice Department handlings, insisting he has not inappropriately acted to please the president.
"Ever since I made it clear that I was going to do everything I could to get to the bottom of the grave abuses involved in the bogus 'Russiagate' scandal, many of the Democrats on this committee have attempted to discredit me by conjuring up a narrative that I am simply the president's factotum who disposes of criminal cases according to his instructions," Barr said. "Judging from the letter inviting me to this hearing, that appears to be your agenda today."
Barr goes on to say Trump "has not attempted to interfere" in his prosecutorial decisions, which might include lessening the sentencing recommendation for the president's longtime friend and campaign adviser Roger Stone and the move to dismiss charges against his first national security adviser Michael Flynn.
"My decisions on criminal matters have been left to my independent judgment, based on the law and fact, without any direction or interference from the White House or anyone outside the Department," Barr said.
11:33 a.m. Nadler says Barr has "aided and abetted the worst failings" of Trump, Jordan goes after Russia investigation, playing video of violence around protests
After saying he's fine after a minor car accident on the way to the hearing, Nadler opens by portraying Barr as a corrupt actor blatantly bending the power of the nation's top law enforcement agency to benefit Trump personally and politically.
"Your tenure has been marked by a persistent war against the department's professional core in an apparent attempt to secure favors for the president," Nadler said. "In your time at the department, you have aided and abetted the worst failings of the president."
He takes Barr to task for the department's recent actions against protesters and its handling of the unrest in Portland and Seattle, where Barr has defended the actions of federal officers sent to protect federal courthouses.
"Others have lost sight of the importance of civil rights law, but now we see the full force of the federal government brought to bear against citizens demonstrating for the advancement of their own civil rights," Nadler said. "There is no precedent for the Department of Justice to actively seek out conflict with American citizens under such flimsy pretext or for such petty purposes."
Nadler goes on to preview several controversies that House Democrats will look to confront Barr on, including but not limited to the deployment of federal law enforcement to cities experiencing unrest and protests, unfounded statements regarding mass voter fraud, and "amplifying" conspiracies coming from Trump by investigating the investigators who launched the Russia probe.
"The message these actions send is clear, in this Justice Department the president's enemies will be punished and his friends will be protected no matter the cost, no matter the cost of liberty, no matter the cost of justice," Nadler said. "The administration has twisted the Department of Justice into a shadow of its former self capable of serving most Americans only after it has first served those in power. This committee has a responsibility to protect Americans from that kind of corruption, Mr. Barr."
Republican ranking member Jim Jordan then takes over, using his remarks to highlight alleged abuses in the beginnings of the Russia investigation.
"Spying, that one word. That's why they are after you, Mr. Attorney General," Jordan said.
Jordan then introduces a roughly 10-minute long video splicing clips from the media and other politicians referring to protests around the country as "peaceful protests" side- by-side with clips of violence and an emotional statement from a family member of retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, who was shot and killed by looters in the city on June 2.
9:38 a.m. Hearing delayed after Nadler in car crash
A committee source confirms House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., was in a car accident on his way to the hearing, but he is OK and was en route to Capitol Hill in a cab.
The car hit something, but Nadler was not injured.
The hearing's start will be delayed for at least 45 minutes.
