WASHINGTON – The Democrat who heads the House Judiciary Committee will subpoena Attorney General William Barr to testify early next month, NBC News confirmed.
Representative Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., is preparing to subpoena the testimony on July 2, a committee spokesperson confirmed Monday night.
“We have begun the process to issue that subpoena,” Nadler said Monday night on “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC.
News of the scheduled subpoena was reported Monday by Axios.
Barr has come under fire in recent days for the abrupt removal of the top prosecutor for the influential Southern District of New York, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, over the weekend.
Nadler said on CNN Sunday that Barr deserves to be charged but that doing so would be a waste of time because the majority Republican Senate will never convict him.
Barr was scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee in March, but his testimony was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, acknowledged that Nadler intends to subpoena Barr, but opposed it.
“Attorney General Barr remains willing to testify voluntarily once the pandemic ends,” wrote Jordan, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. Accordingly, there is no legitimate basis for you to compel your testimony at this time. “
Jordan also wrote that circumstances had not changed enough since March to warrant a subpoena.
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When Barr and House Democrats reached an agreement on testimony this spring, Democrats wrote that they planned to ask him about the Justice Department’s decision to vacate career prosecutors and propose a reduction in prison sentence for the confidant. by Trump Roger Stone.
Democrats also wrote at the time that they planned to ask about the Justice Department’s dealings with Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as well as the removal of Jessie Liu, the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, who oversaw Stone’s prosecutions. ; Trump’s campaign vice president, Rick Gates; and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.
After Berman’s retirement was announced in a surprise move on Friday night, Berman said he would not resign as Barr had said, prompting his dismissal the next day, Nadler said he had invited Berman to testify before the committee .
Jordan wrote that if Nadler issues a subpoena, “I respectfully respect and request a business meeting in person.”
Phil Helsel contributed
