William Barr tussles with Democrats over Portland protests and polls in tense hearing, Internet says 'he must resign'
On Tuesday, July 28, Attorney General William Barr faced the House Democrats at a contentious hearing, where one of the key points of argument was the handling of protests and protesters across states and the deployment of federal agents, among other issues involving the Justice Department, from its treatment of cases involving two of President Trump's associates to election integrity and vote-by-mail in the November election.. As expected the ‘clash’ between Barr and the Democrats got heated as the proceedings advanced.
According to a CNN report, Barr appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time on July 28 in a long-awaited showdown with Democrats. Speaking about the violence and protests, Barr said it is ‘disconnected’ from the death of George Floyd – which he described as a “horrible” incident. An Aljazeera quoted Barr as saying, “Largely absent from these scenes of destruction are even superficial attempts by the rioters to connect their actions to George Floyd's death or any legitimate call for reform.” Barr also denied that officers in Lafayette Square used tear gas to disperse protesters and said it is his "understanding" it was not used despite reports to the contrary.
Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia raised questions on Barr about aiding Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone and first national security adviser Michael Flynn. To which, according to CNN, Barr questioned: "Do you think it's fair for a 67-year-old man to be sent to prison for seven to nine years?" and then added “I agree the President's friends don't deserve special breaks, but they also don't deserve to be treated more harshly than other people and sometimes that's a difficult decision to make, especially when you know you're going to be castigated for it.”
And, as always Twitter had opinions and social media did not shy away from expressing them. Congressman Rep. Joe Kennedy III, tweeted, “If William Barr wants to be Donald Trump's personal attorney no one is stopping him. But he's failed to uphold his oath to the American people. He must resign now.” Some even mocked him by saying that he will be ‘indicted’ and ‘convicted’. A user pointed out, “We've got 98 days till the election and Barr/Durham have not indicted or arrested anybody for Spygate.” Another accused him by alleging, “Barr personally engineered the most brutal violence of all the protests in Lafayette Park & Portland.”
A Twitter user said, “If Barr doesn't creep you out, either your soul or your radar is broken. #ImpeachBarrNOW” People indulged in naming calling as well, with one calling Barr a ‘corrupt idiot’ and another saying he’s a ‘fraud’.
Another important issue raised during this session was about Trump’s statement that mail-in voting will lead to voter fraud. As reported by MEA WorldWide, the president had offered no evidence to his statements but claimed that mail elections could result in a massive voting scam involving robbed mailboxes, forgery and illegal printing of ballots. The CNN report states that when Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Pennsylvania Democrat, asked Barr whether he had any evidence to support his claims that foreign countries could produce counterfeit ballots to interfere in the election, Barr’s reply was, “No I don't, but I have common sense.”
The hearing was delayed by an hour due to Rep. Jerry Nadler’s, (who represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn) car accident on July 28 on his way to Washington DC. Nadler was not injured, a spokesman said, as per the CNN report.