William Barr to defend Trump before House committee, claim Portland unrest not linked to George Floyd death
Attorney General William Barr is set to defend the federal government’s aggressive response to the civil unrest that has spread across the US by deploying more forces. In a tone reflecting that of President Donald Trump, Barr feels “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” that have been sparked by George Floyd’s brutal death in police custody in May. Recently, Trump and his administration have faced massive backlash over deploying federal forces to various cities under an expanded scope of Operation Legend.
Barr, 70, will tell members of the House Judiciary Committee in a much-anticipated hearing on Tuesday, July 28, that the violence which has spread in cities like Portland and others is not linked to Floyd’s death, which he called a “horrible” event that necessitated a national reckoning on the relationship between the Black community and law-enforcing agents, Associated Press reported.
“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 was set to say of the Portland protests, according to a copy of his prepared remarks released by the Justice Department on Monday, July 27.
'Bogus Russiagate scandal'
Barr, who has been known for courting controversies in the past, will also speak on other issues, including the handling of the probe into Trump’s campaign’s alleged ties with Russia. He has called the issue “the bogus Russiagate scandal”.
“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. Judging from the letter inviting me to this hearing, that appears to be your agenda today,” Barr has said in his written remarks that were provided to CNN by the justice department. He has tried to show his unbiased credentials by saying he has acted independently of the president while making decisions in several criminal cases that he has dealt with.
Floyd's death 'horrible', but...
Barr’s testimony related to the riots and the response to them underscores the justice department’s current efforts to differentiate between the rising violence in some cities and the death of Floyd which is being probed as a potential crime. The AG will also acknowledge in his testimony that Floyd’s fate struck a chord with the Black community because it reinforced the allegations that Blacks are treated differently by the police. At the same time, Barr will also talk about Americans who he feels did not opt for an appropriate response by opting for what he said was rioting and anarchy.
“As elected officials of the federal government, every Member of this Committee — regardless of your political views or your feelings about the Trump Administration — should condemn violence against federal officers and destruction of federal property,” Barr says in his remarks. “So should state and local leaders who have a responsibility to keep their communities safe. To tacitly condone destruction and anarchy is to abandon the basic rule-of-law principles that should unite us even in a politically divisive time.”
The federal response to the civil unrest did not go down well with the local authorities as unidentified agents started picking the protesters in unmarked cars and drove away to detention and were only released later. The Trump administration, however, ignored the local dissent and decided to send more troops to the Oregon city. While Barr has defended the broad use of law-enforcement power as necessary to deal with the situation, two government watchdogs said last week that they had launched a probe into the conduct of federal agents responding to the unrest in Portland.
In early June, peaceful protesters were violently removed from the streets in Washington DC by federal officers using smoke bombs and pepper balls ahead of Trump’s photo-op in front of an old church and the president was accompanied by Barr himself. Just days after that event, Barr said that the police are not “systemically racist” and claimed no “chemical irritants” were used to clear the protesters in Washington DC.