On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders flew into a fury when Fox News’ Bill Hemmer asked her about the Senate Democrats’ interrogation of Attorney General William Barr.
“Has the president told Bill Barr what he should do, Sarah?” asked Hemmer.
“I’m not aware that he has instructed him to do anything,” said Sanders. “What I am aware of is how much the Democrats embarrassed themselves yesterday. The outrageous questioning that they laid out to the Attorney General frankly was astonishing. You showed a clip of Senator Hirono. The outrage that she came to the Attorney General who came there and sat for five hours of questioning was just unbelievable.”
Sanders then attacked the House Judiciary Committee’s follow-up hearing, which Barr did not attend. “There is no witness … because the Democrats saw what happened yesterday and they’ve decided they are incapable of actually asking questions of the Attorney General,” she said. “I lost confidence in [House Judiciary chairman] Jerry Nadler a long time ago,” raged Sanders. “I was unaware he had lost confidence in himself and his ability to do his job. That is to ask questions. The fact that he needs to staff that out is unbelievable. Frankly it’s pathetic. Democrats have to step up.”
When Hemmer pointed out that House Democrats invited Barr and he refused to attend the hearing, Sanders said, “Naturally the Democrats have changed the rules in the middle of the game. They took a vote yesterday, a special vote in order to allow staff to question the Attorney general. He is a cabinet member for the president of the United States. And this is a straightforward oversight hearing in which members of Congress should be able to ask those questions.”
“It’s rare but not unprecedented to do this,” Hemmer pressed her. “1987 Iran-contra. It happened during Watergate.”
“It’s pathetic they can’t do their job,” Sanders continued, undeterred, adding, “We’ve been fully transparent. This thing is over. Time for Democrats to move on … there was no collusion, there was no obstruction.” (The report doesn’t say there was no collusion and offers clear evidence of obstruction.)
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