Democrats discuss whether to hold Barr in contempt of Congress

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday said he will give Attorney General William Barr "a day or two" to hand over an unredacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, and if "good faith negotiations don't result in a pledge of compliance ... the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general."

The committee issued Barr a subpoena for the unredacted report, but he ignored the Wednesday morning deadline. He was also scheduled to testify in front of the panel about the report on Thursday morning, but he notified the committee on Wednesday that he won't be showing up. He does not agree with the format of the hearing, which would include committee counsel asking him questions.

Democrats on the panel had promised to ask Barr, who testified in front of the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, tough questions. A letter Mueller sent Barr on March 27 was made public on Wednesday, showing that Mueller had concerns over how Barr handled the report after it was in his hands. In April, Barr said he wasn't aware of any issues, which "seems to me he offered misleading information," committee member Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) said.

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Officials told The Washington Post that House Judiciary Democrats held private meetings on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning about Barr, and whether he should be held in contempt of Congress for blowing off the subpoena and hinting he wouldn't attend the Thursday hearing. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) suggested impeaching Barr, but there were concerns this could distract from investigations into President Trump, the Post reports. The lawmakers then seemed to agree that if anyone is going to be impeached, it should be Trump. Read more about Barr's refusal to testify and the possible repercussions at The Washington Post.