Barr is expected to face another contempt vote next week
Another contempt vote against Attorney General William Barr is likely to take place next week.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee is proceeding with plans to hold Barr in contempt, as the Justice Department and the Commerce Department did not provide documents subpoenaed by the committee by the Thursday deadline, The Hill reports. These documents have to do with the committee's investigation into the Trump administration adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The panel will also vote on holding Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt.
"We gave Attorney General Barr and Secretary Ross every opportunity to produce the documents the Committee needs for our investigation, but rather than cooperate, they have decided that they would rather be held in contempt of Congress," Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said.
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This comes after the committee on Monday threatened Barr and Ross with this contempt vote but again asked for the requested documents by Thursday. Now that the documents were not provided, The Hill reports the vote is likely to take place the very same week the House of Representatives is to vote on holding Barr in contempt for not turning over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's full, unredacted report and its underlying evidence. The House Judiciary Committee in May voted in favor of holding Barr in contempt.
Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd in a letter to Cummings criticized the House Oversight and Reform Committee's action as "premature," CNN reports, also saying that "we are disappointed by the Committee's mischaracterization of the Department's continued and ongoing efforts to accommodate the Committee's oversight interests."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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