AG Barr defends federal response to BLM protests at House hearing
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee were tough in their questioning, challenging the attorney general's commitment to serving all Americans
Attorney General William Barr defended the Justice Department’s response to Black Lives Matter protests around the country.
In his opening statement before House Judiciary Committee, Barr said that the May 25 police-involved killing of George Floyd has “understandably jarred the whole country and forced us to reflect on longstanding issues in our nation.”
READ MORE: Rep. Cedric Richmond tells AG Barr to keep John Lewis’ name out of his mouth
He went on to say that Floyd’s slaying was a “shocking event,” which was “fortunately quite rare.”
The attorney general attempted to support his point by referencing statistics reported by The Washington Post. The stats said that eight Black men and 11 white men had been shot by police in 2019. The numbers, however, do not reflect killings by other means including chokeholds, like Floyd’s.
Twitter users were quick to call foul.
Barr explained that “the threat to Black lives posed by crime on the streets is massively greater than any threat posed by police misconduct.” To support his statement, he noted that the leading cause of death for young Black men is homicide.
When challenged on how the Trump administration has dealt with protesters, participating in demonstrations against police brutality in the nation’s capital, Barr defended the Trump administration’s actions to clear out a crowd from Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. The attorney general stated that the situation was “so bad,” that the president was forced to hide in the White House bunker.
The next day, protesters were cleared out with tear gas.
In a viral clip, Rep. Pramila Jayapal compared the federal response to BLM protests to the actions of armed militias in the state of Michigan. Jayapal asked whether the attorney general was aware that the militia had called for Governor Gretchen Whitmer to be “lynched, shot, and beheaded.”
He said he was “not aware.”
“You didn’t send federal agents in to do to the president’s supporters what you did to the president’s protesters,” Jayapal said.
The questioning also looked at the POTUS’s conduct.
When Rhode Island congressman, David Cicilline, pushed him on if it is ever acceptable for the president to receive or solicit support from foreign actors or governments during an American election, Barr proved not to be forthcoming.
READ MORE: AG Barr calls unfair policing of Black people a ‘widespread phenomenon’
Republicans were quite clearly on Barr’s side, at one point, Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas told him, “I’m sorry for the abuse you’ve taken.”
Barr was also questioned about a number of other topics including his concerns about mail-in voting where he echoed the president that it would lead to widespread fraud. He was also asked if he would try to stay in office if Donald Trump loses the 2020 election. Barr said that he would leave if the results were “clear.”
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