House Democrats just formally moved to hold Trump’s Attorney General in contempt of Congress

The Trump administration is now openly engaged in undoing the foundations of our democracy. Corruption is rampant. The president himself likely obstructed justice multiple times only for his handpicked Attorney General William Barr to ride in and save him by refusing to press charges. Barr himself has demonstrated total derision for the rule of law and has denied several subpoenas from Congress. The man is a disgrace to his office and should be asked to resign immediately.

Thankfully, Democrats have made it clear that they intend to hold him and others in Trump’s orbit accountable. CNN’s Manu Raju now reports that the House Judiciary Committee has officially introduced its resolution to hold Barr as well as former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress.

Barr still refuses to hand over the full, unredacted Mueller report despite a subpoena and McGahn is dragging his feet in handing over documents related to the probe into possible obstruction of justice on the part of Trump. The flagrant disregard for the law would be shocking under normal circumstances, but sadly it fits perfectly into the pattern of rank criminality we’ve come to expect from this administration.

The vote could happen as soon as next week, and in turn, would allow committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to use the courts to enforce the subpoena. It marks an escalation in tensions between Congress and the Trump administration and shows that Democrats are not going to shy away from a fight when the rule of law itself is on the line.

This vote to hold Barr in contempt isn’t his only worry though, as just earlier this week Politico reported that the House Oversight and Reform Committee is moving ahead with plans to hold Barr as well as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress.

The two men have refused to respond to a subpoena demanding that they provide information about the administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the census in 2020. Critics suspect this is a blatant attempt to undermine the validity of the census numbers and give Republicans a leg up. It’s also a transparent attempt to pander to the virulently xenophobic wing of the president’s base.

The highest law enforcement official in our nation is acting as if the law doesn’t exist. He must and will be held accountable.

Natalie Dickinson

Natalie is a staff writer for the Washington Press. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been freelance blogging and writing for progressive outlets ever since.