Jun 24, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Barr agrees to testify before House Judiciary Committee on July 28

Zachary Basu

Attorney General Bill Barr has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee for a "general oversight hearing" on July 28, according to DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec.

The state of play: The news that Barr has agreed to testify comes after House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) threatened to issue a subpoena — and as the committee is in the midst of a hearing about the alleged politicization of the Justice Department under Barr and President Trump.

The big picture: Nadler's threat to subpoena Barr — which would have called on the attorney general to appear on July 2 — came after the firing of of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who had been investigating Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Democrats have accused Barr of intervening in the cases of Trump associates Roger Stone and Michael Flynn for political purposes. On Wednesday, a DOJ whistleblower plans to testify before the committee that Stone was "treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the president."
Barr has also come under scrutiny for his role in ordering federal law enforcement to physically clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square before Trump walked to St. John's Church for a photo op.

Worth noting: Barr had previously agreed to appear before the committee on March 31, but the hearing was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Go deeper: Former Roger Stone prosecutor to testify DOJ intervened in case for political purposes

Add Axios on Google

Barr agrees to testify before House Judiciary Committee on July 28

What to read next