Updated Jul 27, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Read: Barr's opening statement attacking Dems and "bogus" Russia probe

Attorney General Bill Barr waves before addressing the Department of Justice National Opioid Summit in Washington, DC, on March 6

Attorney General Bill Barr before addressing a summit in Washington, DC, in Marc. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Attorney General Bill Barr is set to accuse House Judiciary Committee Democrats of trying to discredit him over his investigations into the origins of the FBI's Russia probe when he appears before the panel Tuesday.

Details: In prepared remarks released Monday, Barr states that since he announced his investigation into what he calls "the grave abuses involved in the bogus 'Russiagate' scandal, many of the Democrats on this Committee have attempted to discredit" him by "conjuring up a narrative" that he's simply President Trump's "factotum who disposes of criminal cases according to his instructions."

  • "Judging from the letter inviting me to this hearing, that appears to be your agenda today," he will add.

What else he's saying: Barr also plans to address protests across the U.S. and the controversial deployment of federal agents in cities where there's been unrest.

  • "Largely absent from these scenes of destruction are even superficial attempts by the rioters to connect their actions to George Floyd's death or any legitimate call for reform," he will say. "Nor could such brazen acts of lawlessness plausibly be justified by a concern that police officers in Minnesota or elsewhere defied the law."

"As elected officials of the federal government, every Member of this Committee — regardless of your political views or your feelings about the Trump Administration— should condemn violence against federal officers and destruction of federal property. So should state and local leaders who have a responsibility to keep their communities safe. To tacitly condone destruction and anarchy is to abandon the basic rule-of-law principles that should unite us even in a politically divisive time."

Excerpt from Barr's opening remarks

Read the full statement via DocumentCloud:

Editor's note: This article has been updated with Barr's comments on the protests.

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