Ex-McConnell staffer slams House Judiciary Dems' conduct in Barr hearing: 'Asking questions, but not really'

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Josh Holmes says Barr hearing 'important' for Americans to witness

Former McConnell chief of staff Josh Holmes reacts to AG Barr's testimony.

Attorney General William Barr's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee is "important" for Americans to witness, Josh Holmes told "Outnumbered Overtime" Tuesday.

Holmes, the former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that he believes the public will be grateful for the chance to hear directly from Barr and not from the "media filter that parses out the facts that he's referring to."

BARR TESTIFIES AT HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING: LIVE UPDATES

Barr began the hearing by defending the highly-criticized federal response to nationwide protests and rioting following the death of George Floyd.

He told committee members that the threat to Black lives "posed by crime on the streets is massively greater than any threat posed by police misconduct" and that "the leading cause of death for young Black males is homicide."

"According to statistics compiled by the Washington Post, the number of unarmed Black men killed by police so far this year is eight. The number of unarmed White men killed by police over the same time period is 11," Barr said.

Attorney General William Barr, center, and Vice President Mike Pence, left of Barr, attend a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Holmes described Barr's statistics as "incredibly depressing" and added that "you wouldn't be able to read much or hear much about it if it wasn't for hearings like this. Holmes went on to say that he believed the attorney general had "comported himself very well."

"It's an incredible mismatch between congressional Democrats who are basically forced to just sort of try to shout over him. They're asking questions, but not really. They're more like statements," he pointed out. "And any time he tries to interject, they basically reclaim their time and don't allow him to speak.

"I can only imagine that's because what he's about to say would refute most of what their question was," Holmes noted.

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"And so, look, I think he's done really well this morning," he told host Melissa Francis. "I think this was an important conversation for the American public to hear about."

"I obviously wish that the demeanor of some of the members of Congress would be a little bit more befitting of the institution that they're representing. But, beyond that, I think that this is an important hearing," Holmes concluded.