Rep. Steube: AG Barr 'certainly not fearful' to testify on Capitol Hill

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Rep. Steube: AG Barr ‘certainly not fearful’ to testify on Capitol Hill

Attorney General William Barr should face questioning by elected officials, not congressional staff members, argued Florida Congressman Greg Steube, a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee.

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Greg Steube said Attorney General William Barr is “certainly not fearful” about testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. However, he did not mention speculation that Barr may not testify before the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Steube, R-Fla., made the comments on “Outnumbered Overtime with Harris Faulkner” on Tuesday, the day before Barr is slated to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, his first appearance before Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report.

The House Judiciary Committee also requested that Barr testify. Fox News learned over the weekend that Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., wants to have Judiciary Committee staff -- rather than members of Congress -- question Barr on his handling of Mueller's report.

Barr wants only lawmakers to do the questioning and, according to a source close to the committee, has said he will not come in to testify based on how things currently stand.

The emerging spat comes after Barr endured withering attacks from congressional Democrats, who have outright accused him of sacrificing his integrity to appease President Trump. Barr shepherded the release of Mueller's report in recent weeks, and he has largely become a punching bag for progressives frustrated that Mueller's probe found no evidence to back up claims that the Trump team colluded with Russians.

“You come to Congress to hear from members of Congress to ask you questions. Barr is presenting to the Senate, has no problem with the rules and the way that they have things set up for the Senate committee," Steube said.

BARR SPARS WITH NADLER OVER LONG-AWAITED HEARING

He added, “I think Attorney General Barr is very willing to come to Congress and testify and hear from members of Congress.”

On Monday, Nadler suggested Barr may be “afraid” to take follow-up questions on Mueller’s Russia report.

“If the attorney general is afraid to subject himself to questions where he can follow up, that may indicate lack of confidence in his own position and more to the point, we have to get to the bottom of these issues,” Nadler said.

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“He’s certainly not fearful,” Steube said.

He added, “Chairman Nadler says he wants to get to the facts. We’ve had 22 months, $25 million of a Mueller investigation, 2800 subpoenas, 500 witness interviews, 500 search warrants. We have plenty of facts and evidence that was in the Mueller report to be able to ascertain if the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. And the answers to that is ‘no.’”

“And the attorney general, with (Deputy Attorney General) Rod Rosenstein, agree not to move forward on obstruction charges. They (Democrats) didn't get the answer that they wanted from that investigation, so now they feel like they need to do anything and everything they can to try and investigate the president.”

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Rosenstein, who frequently found himself in the political crosshairs due to his role in the special counsel's Russia probe and whose departure has long been expected, submitted his resignation on Monday to President Trump, effective May 11.