House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is dismissing a bid from the Justice Department to renew negotiations with his panel if the lower chamber cancels a vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt next week, reported The Hill.
In a letter to Attorney General William Barr Tuesday evening, Nadler urged the Justice Department “to return to the accommodation process without conditions” and said the House was not moving prematurely to punish Barr for failing to comply with the committee’s demands.
“The pace with which we are proceeding is consistent with the exceptional urgency of this matter: an attack on our elections that was welcomed by our President and benefited his campaign, followed by acts of obstruction by the President designed to interfere with the investigation of that attack,” Nadler wrote.
In a letter to Nadler earlier Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote that the Justice Department is “prepared to resume negotiations” with the committee on a narrowed request for special counsel Robert Mueller’s materials “provided that the Committee takes reasonable steps to restore the status quo ante by mooting its May 8 vote and removing any threat of an imminent vote by the House of Representatives to hold the Attorney General in contempt,” per The Hill.
Boyd also reiterated the Justice Department’s position that the contempt vote was “premature and unnecessary” and said the department was further “disappointed” by reports that the House had scheduled the contempt vote for June 11.
In a statement, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins (R-GA), highlighted the DOJ’s revelation that Nadler apparently signaled a willingness to work with the DOJ, reported Fox News. (Continued Below)
“After racing to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt, Chairman Nadler finally seems ready to join the Justice Department at the negotiating table,” Collins said. “When Judiciary Democrats wield subpoena power like a sword instead of a plow, their investigations bear little fruit. The House Intelligence Committee has shown us that working with the Justice Department in good faith yields documents. Abusing subpoena and contempt authority, however, has left the Judiciary Committee with little to show for its obsessively unreasonable demands,” per Fox News.
Collins said during an interview Wednesday on Fox News’ “Americans Newsroom”, “We are seeing a Chairman, who frankly has shown in 5 1/2 months [that] he doesn’t really know what he wants, except that frankly, he wants to subpoena everything that moves, he wants to go to contempt.”
“And now, after holding someone in contempt on false grounds, he’s saying ‘now I’m open to negotiate.’ He knows he can’t win in court, that’s what this is all about,” Collins explained. (Continued Below)
Collins suggested that the Nadler isn’t negotiating, but instead, “coming back with the same tired talking points.”
“He’s not having negotiations here because what [Nadler] is saying is that ‘we want what we want’ and to say that there was good faith on his part in negotiations… start with when he asked the Attorney General for something he illegally couldn’t do,” he said.
(Related: Rep. Collins Sends A Letter To Nadler Demanding The Committee Hold Hearings On Russian Interference)
“How can you have contempt for making an Attorney General follow the law? Collins asked. “This is nothing but a circus, and the Chairman frankly, I’m not sure where he wants to go next, except he’s feeding a base that is pushing him.” (Video Below)
WATCH:
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Rep. Doug Collins also took to Twitter where he wrote, “Judiciary Dems still can’t get the facts straight. The chairman left the negotiating table on May 8, grabbed his gavel, and held the attorney general in contempt.”
He added, “Chairman Nadler is again confused on the facts. He calls POTUS a liar when the central lie has been flowing from House Dems, who insisted he colluded w/ Russia despite Mueller’s conclusion to the contrary. Should we expect more revisionist history on Monday? #WeAreBetterThanThis”
Judiciary Dems still can’t get the facts straight. The chairman left the negotiating table on May 8, grabbed his gavel, and held the attorney general in contempt.
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) June 4, 2019
Chairman Nadler is again confused on the facts. He calls POTUS a liar when the central lie has been flowing from House Dems, who insisted he colluded w/ Russia despite Mueller’s conclusion to the contrary. Should we expect more revisionist history on Monday? #WeAreBetterThanThis
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) June 5, 2019
