barr: >> why not? a.g. barr: why should i? sevenwas convicted on counts during the russian investigation, and he lied. why would he like? it was said he lied because the truth look bad for donald trump. -- in trump not give written answers, that he talked to roger stone during a russian influence operation. there is evidence that trump and stone did talk during that time. you would agree that it is a federal agree to lie under oath, right? a.g. barr: yes. >> a crime for you, a cry for me commensurately for the president of the united states. is that right? >> yes. >> a donald trump lied to the investigators, would you agree was a crime, donald trump would be in the position to expose the law. donald trump said roger stone had shown guts on twitter by not testifying against him. aware of: i am not that. >> do you read the president's tweets? a.g. barr: no. >> they say a lot, and i think you should start reading them he said roger stone had guts. this that i had 29 or 30 conversations with trump during the campaign period, and t

barr? mr. barr: who is the subject of that last sentence? rep. mucarsel-powell: just look at these videos for one second. we have seen violence in venezuela at the hands of maduro. firing tear gas that protesters. using brutal tactics to crush demonstrations. that's what we see from dictators on the left and the right. but it is hard to distinguish these photos from those events and the videos we have seen by u.s. federal police in portland, tear-gassing and breaking the a peacefully protesting u.s. army veteran. very similar. how do you restore the confidence of my constituents and the valiant of this country when every night on television they see these images of violence used against peaceful protesters? we all denounce violence. how do you restore the trust in our democracy? i think that, i think that the force is being deployed against rioters or, in situations where protesters are not following police directions. most ofarsel-powell: the protests have been peaceful, mr. barr. you know that. you are using language for political purposes. let

barr. do you think as the top law enforcement official in this country, that americans who show up easily protest should be expected to be beaten, and have their bones broken by federal officials and pepper spray? a.g. barr: i do not think peaceful protesters should face that. >> is this detecting the first amendment of freedom for americans at least as important as protecting a building from vandalism -- i have not closed the question. you are attempting to take it away and what is worse is for the sole purpose of furthering the president's political agenda. the justice department is responsible for protecting the constitutional rights for americans and not to serve as the president's personal bully. it is worth remembering every separate jet and person who marched to end child labor and abolitionist who marched to and slavery was a protester. it transformed us from colonists into a nation of protesters. they are deep american examples of values, and a desire for the country to be at its b

barr: no -- rep. mucarsel-powell: let me go now to one of the most important topics facing our nation right now, health care. you know in my district we have close to 100,000 people that get their health insurance through the aca. 19,000 of them are living with serious pre-existing conditions. and yet you are working to strip their health care at the worst possible moment, when the coronavirus is killing thousands of people in my state. a.g. barr: they will not be stripped of their health care. rep. mucarsel-powell: in the counties i represent, do you know how many people have died from covid-19? a.g. barr: no, i don't. rep. mucarsel-powell: 1410 people. you were at the white house on march 23 when president trump said that governor desantis was doing an incredible job. do you agree that governor desantis is doing an incredible job? a.g. barr: i have no reason not to believe that. rep. mucarsel-powell: florida now has more cases than in china. a.g. barr: did cuomo do an incredible job in new york? rep

barr. according to the congressional research service, this is the first time you have appeared before the house judiciary committee, both during your first tenure as attorney general 30 years ago and during your current service in the trump administration. welcome. 150 years ago last month, in the aftermath of the civil war, congress created the department of justice. we did so with two missions in mind. first, we wanted to replace a system of party spoils with a core of professional government attorneys. yes, they would be supervised by the attorney general and yes, the attorney general would remain a political appointee, but at its heart, the department would rely on a foundation of professionals dedicated to the impartial administration of the law and an unbiased system of justice. second, congress established the department of justice to enforce the nation's first civil rights laws after the civil war. from that moment on it became that department's responsibility to ensure the right t

barr. according to the congressional research service, this is the first time you have appeared before the house judiciary committee, both during your first tenure as attorney general 30 years ago entering your current service in the trump administration. welcome. 100 and 50 years ago last month, in the aftermath of the civil war, congress created the department of justice. we did so with two missions in mind. first, we wanted to replace a system of party spoils with a core of professional government attorneys. yes, they would be supervised by the attorney general and yes, the attorney general would remain a political appointee, but at its heart, the department would rely on a foundation of professionals dedicated to the impartial administration of the law and an unbiased system of justice. second, congress established the department of justice to enforce the nation's first civil rights law's after the civil war. from that moment on it became that department's responsibility to ensure the r

barr: yes. ep. johnson: i'm sure that we can agree on some things, we disagree on a whole lot, we can on the fact that president trump is just a prolific tweeter, isn't that correct? a.g. barr: he seems to be. rep. johnson: and he tweeted many times about the roger stone sentencing, didn't he? a.g. barr: i don't know how many tweeted about it. rep. johnson: many times, you are aware of them because you from doing s you your job. isn't it true that when prosecutors in the roger stone filed a memo with the court recommending a sentence of seven to nine years in prison, a few hours larry, president trump the sentence recommendation was quote a disgrace. that? aware of a.g. barr: yes. rep. johnson: and general barr, you al hours after that, filed a pleading with the court sophisticating that the sentence recommendation would be changed asking foru would be a lighter sentence for roger stone, isn't that correct? what is correct is that -- what is correct is february 10, monday, i gave instructions as to

barr. good morning to you. >> caller: good morning. i think that the attorney general has had his work cut out from him from the beginning, every investigation that he's had to field and especially with the michael flynn case and what he's doing with that. and that's something that he'll take a lot of questions for today. and i really just don't envy being in that room with everyone just staring you down like that. ready to ask you about all of these things that really -- the attorney general would do and defend because just the mike flynn case is so abrupt and obviously politically influenced. so i think he's doing a great job and does not really get enough respect for what he does. >> it's unfair for attorney general to be in that witness chair, and her words, stare down by the house judiciary committee members. there are several of them on that panel. the testimony begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern time right here on c-span. let me correct myself. right here on c-span, 10:00 a.m. eastern time

barr: no. in the fall we did inaugurate an anti-crime initiative because we were concerned about increasing violent crime in a number of cities and we call that relentless pursuit. unfortunately, covid intervened, and our agents who were detailed for these assignments cannot perform the operation, so the operation was squelched by covid. we cannot complete or make much progress on relentless pursuit. timeer, in the intervening , we saw violent crime continuing to rise, and a lot of that was triggered by the events after the death of george floyd. program afterthe covid started breaking and we could commit to law enforcement resources to actually accomplish the mission, which is to reduce violent crime. i regret covid interrupted our butenforcement activities, there is serious violent crime in the cities. police departments and mayors have been asking us for help, and we have put in additional federal agents and investigators to help deal with it. rep. nadler: yes or no. have you discussed the p

then came attorney general william barr. william barr was 24 years old when richard nixon was forced to resign the presidency. and a month after that, william barr started law school. william barr was in law school with dreams of growing up to be the attorney general of the united states when he watched john mitchell get convicted and sent to prison. he kind of watched because he was in law school in washington, d.c., when that happened. and william barr watched richard nixon's second attorney general plead guilty. he negotiated that plea on charges of perjury he negotiated the perjury charges down to the lesser charge of not testifying truthfully to a senate committee and getting a prison sentence that was then suspended as part of his plea deal. and that is what makes william barr's testimony today so profoundly and deeply shocking. president trump's mental health has been called into question. his neurological function is declining, according to some professional mental health observers. president trump's niece, a trained

barr to talk about spying on the trump campaign. the attacks on barr started a year ago. we have former whitewater independent counsel robert ray on that. he is our guest on the railroading of michael flynn. that came up in the hearing today too. stay right here that's why i like liberty mutual. they get that no two people are alike and customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. almost done. what do you think? i don't see it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ but what if you could stdo better than that?k. like adapt. discover. deliver. in new ways. to new customers. what if you could come back stronger? faster. better. at comcast business, we want to help you not just bounce back. but bounce forward. that's why we're helping you stay ahead and adapt with a network you can count on, 24/7 support and flexible solutions that work wherever you are. call or go online today. i do motivational speakingld. in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i th

pat cipollone and bill barr. they will not resign, and if they do, i will come on the air and apologize to both of them. but i bet my last dollar that no one will resign. they will all look the other way. as you said, we are watching something that makes headlines in this country when it happens in other countries, when it happens in third-world countries, the obliteration of the rule of law. >> nicolle, there is in the specifics of roger stone's conviction, in the specifics of what was learned about him in the course of his trial and spelled out about him in the mueller report, especially when bits about stone were unredacted after his trial came to conclude. we did get some really specific stuff about the president, including a portrait of his conviction and a portrait of the crimes that he committed in obstructing that investigation, which really made it seem like what he was doing was trying to protect the president from investigators knowing what the president's personal role was in trying to interact with t

barr? >> i have responsibility for the federal government. >> senator, i think one of the things people are afraid of is that william barr will look the other way if there are violent protests that are attempting to intimidate people that want to vote against donald trump or, and/or that he might use his federal secret police force he's created to intimidate voters who want to vote for joe biden. are you worried about that? >> listen, at this point, what i am worried about is that we remind everyone of what is at stake in this election, this election which will be, i do truly believe the most important election of our lifetime. joe biden has, for example, outlined a number of plans that are part of his policy to build back better, build america back up to where it can be. and, for example, today he has talked about what he's prepared to do to wipe out as much as $10,000 of federal student loan debt. what he is prepared to do for students who attend public colleges and universities or hbcus,

decidedly not the no collusion, no obstruction spin that barr gave the public. >> attorney general barr is over the course of the president's term trying to undo major activities that the special counsel engaged in. >> a national security lawyer under presidents george w. bush and barack obama. >> he has unwound substantial parts of that investigation and it certainly seems that his intent is to try to unravel as much of that investigation as he can. >> a year later, a federal judge said that barr's handling of the report caused, quote, the court to seriously question whether attorney general barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the mueller report in favor of president trump. but even that was not enough for trump. he sought to hit back harder, claiming the investigation itself was politically motivated. >> i call it the witch hunt. it's all a big hoax. this was an attempted coo. >> department of justice inspector michael horowitz disagreed with those claims. his investigation found that while the fbi made mistakes in the russia probe, it was legally justif

in the hot spotlight this morning, attorney general bill barr. i'm joined now by msnbc contributor chuck rosenberg, served for the eastern district of virginia and the southern district of texas, and he was chief of staff for former fbi director james comey. back with me also once again, msnbc legal analyst maya wily. all-star panel. set the scene for us. chuck, you're going into this hearing, if you're one of the lawmakers on that judiciary committee, what would be your top question for -- or top questions for attorney general bill barr this morning? >> gosh, i would want more than my five minutes because i have so many. i would want to know why bill barr mischaracterized the findings of the mueller report, i would want to know why the president intervened through bill barr in the prosecutions of roger stone and michael flynn, and that's the start. i would love to know what happened in lafayette square in washington, d.c. and why the federal government thinks it is wise to continue to press federal law enforcement agents into service in portland

the attacks on barr started a year ago. also whitewater independent counsel robert ray on that, he'a a guest on the railroading of michael flynn, that came after the hearing today too. stay right there ♪ ♪ when you think of a bank, you think of people in a place. but when you have the chase mobile app, your bank can be virtually any place. so, when you get a check... you can deposit it from here. and you can see your transactions and check your balance from here. you can detect suspicious activity on your account from here. and you can pay your friends back from here. so when someone asks you, "where's your bank?" you can tell them: here's my bank. or here's my bank. or, here's my bank. because if you download and use the chase mobile app, your bank is virtually any place. so visit chase.com/mobile. 1 in 5 people you meet wear yeah. that many! but right now, is not the time to talk about it. so when you're ready, search 'my denture care'. poligrip and polident. fixed. fresh. and just between us. in a highly-connected le

barr? >> yes, i do. but he wasn't talking about protesters. he was talking about rioters. >> apparently the president believes you can be activated to implement the president's agenda and dominate american people exercising first amendment rights if they're protesting against him. but let's look at how you respond when the protesters are supporters of the president. on two separate occasions after president trump tweeted liberate michigan to subvert stay home orders to protect the public health of people in michigan, protesters swarmed the michigan capital carrying guns. some with swastikas, and a dark haired doll with a noose around its neck. are you aware they called for the governor to be lynched, shot and beheaded? >> no. >> you're not aware of that? >> i was not aware of that. >> major protests in michigan. you are the attorney general and you didn't know that the p protesters called for the governor to be lynched and beheaded. >> well, there are a lot of protests around the united sta

barr. that is inaccurate. that's a myth. >> it wouldn't until this administration -- >> that's a lie. president trump falsely called ppe shortages fake news. while nurses and other health care professionals resorted to wearing trash bags and ski goggles to protect themselves. fake news. was that suburb, yes or no? >> i think the administration did a good job of mustering ppe and the national supply of ppe was run down during the obama administration and never replaced. >> now, if you're surprised that the attorney general would lay the blame for a virus that has now killed over 150,000 americans at the hands of an administration that left office over three years ago, you really shouldn't be. the attorney general took the same tone while defending his intervention in the cases of trump allies roger stone and michael flynn, the latter of whom, barr said, was a victim of overzealous prosecutors under the previous administration. >> in fact, there was no basis to investigate -- >> okay. >> -- flynn. and further mo

barr denied any knowledge. he told democrats on the committee, quote. >> i didn't even know of the decision to send him back. this guy needs to get some more feeds on his phone or something. today's hearing also featured repeated angry exchanges between barr and democratic lawmakers on the issue of race and the protests that were set off across the nation in response to the killing of george floyd in minneapolis. at one point barr was asked point-black what he planned to do to countersystemic racism in law enforcement. >> does the trump justice department seek to end systemic racism in law enforcement? i just need a yes or no answer. >> to the extent there is racism in any of our institutions in this country and the police, then obviously this administration will fully enforce -- >> so you agree there may be systemic racism? >> to the extent -- where? >> let me continue my line of questioning. >> i don't agree there's systemic racism in the police department. >> specifically -- >> generally in this country. >>

barr. thank you. and one last question, if i can -- >> in our system -- >> under oath, do you commit to not releasing any report by mr. durham before the november election? >> no. >> you don't commit to that? >> no. >> so you won't go by department of justice policy that -- >> -- justice department policy -- >> any political investigations before -- >> the time is -- >> we're not going to interfere. i've made it clear i'm not going to tolerate -- >> but under oath you're saying you do not commit to not releasing a report by durham? >> i'm not going to -- any report will be, in my judgment, not one that is covered by the policy and would disrupt the election. >> the time is -- >> you would go against your own department of justice policy, mr. barr? >> why don't you tell me what that policy is? >> do you want me to repeat it for you? >> i know what the policy is -- >> the time of the gentle lady -- >> i yield back, mr. chairman. >> the gentle lady -- >> mr. chairman, point of order. point of

barr. >> does it have top -- >> reclaiming my time, you answered the question. i have another question. >> i need to answer that question. >> mr. attorney general, answered the question. >> you said under penalty of perjury, i'm going to answer the damn question. >> are you saying no? >> i think what i was referring to, and i would have to see the context of it was the supplying of documents. >> mr. attorney general, the statement was not limited to the supply of documents. you stated -- mr. attorney general, reclaiming my time -- >> i think that's what i was talking about. >> april 19 of 2019 that the white house fully cooperated with the special counsel's investigation, you knew when you made that statement that the president had not agreed to be interviewed by the special counsel. >> i think i subsidiary quently said i was -- i think i subsequently said they've was referring to the production of documents -- >> a statement saying that mr. berman, former u.s. attorney for the southern dis

barr. what we have to understand is this has become an obsession with chairman nadler and speaker pelosi and others for the last 19 months when we'd seen attack after attack after attack. we ignore the obvious from the thugs and the antifa and of the groups are going after our federal facilities in portland. they seen it in seattle and this has got to stop. lawlessness has to stop and if it doesn't start there i think bill barr will lay that out very clearly today. the democrats will have to figure out why they support this anarchist activity over law and order for the cities. >> trace: what's the democrats focus, do you think? will they go after bill barr for for sending federal troops into cities like portland, not federal troops by federal agents into cities like portland, what's the scope do you think for this hearing today for democrats? >> the unfortunate part is that, yes, everything. they've tried so many times to throw everything on the wall and we will see more of it today and it'

you heard the statement today by barr. he's basically saying, well, if you don't count the ballots by election day, which could be possible if they're postmarked on time, then he has another argument to stall the vote to try to repeat. when the supreme court decided who our president was in 2000. so this is a big issue. one is to create this violence, this provocation, this racist tendency he has so that he can do the equivalent city by city in democratic cities of marshall law and have extra control in that way. the other tool is suppressing the vote any way he can and suggesting that there were boogie men out there that will give us trouble and there is a problem with mail-in ballots when there is none and there is no history of fraud. so sorry to expand on it, but i think the professor is absolutely right. this is a big deal here. >> they're all important points. you started us with shakespear. act one we have an intermission, which is what we call a commercial break around here. i have to keep things moving only for he

the attacks on barr started a year ago. also whitewater independent counsel robert ray on that, he'a a guest on the railroading of michael flynn, that came after the hearing today too. stay right there ♪ ♪ here hey, can i... hold on one second... sure. okay... okay! safe drivers save 40%!!! guys! guys! check it out. safe drivers save 40%!!! safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!! that's safe drivers save 40%. it is, that's safe drivers save 40%. - he's right there. - it's him! he's here. he's right here. - hi! - hi. hey! - that's totally him. - it's him! that's totally the guy. safe drivers do save 40%. click or call for a quote today. (groans) hmph... (food grunting menacingly) when the food you love doesn't love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. ♪ tum tum-tum tum tums ♪ breeze from the air ♪ wind ♪ blows through my hair ♪ don't care ♪ if people see my dancing in my car ♪ ♪ and if it shines or rains oh ♪ i can't complain ♪ it's still a beautiful day ♪ beca

barr for being here today. i'd like to ask you some questions about the legal standard for seizing and arresting protesters. under the fourth amendment, it requires probable cause before you can seize and arrest a protester, correct? >> yes. yes. >> okay. and the probable cause has been particularized to a particular person. so if a protester was merely standing around in a crowd and the vicinity of someone else, suspect or criminal activity, you cannot arrest that peaceful protester. in other words, there's no such thing as probable cause by mere association, correct? >> well, not strictly, but i'll say that you do need particularized probable cause. >> okay. and if there's no probable cause, then -- >> if someone jumps into a getaway car and there are three or four people in there, that may be enough to give you probable cause. just those circumstances. you don't need it on each individual -- >> reclaiming my time mr. attorney general. if there's no probable cause, you can't arrest a protester, correct? >> i

now, in short order, bill barr has decapitated them all. we hope you have enjoyed this experiment in being a rule-of-law country. but we've, apparently, decided that the experiment is over. it's not for us. so now, we'll try what ever this is, instead, that we're living through. i'll, also, just say, keep in mind that this is the same attorney general who has ordered the opening of federal criminal investigations into the obama administration officials and law enforcement officials and intelligence officials, who were involved in investigating russia helping president trump in the last election. it sort of slipped our mind because the way our country's fallen into catastrophe since he did it but bill barr has ordered probes into obama administration officials, intelligence officials, who were involved in investigations of the president. when do you think he's going to want to bring those charges? and which prosecutors' offices do you think he'll use to do it? so that is tonight. on top of the breaking news we have tonight, that feels like w

barr: i didn't ask states to open. rep. mucarsel-powell: you threatened states with lawsuits for stay-at-home orders. mr. barr: things like church. rep. mucarsel-powell: we have the facts. mr. barr: now the united states of america has more than 4.3 million covid cases alone. you, you, mr. barr, and president, working together, are letting my constituents down and it is something that you are going to have to live with. what am i supposed to say to my

barr. >> shame on you, mr. barr. shame on you. >> you have consistently undermined democracy, undermined the constitution, undermined the the constitution, undermined the health, safety, and well-being of the american people. >> you brought your top staff you brought no black people. that, sir, is systematic racism. >> your failure to observe peaceful protesting is ain disgrace. >> let me just tell you. i'm starting to lose my temper. it is my time and i control it. >> 10:32 requires this committee with the conduct of this attorney general and whether you should be impeached. >> laura: for the record, barr's character, his reputation, his credentials are unimpeachable, but i can't say the same for those folks.ha i certainly couldn't say the same for any of the democrat loudmouths hurtling insults at him. less you forget what is happening in major american cities, here is a reminder. >> [chanting] >> sean: the >> laura: the democrats need you to see something very different. >> the protester

attorney general bill barr. i'll be asking a member of the house judiciary committee, congressman eric swalwell, what he wants to hear from the attorney general. >>> and later, more violence overnight between federal authorities and protesters as the mayor of portland pleads for a cease-fire. >>> before we go, people are paying their respects this morning and all day to the man known as the conscience of congress. you are looking live at the public viewing for congressman and civil rights icon john lewis who was the first black lawmaker to lie in state in the rotunda. the congressman died july 17th after a battle with pancreatic cancer. book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. the open road is open again. and wherever you're headed, choice hotels is there. book direct at choicehotels.com. my age-related macular degenso today i made a pland, choiwith my doctor,ere. which includes preservision... because he said a multi- vitamin alone may not be enough. and it's my vision, my morning walk, my sund

barr? >> the inspector general's reviewing that particular instance. >> well, do you think he deserved to get pepper sprayed and beaten to the point of broken bones? >> as i said, the inspector general is going to review the incident. >> so as the top law enforcement official in our country, do you think americans who show up to peacefully protest should expect to be beaten and pepper sprayed and have their bones broken by federal officers? >> well, i don't think that what was happening immediately around the courthouse was a peaceful protest. >> that's not my question. my question is do you think as the chief -- reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. mr. barr, my question is do you think as the top law enforcement official in this country that people should expect to be beaten, pepper sprayed, and have bones broken by officers? yes or no? >> i don't think peaceful protesters should face that. >> that's correct. and isn't protecting the first amendment freedom of americans as at least as i

barr said mark an attempt by the

barr? >> i have responsibility for the federal government, and the white house is the seat of the executive branch. >> mr. barr, let me just make it clear you are supposed -- >> michigan authorities can handle -- >> -- to represent the people of the united states of america, not violate people's first amendment rights. you are supposed to uphold democracy and secure equal justice under the law, not violently dismantle certain protesters based on the president's personal agenda. >> the gentle lady's time has expired. >> it went about like that. congresswoman jayapal, democrat of washington state, to take us off the air tonight. that is our broadcast for this tuesday evening. thank you so much for being here with us. on behalf of all my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, good night. >>> tonight on all in. 150 t 150,000 dead and the president resumes selling snake oil. antiscience agenda. schumer on rescue bill from the senate. and president trump trying to >>> plus, the perversion of dis

william barr. think you could get a man with a higher iq or better credentials to have the office of attorney general. i think that's what makes the democrats mad. truthinding out the real and all the dirt and we are going to get a lot more about that, about how 30 the obama biden administration was -- dirty the obama biden administration was and what they did to try to hurt the newly elected men coming in it was president trump. president trump definitely isn't -- we areccustomed to accustomed to in our presidential office. we are different. i think he has our country's best interest at heart. he's not a politician. he's not slick and smooth and can get away with what a lot of them have, but those democrats have played very very dirty and they're going to get it all put back right in their face. dave in clarkston, michigan. disapprovetrongly and we will start with mischaracterizing the mueller report. when he did his summary and stood in front of the cameras in one of the most outrageous things i'

barr, over here. earlier during your testimony, you talked about gun violence and you ask the question, what about those lives? yes, they do matter. but you believe that police officers should be held to a higher standard? >> yes, and someone mentioned my comment about wish and it permits resistance. we shouldn't take that as a matter of course. but i never suggest that just because someone resists, that that justifies whatever is done. >> thank you so much for that, because good police officers also believe that they are held to a higher standard. so, i'm glad to hear you say that. as a former police detective, i have solved many cases based on patterns of behavior, and there is an alarming pattern, i believe that is developing. it appears, mr. barr, every time a u.s. attorney investigates the president or those close to him, he or she is removed or replaced by one of your friends. you have removed u.s. attorneys in the eastern district of new york, the district of columbia, the eastern district of t

barr's response? >> i agree the president's friends don't deserve special breaks, but they also don't deserve to be treated more harshly than other people. >> reporter: on stone, barr argued that he was treated too harshly, even though justice department sentencing guidelines were fold in the national recommendation. >> this is a 67-year-old man, first-time offender, no violence, and they were trying to put him in jail for seven to nine years. and i wasn't going to advocate for that, because that is not the rule of law. >> reporter: the looming election, also a topic of concern for democrats. barr echoing a false claim by the president that mail-in voting could lead to voter fraud. >> if you have wholesale mail-in voting, it substantially increases the risk of fraud. >> now, the attorney general did say, though, that he has no reason to believe that the upcoming election could be rigged, as the president has often claimed. bill barr, though, not directly answering when pressed by democrats, whether tr

bill barr has said that he is always acted independently. democrats digging in and airing their numerous grievances against the ag. >> reporter: bill barr standing his ground. >> president has not attempted to interfere in these decisions. >> reporter: in the long awaited showdown between the attorney general and house democrats, holding firm he's not using his position to do the president's bidding. >> on the contrary. he has told me from the start that he expects me to exercise my independent judgment to make whatever call i think is right and that is precisely what i have done. >> reporter: democrats laid into him. >> shame on you mr. barr. >> reporter: accusing him of politicizing protests around the country by setting in federal agents, i appropriately stepping to investigate the origins of russia probe and protecting the president's allies like michael flynn and roger stone. bar pushed back. >> you say i helped the president's friends. cases that are sided, the stone case and flynn case are where i determined that some intervention was

attorney general william barr. we have the details next. flushing too much toilet paper, will back up our system. but dad, rid-x contains billions of enzymes proven to break down even paper to keep your whole septic system healthy. for paper, grease or waste breakdown. use rid-x. it's kind of my quiet, alone time. audible is a routine for me. it's like a fun night school for adults. i could easily be seduced into locking myself into a place where i do nothing but listen to books. i never was interested in historical fiction before, but i'm obsessed with it now. there are a lot of like, classic and big titles that i feel like i missed out since i don't have time to read, mean i might as well listen. if i want to catch up on the news or history or learn what's going on in the world, i can download a book and listen to it. because i listened to her story over and over again, i made the decision to go ahead and follow my own dream, which was to help other veterans. i think there's like 180 books in my, in my library no

barr. >> can i just say. >> can i just say my time has expired. griff: it got so bad at one point ranking member jim jordan demanded fairness for the witness only to be ruled irrelevant by the chairman. but when he had the chance. barr pushed back on an array of line of attacks. >> federal courts are under attack. since when is it okay to try to burn down a federal court? supposedly punishing the president's enemies and helping his friends. what enemies have i indicted? who -- could you point to one indictment that has been under the department that you feel is unmerited? that you feel violates the rule of law? griff: perhaps the lowest pointed, brian, you referenced this. it really epitomized the partisan rancher with this moment. >> could we take a five minute break, mr. chairman? >> no. >> that's a common courtesy, mr. chairman of every witness. i waited 45 -- an hour for you this morning. i haven't had lunch. i would like to take a five minute break. >> mr. attorney general, we are almo

ros: let's hear what william barr has to say. anthony is live with us from washington, d.c., he has been it is -- is it fair to say they both set out their story and stuck to it? anthony: it has been a scattershot heang. there is so much ground democrats are trying to cover. william barr hasn't testified before this committee in the years and months that he has the committee issued a subpoena for contempt of congress to him for declining to testify last year. they are asking about use of federal forces portland, -- ros: anthony, i am going tjump in becau as viewers notice, your sound is coming in and out normally when we speak toy, anthe hear them perfectly well, but not today. we will fix at up for the next edition. back to the australian bushfires, new research has found a crisis killed displaced 3 billion animals, three times worse than previously thought. the new report by the world looked at the period fromsays it september to february. the w wf calls it one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history. here are moreeta

cnn ooze obtained barr's combative opening statement. cnn's joe johns is live at the white house with the latest. joe? >> reporter: john, attorney general general william barr definitely in the hot seat up on capitol hill. democrats on the house judiciary committee appear eager to question him and go after him, in fact, on a whole range of issues relating to his leadership of the department of justice from the prepared remarks, the attorney general appears very ready and eager as well to push back against the notion that he is a tool of the white house, doing the bidding of the president. in an explosive opening statement, attorney general william barr accuses democrats of seeking to discredit him because of his investigation into the origins of the russia probe. barr calls the russian scandal bogus and writes that many of the democrats on this committee have attempted today discredit me by conjuring up a narrative that i am simply the president's factotum, who disposes of criminal cases according to his instructions. democrats plan to q

barr. that is inaccurate, that's a myth. >> it wasn't until -- >> reclaiming my time, in april, president trump irresponsibly suggested that the american people inject themselves with bleach. was that superb? yes or no? >> that's not what i heard. >> that's exactly what he said. that is what the american people aired, and you know it, and you can't defend it. let's move on to may. in that month, on national nurses day, president trump falsely called ppe shortages fake news while nurses and other health care professionals resorted to wearing trash bags and ski goggles to protect themselves. fake news. was that superb? yes or no? >> i think the administration did a good job of mustering ppe, and the national supply of ppe was run down during the obama administration and never replaced. >> thank you, mr. barr. the answer is, no, it was not superb. by june, president trump irresponsibly continued to refuse to wear a mask, despite the public health guidance from his own experts. was that superb?

>> william barr was very accurate. spying on americans, that is why that report was so important to americans. they tried the russian collusion, it didn't work. william barr had his people come up, they investigated it, nothing there. the fbi at the top level were all corrupt, that is an understatement what those people did in the russia investigation and fisa warrants are the most important thing you can do as a prosecutor coming a warrant to spy on fellow americans, the omitted information. my opinion a falsified information and that warrant to get it and that is why was important, they tried russia collusion, failed, they tried impeachment, failed, yesterday they tried to attack william barr and it failed miserably. they looked like angry bullies who wanted no answers, thank goodness for jim jordan and the republicans who were there who led william barr answer the question. rob: talking about the riots we are seeing in a number of cities in federal response, william barr said since when is it okay to burn down feder

allegedly the bill barr justice department that sounds bad for barr, think about it, a standard local probation decision is never important enough for the attorney general to medle with >> can you name a case or two, where you have intervened so dramatically where the person involved was not connect to the president? >> off the top of my head, i'm sure there were a number of cases since i've been here that i have done that >> you can not think of one -- >> frequently we don't go discussing who is under investigation at any given time. >> he couldn't think of one. that was an important failure to answer the question. the same bill barr, medeling to help stone and flynn and there's a reason that actually goes much further than just this legal fight, there's a reason they are so worried it could go all the way to the next election trumps allies worried about cohen going public on trump because they remember last time. >> i know what mr. trump is. he is a racist he is a con-man. and he is a cheat. the country has seen mr. trump court white supremacists and bigots, in private, he is worse.

i have been calling on barr to resign for months. and, frankly, since the first time that i met him during his confirmation hearing i suspected that he was not being forthright and that his motivations are not consistent with the role and responsibility of the united states department of justice but are more consistent with the personal and political and best interest of donald trump. and this most recent event, which is the firing of attorney berman is furtherance of that goal apparently of barr's, which is to do whatever is necessary to subvert or obstruct a pursuit of justice by the united states department of justice. >> we saw in william barr's confirmation hearing and in particular your questioning of him his tendency to play word games, his tendency to pick at any given word in your question to see if he could sneak off sideways by using that word. what we just saw in the introduction to this discussion in the house today with the defense secretary, that is probably the ugliest version of a trump word game played by trump admi