Barr threat to renege on House grill

Attorney General William Barr may skip a Thursday House Judiciary Committee hearing on special counsel Robert Mueller’s report if committee lawyers look to question him, the Justice Department has told the committee.

The Democratic-run panel plans to allow counsels from both sides to ask Barr (photo) about the Russia probe after the traditional round of questioning by lawmakers.

Justice Department officials also told the committee they opposed a plan to go into a closed session if members wanted to discuss redacted parts of Mueller’s report, according to a senior Democratic aide on the committee, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential communications.

Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and the House panel on Thursday. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said given Barr had agreed to testify, lawmakers “should be the ones doing the questioning. He remains happy to engage with members on their questions regarding the Mueller report.”

It is unusual for committee counsels to question a witness, but committees can generally make their own rules, and other panels have made similar exceptions. Last year, in a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee hired an outside prosecutor to question a witness who had accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Democrats have been anticipating the hearing with Barr as they try to build on Mueller’s findings with their own investigations into the president. House Democrats have subpoenaed the Justice Department for the unredacted version of Mueller’s report and underlying material from the investigation.