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Wednesday, 29 July 2020_Democrats on Tuesday grilled Attorney General William Barr at a contentious, daylong congressional hearing over the Justice Department's handling of politically sensitive cases, federal intervention in major cities during this summer's social unrest, and President Donald Trump's mail-in voting conspiracies.
In his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee, Barr said George Floyd's death at the hands of police in May "understandably jarred the whole country and forced us to reflect on longstanding issues in our nation."
And while it was a "shocking event," Barr said, "The fact is that these events are fortunately quite rare."
Democrats on Tuesday grilled Attorney General William Barr at a contentious, daylong congressional hearing over the Justice Department's handling of politically sensitive cases, federal intervention in major cities during this summer's social unrest, and President Donald Trump's mail-in voting conspiracies.
In his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee, Barr said George Floyd's death at the hands of police in May "understandably jarred the whole country and forced us to reflect on longstanding issues in our nation."
And while it was a "shocking event," Barr said, "The fact is that these events are fortunately quite rare."
"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," he testified.
Barr added, "The threat to black lives posed by crime on the streets is massively greater than any threat posed by police misconduct. The leading cause of death for young black males is homicide."
Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-NY, who said he had to delay the hearing for an hour because he got into a minor car accident on his way to Washington from New York, stated in his opening remarks that Barr has "aided and abetted the worst failings of this president." Nadler added, "The message these actions send is clear: in this Justice Department, the president’s enemies will be punished and his friends will be protected, no matter the cost."
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, defended Barr and said Democrats are attacking him because of "spying. That one word, that's why they are after you."
Jordan then played a mash-up of video clips of violence during protests around the country, which omitted images of federal law enforcement officers and members of the military taking aggressive action against protesters.
Barr defended the actions taken by the administration in Lafayette Square in early June, in which officers dispersed a crowd of peaceful protesters with tear gas and flash bangs. In the days leading up to the crackdown, protests in the area had erupted into violence, with officers getting injured and a nearby church being set on fire — a situation that became "so bad" that Trump was rushed into the White House bunker, the attorney general said.
Meanwhile, in Barr's prepared statement, which he summarized for the committee, the attorney general said the decision to deploy federal agents to several cities across the country where demonstrations are taking place "has nothing to do with the problem of violent mob rioting" and instead is "designed to help state and local law enforcement to meet their basic responsibility to solve crimes and keep their communities safe."
Barr then specifically addressed the situation in Portland, saying, "In the wake of George Floyd's death, violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction on innocent victims. The current situation in Portland is a telling example."
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