CBS’ Brennan Grills Bill Barr Over Clearing of Protesters Before Trump Photo Op: ‘These Events Look Very Connected’

CBS News’ Margaret Brennan grilled Attorney General Bill Barr on Face the Nation Sunday over the clearing of protesters prior to a presidential photo op, which the AG insisted were not connected.

To recap: last week protesters gathered in Lafayette Park and were still demonstrating as President Donald Trump spoke from the White House. Networks captured law enforcement clearing protesters out of the square. After the president’s speech, he walked outside the White House, through the park, and to St. John’s Church — which had been damaged when rioters started a fire the night previous — so that he could get a photo op outside the church holding a Bible.

Brennan started by asking, “Did you think it was appropriate for them to use smoke bombs, tear gas, pepper balls, projectiles at what appeared to be peaceful protesters?”

Barr insisted “they were not peaceful protesters” and calling that line a “big lie” that the media has told.

“Three of my CBS colleagues were there. We talked to them,” Brennan shot back. “They did not hear warnings. They did not see protesters throwing anything.”

Barr pointed to the violent riots in the area over the weekend. Brennan jumped in to say she’s asking about the peaceful protesters on Monday, but Barr said, “Let me get to this, because this has been totally obscured by the media”

He talked about the planning that went into the decision to clear protesters, with Barr saying, ” When I came in Monday, it was clear to me that we did have to increase the perimeter on that side of Lafayette Park and push it out one block. That decision was made by me in the morning. It was communicated to all the police agencies, including the Metropolitan Police at 2 P.M. that day. The effort was to move the perimeter one block, and it had to be done when we had enough people in place to achieve that. And that decision, as I say, was communicated to the police at 2 P.M. The operation was run by the park police. The park police was facing what they considered to be a very rowdy and non-compliant crowd.”

He said again there were “projectiles being hurled at the police.” Brennan again told Barr, “Three of my colleagues were there. They did not see projectiles being thrown.”

“I was there. They were thrown. I saw them thrown,” Barr said.

He also made a point of saying “there was no tear gas used.”

“There were chemical irritants…” Brennan started.

“No, there were not chemical irritants. Pepper spray is not a chemical irritant,” Barr said.

At one point Brennan showed Barr a stunning split screen of protesters being dispersed mere minutes before the president’s address to the nation.

“So while the president says that he appreciates peaceful protest, around the same time, this crowd…” she started.

“Well, six minutes difference…” Barr remarked.

“Around the same time the area is being cleared of what appear to be peaceful protesters using some force. And after the speech is finished, the president walks out of the White House to the same area where the protesters had been and stands for a photo op in front of the church where the protesters had been,” Brennan continued. “These events look very connected to people at home. In an environment where the broader debate is about heavy-handed use of force in law enforcement, was that the right message for Americans to be receiving?”

Barr continued to knock the media and insisted those events were “not connected.”

He even claimed he “didn’t know that the president was going to be speaking later that day.”

“You had no idea?” Brennan asked.

“No, I did not,” Barr responded.

You can watch above, via CBS.

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