Dem Congressman Says He’s ‘Ready’ to Throw Attorney General Bill Barr In Jail

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) said that while he doesn’t want to throw Attorney General William Barr in jail for contempt, “I’m ready to do so,” and went so far as to talk about Democrats in Congress “contracting with a jail” and hiring security personnel “to make an arrest.”

On Tuesday night’s edition of CNN’s Cuomo PrimeTime, Doggett discussed the Trump administration’s various attempts to stonewall Congress, including their refusal to turn over Trump’s tax returns and Barr’s refusal to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

Doggett told host Chris Cuomo that one recourse for the Congress is the “inherent power of contempt” which, he explained, can involve arrests and fines.

“You don’t want to throw the AG in cuffs, right?” Cuomo asked, adding “That would cause rancor and division that we would have a hard time bearing in this current climate.”

“All I want is the attorney general to realize he has a responsibility to the public, and not just as a personal attorney of Mr. Trump, and comply with the law,” Doggett said, and went on to add “I don’t want to throw him in jail, but I’m ready to do so.”

And later in the interview, Doggett circled back to that “inherent power of contempt,” and noted that it would “involve our contracting with a jail, and perhaps adding some security personnel to do an arrest, not because we want to arrest or jail someone, but because we realize we have to show we’re serious about this.”

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

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