Nadler Throws Down the Gauntlet in Fiery Opening Shot at Bill Barr: You ‘Aided and Abetted’ Trump’s ‘Worst Failings’

Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) went after Bill Barr on Tuesday as he opened up the attorney general’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

The hearing was delayed because of a minor car accident Nadler was caught up with beforehand, but once the session finally got underway, the committee chairman swiftly accused Barr of flouting the responsibilities of his position. Nadler used much of his opener to argue that Barr conducted “a persistent war against the department’s professional core in an apparent attempt to secure favors” for President Donald Trump.

From there, Nadler honed in on Barr’s responsibility for the incident in June where racial justice protesters were forcefully removed from the front of the White House so Trump could have a photo op with a Bible in front of a church. Nadler argued that the nation is witnessing a new civil rights struggle, and that Barr is a stooge who helped Trump use the federal government to “violently” suppress people.

There is no precedent for the Department of Justice to actively seek out conflict with American citizens under such flimsy pretext or for such petty purposes…Although responsibility for the government’s failure to protect the health, safety and constitutional rights of the American people belongs squarely to President Trump, he could not have done this alone. He needed help. After he finished utterly humiliating his first attorney general, he found you. In your time at the department, you have aided and abetted the worst failings of the president.

After Nadler slammed Barr over numerous issues on the country’s civil unrest, he switched gears to slam the AG for “blatantly misrepresenting the Mueller report and failing to hold foreign actors accountable for their attacks on our elections.” He also brought up the charge that Barr has repeatedly interfered in the federal prosecutions of Trump’s allies.

“In the hands of President Trump, a Department of Justice that adopts a dangerously expansive view of executive power and demonstrates a willingness to shield him from accountability represents a direct threat to the liberty and safety of the country,” Nadler said. “This failure of leadership comes at great cost. This administration has twisted the Department of Justice into a shadow of its former self, capable of serving most Americans only after it has first served those in power.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.