Neal Katyal: It’s ‘Absurd’ That We Have to Keep Waiting for Weeks Until Barr Testifies to House Committee

Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal asked on MSNBC Wednesday why Congress needs to wait for a few more weeks to hear from Attorney General Bill Barr.

Barr is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on July 28th, news that came today amid the committee’s hearing featuring testimony from a top Roger Stone prosecutor who said the approach to his sentencing was politicized because of his connection to the president.

Katyal spoke with Chuck Todd on how stunning it was to hear the testimony of Aaron Zelinsky’s and others about the concerns they had regarding the Trump DOJ.

“You’re right to say, yes, that Barr has said today he’s going to testify on July 28th. I’ll believe it when I see it,” Katyal said. “This guy’s been scared to go to the Hill and testify in the House for months and months and months. He sets testimony and then he backs down. And you know, the idea we have to wait five weeks for his testimony, after hearing what we heard today? After seeing all of the drama about the Southern District of New York over the weekend? You know, and after his episodes in Lafayette Square and teargassing people, I just find it unconscionable. If someone accused me of those things at the Justice Department I’d go the next day and say, ‘Hey I want to testify. Not wait five weeks to tell my side of the story.'”

Todd asked if Democrats need to be “pushing harder here and sooner themselves.”

“Yes,” Katyal said. “I don’t think that the House has done enough to exercise oversight and to sit and wait five weeks more for Barr’s testimony when we’ve been waiting like a year already is getting absurd. So, yes. They should. They should subpoena him. They should threaten to use the funding power against him. There’s a lot of tools they have, they need to exercise them all.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

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