House Judiciary Committee Democrats found themselves outmatched by Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday, as they lobbed all sorts of allegations at him, asking him loaded questions and then refusing to let him answer them. The Democrat-run hearing was a complete circus, but the attorney general was a force to be reckoned with, not letting the Democrats get the best of him with their absurd allegations and false statements, and calling them out for it.
There were a lot of great moments during the hearing, and I’ve tried to pick out the best ones below:
10. Nadler, the class act
Near the end of the hearing, AG Barr requested a five-minute break, but lacking standard common courtesy, Nadler initially refused to grant it, and Barr’s response was fantastic.
“You're a real class act, Mr. Chairman,” says Barr after initially refusing to grant a him a five minute break.pic.twitter.com/ZXxsF0Ktei
— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 28, 2020
9. A Republican? Who knew?
This line of question from Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania was beyond absurd. Barr is a Republican? Stop the presses! Barr’s response was fantastic.
"Are you surprised I'm a Republican?"
AG Barr responds to questioning from @marygayscanlon over his political donations. pic.twitter.com/xk9EurPzYN
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 28, 2020
I wonder how she feels about former Attorney General Eric Holder calling himself Obama’s wingman?
8. When Barr called out the Democrats
Democrats joined in with the media’s false characterization of riots and looting and destruction of property as “peaceful protests” and AG Barr called them out for it.
AG Barr: “What makes me concerned for the country…the leaders of one of our great two political parties, the Democratic Party, are not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts"https://t.co/1114EbnH2j pic.twitter.com/ngQ8iAp5Ww
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 28, 2020
I doubt they ever will, either.
7. When Jim Jordan played the video of the “peaceful protests”
Jerry Nadler was less than thrilled when Jim Jordan played a video of the rioting, looting, mayhem, and murder that Democrats and the media have characterized as “peaceful protests” nationwide.
“Peaceful protests.” pic.twitter.com/lEg4vNYnG9
— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 29, 2020
Hard to believe that reporters can stand in front of burning buildings and call them “peaceful protests,” but this is 2020.
6. The moment of truth
Barr was invited to answer questions, but the Democrats really didn’t want him to answer them. At one point, Jerry Nadler even admitted that Barr answering questions was “irrelevant.”
Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler says AG Barr being able to answer questions at the hearing “is irrelevant”https://t.co/calUS19zWg pic.twitter.com/Shmjh2JFAy
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 28, 2020
Clearly, Barr didn’t even have to be there as far as Democrats were concerned.
5. Why don’t you let him speak?
Jim Jordan should get a lot of praise for his repeated calling out of Democrats’ refusal to let Barr respond to their questions.
Rep. Jim Jordan calls out the Democrats & Rep. Nadler for continually refusing to allow AG Barr to respond to questions: "why don’t you let him speak? Why don't you let him answer the questions?https://t.co/8IpijwuaTa pic.twitter.com/anWJMV3Jie
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 28, 2020
This happened multiple times.
4. “I’m gonna answer the d*mn question”
After hours of being prevented from answering questions, Barr finally had had enough and told Rep. Joe Neguse what was what.
“You said under penalty of perjury, I'm gonna answer the damn question."
— AG Barr to @RepJoeNeguse when he’s interrupted answering his question.pic.twitter.com/QSKRJDv1VC— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 28, 2020
3. The coffee
This moment is so great, not only for Barr’s response to Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, but for the look on his face as he took a sip of coffee after his remark.
Just look at his expression when he goes to drink his coffee!pic.twitter.com/loQFnP5Y1W
— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 28, 2020
I could watch that over and over.
2. “Since when is it okay to burn down a federal court?”
Democrats have argued that the federal government shouldn’t step in it to protect federal buildings and property and AG Barr destroyed that argument in a matter of seconds.
“Since when is it okay to try and burn down a federal court?" —AG Barrpic.twitter.com/n3NNzsVEEf
— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 28, 2020
I’d like some Democrats to answer that question.
1. “This is a hearing”
The whole point of a hearing is for him to be able to speak. This seemed to be a bizarre concept to Democrats, even when Barr tried to explain this.
“But, this is a hearing. I thought I was the one who was supposed to be heard." —AG Barrpic.twitter.com/aKUexTva3E
— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 28, 2020
BONUS: “Reclaiming my time”
If the hearing was an episode of Sesame Street, the phrase of the day would be “reclaiming my time,” as Democrats repeatedly used the phrase any time Barr attempted to answer their questions or respond to points they had made. The Daily Caller whipped up this supercut of Democrats using the phrase throughout the hearing:
SUPERCUT:
Bill Barr: "The law says…"
Democrats: "RECLAIMING MY TIME!!" pic.twitter.com/pajVJqFBTz
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 28, 2020
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Matt Margolis is the author of the new book Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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