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U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell sparred with Attorney General William Barr in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
The California Democrat seemed to relish the opportunity to showboat, grilling Barr who was voluntarily testifying on Capitol Hill about multiple issues in a long-awaited appearance. But it was only a few moments in before Barr torched the Democrat for a “gotcha” question.
If there were ever a time to wear a mask, it is when intestinally challenged Eric Swalwell💨 gets excited by the prospect of camera time! 💨💥💥💥
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 28, 2020
Swalwell’s questioning followed his Democratic colleagues’ repeated queries thrown at the nation’s top law enforcement officer while talking over his attempts to respond.
(Source: Fox News)
Swalwell delivered more of the same as he jumped in to question Barr, interrupting him almost immediately.
“Have you ever intervened other than [the Roger Stone case] for the president’s friend?” the Democrat asked, continuing the line of questions about Trump ally, Roger Stone, whose sentence was commuted by the president earlier this month.
“Not that I recall,” Barr responded.
“Does that seem like something you would recall?” Swalwell interrupted.
“I’m saying I can’t really remember — if you let me finish the question, I can’t remember — 30 years ago I was attorney general,” Barr fired back.
“No, I didn’t. That’s because issues come up to the attorney general in a dispute,” he continued, raising his voice slightly as Swalwell began to speak over him again. “And I’ve never heard of a dispute in the department where line prosecutors threatened to quit because of a dispute over sentencing.”
“Americans from both parties are concerned that in Donald Trump’s America, there are two systems of justice,” Swalwell said. “One for Mr. Trump and his cronies, and another for the rest of us. But that can only happen if you enable it.”
“Are you investigating Donald Trump for commuting the prison sentence of his longtime friend and political advisor, Roger Stone?” he asked.
“No,” Barr replied simply.
“Why not?” the Democrat asked.
“Why should I?” Barr shot back as Swalwell used his allotted time to recount issues with Stone before questioning the attorney general about the president’s tweets.
“You don’t read the president’s tweets?” Swalwell asked, to which Barr responded, “No.”
“Well there’s a lot of evidence in the president’s tweets, Mr. Attorney General. I think you should start reading them,” the lawmaker stated, going on to read remarks by Stone saying he was pressured to turn on Trump.
“Are you familiar with that Stone statement?” Swalwell asked.
“Actually, I’m not,” Barr responded.
“So how can you sit here and tell us ‘why should I investigate the president of the United States’ if you are not even aware of the facts concerning the president using commutation power to swap the silence of a witness?” Swalwell smugly demanded.
Barr schooled the Democrat in a few words.
“Because we require a reliable predicate before we open a criminal investigation,” he began, adding that if he “applied this standard, there’d be a lot more people under investigation” and that the two standards of justice were apparent in the “tail end of the Obama administration.”
The exchange sent Swalwell’s name trending on Twitter as social media users weighed in on Barr’s scathing comeback even while liberals applauded Swalwell as a hero.
One thing we did learn today during the hearings: Congressman Swalwell has a 2 digit IQ
— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) July 28, 2020
Eric Swalwell (D, Ca) is right that there are two systems of justice; he just got the descriptors wrong. There was the way the FBI/DOJ treated Clinton and Co., and the way it treated Trump/Flynn/Page et al. Barr has been trying to clean up that mess.
— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) July 28, 2020
I couldn’t even listen to him without laughing
— Gwen Back (@backgwen) July 28, 2020
He is trending with his supposed Gotcha Question. Man I truly wish I could afford a 8 year nap!
— 0 Followers? amirite. (@trooper61173441) July 28, 2020
Bill Barr +1
Eric Swalwell -0
— Kambree (@KamVTV) July 28, 2020
Awesome last couple of seconds in this short clip. No wonder they wouldn’t let Barr speak. He destroyed them every time he spoke.
— Proudman (@PjpincProudman) July 28, 2020
Swalwell got destroyed by Barr. Wow.
— Lisa (@Rockprincess818) July 28, 2020
I know he has a lot of competition, but is there a dumber member of the House than Eric Swalwell?
AG Barr has made him look even more ridiculous than usual!
— Bradley Scott 🙏🇺🇸 (@Hoosiers1986) July 28, 2020
I hope Swalwell doesn’t cut one while he interrogates Barr.
— Dr.Darrell Scott (@PastorDScott) July 28, 2020
SEE HIGHLIGHTS OF BILL BARR’S HEARING
- Real news out of Barr hearing concerned Obama admin unmasking probe that fell through the cracks
- Barr laughs. Here’s the finger-waving absurdity that crossed the line for him.
- ‘I’m going to answer the damn question’: Barr outclasses freshman Dem invoking ‘penalty of perjury’
- ‘You’re a real class act’: Barr sums up day in response to Nadler denying him a 5 min break
- AG Barr slays Eric Swalwell and his misguided ‘standards’ in brutal hearing beatdown
- ‘I think I speak English’: AG Barr spars with Florida Dem Ted Deutch over Roger Stone sentence
- Hostile Ga Dem accuses Barr of not wanting to answer questions as he repeatedly interrupts in telling exchange
- AG Barr: Nightly riots cannot be called protests, ‘it is, by any objective measure, an assault’ on US gov
- Jim Jordan forces ‘Mr. Myth’ Nadler to face reality, plays footage of violent riots in stinging opener
- Be careful what you ask for! Bill Barr plans to clobber House Dems; see preview of the hearing
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