May 9, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 77 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Attorney General Barr

  Madam President, yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee voted to 
hold Attorney General Barr in contempt of Congress. Mr. Barr has been 
transparent. He made the Mueller report available to them--99 percent 
unredacted in the obstruction section of that report. Instead of 
reading it, the Democrats, who voted for contempt, moved like lightning 
straight to the charge of contempt. To me, that is not good-faith 
negotiation.
  In a similar situation, now a few years ago, in a Democratic 
administration, with a Democratic Attorney General, with a House of 
Representatives held by Republicans, the House only held Attorney 
General Holder in contempt after many months of negotiation over 
documents that were withheld on bogus grounds; and just for connecting 
that to an issue, that was the Fast and Furious investigation that I 
was involved in as well. We had a very good case against Holder. We 
attempted to negotiate with Holder for a long period of time before the 
other body held him in contempt.
  This particular issue of contempt of this Attorney General is not a 
good case. I would like to say, as a person who promotes congressional 
oversight of every Democratic and every Republican President to make 
sure they faithfully execute the law, that what the House Judiciary 
Committee did yesterday, just a few days after Mr. Barr didn't do 
exactly what they wanted him to do and comparing that with the 
negotiations we had with the executive branch of the Obama Attorney 
General on Fast and Furious, is going to make it very difficult in the 
future for Congress to conduct its constitutional role of oversight 
because future Presidents are going to use this as an example of a bad-
faith attempt to negotiate with the executive branch of Government to 
get what you want. Maybe what they want isn't real information or real 
congressional oversight; they may be trying to make political points.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.