Will William Barr Be Held In Contempt Of Congress?

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Published May 8, 2019 at 11:05 AM EDT

Attorney General William Barr testifies before Congress on the Justice Department's investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election.

The House Judiciary Committee is voting on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena to turn over the full report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The vote reflects the entrenched battle between House Democrats and the Trump administration over transparency regarding the Russia investigation.

Following warnings from the Justice Department to the Committee, President Trump asserted executive privilege in an attempt to shield concealed portions of the unredacted report.

What does this mean? From Politico:

An invocation of executive privilege by the White House could tie up Democrats’ efforts to gain access to the report in litigation and negotiations that could drag for months or even years. Though Democrats say such a move by the White House would be baseless and easily dispatched in court, it’s not clear how long such a battle would take.

We bring you the latest.

GUESTS

Ron Elving, Senior editor and correspondent, NPR; lecturer, School of Public Affairs, American University; @nprrelving

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