Democrats vote US AG Barr in contempt, Trump invokes executive privilege
08 May 2019 - 22:54Washington — A Democratic-led House panel on Wednesday approved a measure to hold US attorney-general William Barr in contempt for refusing to hand over an unredacted copy of the Mueller report on Russian election interference even as President Donald Trump invoked the legal principle of executive privilege to block its disclosure.
Executive privilege is only rarely invoked by US presidents to keep other branches of government from getting access to certain internal executive branch information. Trump had not previously taken such a step in his showdown with Congress. Contempt of Congress is an offense that can be enforced several ways, most likely by a civil lawsuit, which could lead to a judge ordering imposing daily fines on the defendant or even arrest and imprisonment, according to legal experts.
"Every single day the president is making the case. He's becoming self-impeachable," Pelosi told the Washington Post, referring to the impeachment process in Congress to remove a president from office. Pelosi added that Barr, who last week also refused to testify before the House panel, should be held in contempt of Congress. She last week accused Barr of committing a crime by lying to lawmakers.
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