I will follow the law…
Attorney General William P. Barr stated, “I will follow the law…”
Common sense isn’t so common these days, particularly on Capitol Hill. I was surprised during the Attorney General Barr hearing on July 28th, 2020 to hear Congressmen up in arms over Attorney General Barr’s answer when he said, “I will follow the law.”
What more can the lawmakers of our nation expect of the Attorney General under any President?
Looking back a few years, I can think of many Attorney Generals who have not followed the laws set forth by Congress, and I wish they had. I found it absolutely refreshing that William Barr, when posed the question of what he would do on several given issues, responded, “I will follow the law.”
William Barr, a statesman, serving his second term at the state department as Attorney General remained stoic, controlled, and professional throughout the four-plus hours of unreasonably rude behavior by most of the Congressional Representatives. Numerous times, as Barr attempted to answer questions, he was reminded that he was speaking to Congress, interrupted, and essentially told to shut up — they didn’t want to hear what he said. Ms. Dean, Madeleine Cunnane Dean, an American politician and the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania’s 4th congressional district, accused Barr of being disrespectful of her and her position. Ms. Dean hales from Montgomery County, an affluent suburban county north of Philadelphia. Perhaps, her overreaching estimation of herself had something to do with her accusations?
Barr’s numerous attempts to clarify statements, misstatements, and outright lies by various members of the Congress were met with more rude arguments from elected representatives. I was shocked to hear one, in particular, Congresswoman Jayapal, respond when Barr answered her question, with, “I’m starting to lose my temper…” as she continued misrepresenting facts in her own “testimony” during the hearing. Her accusations of Attorney General Barr’s inactivity in state protests were actually outside the Attorney General’s jurisdiction, yet she continued to slam her fist on the desk and shout, “This is my time and I control it!” Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Washington’s 7th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, her district includes most of Seattle as well as suburban areas of King County.
Response allowed by Congressman Watkins —
In order to respond to Congresswoman Jayapal’s accusations, Barr requested the next Congressman allow him a moment to respond. He was given the moment to respond by the Kansas Congressman. Steven Charles Watkins Jr. is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Kansas’s 2nd congressional district since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Repeatedly during the four-plus hour hearing on the floor of Congress, Barr was accused of partisan behavior, misrepresentation of his office, or other crimes against Americans. None of these accusations actually included factual data or proof. In most cases, Barr was prevented from responding on any level to the accusations, and more rhetoric was release against him. In many cases, his own words were misquoted from news reports and other documents (most entered into the record as references to his alleged lies), when he would ask for clarification, even among some of the more reasonable democrat representatives, those requests were denied.
When Congresswoman Demings attempted to misrepresent his words from his confirmation hearing, she actually called him a liar and reasserted her misrepresentation as fact. Congresswoman Valdez Venita Demings, an American politician and former police officer serving as the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 10th congressional district since 2017, began with a friendly cognizance, smiling, as if she were supportive of Attorney General Barr, allowing him to respond to her first questions, before ripping into him with her misrepresentations. With her background, from 2007 to 2011, she was Chief of the Orlando Police Department, the first woman to lead the department, capping a 27-year career with the department, I actually found her behavior and accusations to be incredibly rude and offensive.
Disrespectful Nadler’s Call —
After Acting Speaker Jerry Nadler arriving more than forty-five minutes late to the hearing, he still refused Attorney General Barr’s request near the end of the hearing for a five-minute recess to go to the bathroom. Reprehensible behavior from anyone, but exceptionally rude and obnoxious coming from the acting speaker, after having arrived late to the hearing, inconveniencing Congressmen, staff, media, and particularly the Attorney General. With this as the beginning of the hearing, the continued assaults on Barr’s professionalism throughout the day, which included accusations of racism and misconduct, I can’t imagine the Attorney General returning any time soon for a repeat of such despicable behavior.
As one person suggested, “He doesn’t need to show up, just send a photo of himself they can tape to the chair, so they have someone in place where they can direct their political rants.”
Instead, our Attorney General William P. Barr comported himself with great dignity, even when Congresswoman Dean berated him, informing him that she’d waited a long time for him to be available for such a hearing, and he asked, “You’ve waited a long time to talk to me like this? You didn’t need to wait so long.” Still, he treated Ms. Dean respectfully when asking for clarification, until he laughed at her obfuscation and rude behaviors. When she demanded a yes or no answer to her misrepresentations, he still responded, “I will follow the law.”
I, for one, am grateful, he will follow the law. Thank you, Attorney General Barr, for being the statesman and honorable man that you are.