House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that calls to impeach Attorney General William Barr are a “waste of time,” since the “corrupt” Republican-controlled Senate would not consider an impeachment trial.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Nadler if he thinks Democratic lawmakers’ calls for Barr’s impeachment in the wake of the firing of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoff Berman are premature.
“No, I don’t think calls for his impeachment are premature any more than calls for the president’s impeachment were premature,” Nadler said.
“But they are a waste of time at this point, because we know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate which will not consider an impeachment no matter what the evidence and no matter what the facts,” he added. “We’re instead going to do what we have to do without that.”
Tapper asked Nadler if he is calling every Senate Republican who voted to acquit Trump “corrupt.”
“I think in the sense of being corrupt against the interest of the country, yes,” Nadler added.
Nadler has also said he will be calling Barr to testify before the committee. He did not confirm if Berman will testify next week, but said he is “sure he will testify.”
Nadler said Saturday the Judiciary Committee will be opening an investigation into Berman’s firing.
The Department of Justice on Friday announced it was replacing Berman and that Berman was stepping down from his post in New York.