Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) blasted Attorney General William Barr for invoking the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Harris tweeted a clip of Barr opening his testimony by saying “on behalf of the Department of Justice, I want to pay my respects to your colleague John Lewis, an indomitable champion of civil rights and the rule of law,” praising his “commitment to nonviolence.”
“Bill Barr hasn’t lifted a finger as Attorney General to protect voting rights in America. He has no business speaking John Lewis’s name,” Harris tweeted.
Barr testified before the Democratic-controlled House panel on his handling of the prosecutions of allies and associates of President Trump’s as well as his role in the forcible clearing of peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square across from the White House, among other topics.
In his opening remarks, Barr defended the federal response to unrest in Portland, Ore., and said Democrats have falsely accused him of being a Trump loyalist.
During their questioning, House Democrats suggested the attorney general sought to distract from the federal handling of the coronavirus pandemic with the deployment of the federal officers.
Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) pressed Barr on whether he had discussed Trump’s reelection campaign with the president and if the deployment of federal law enforcement had been a part of those discussions.
“I’m a member of the Cabinet, and there’s an election going on. Obviously the topic comes up,” Barr said during his testimony Tuesday. “I’m not going to discuss what I discussed with the president.”