(TruthandLiberty.com) – Over the last several months, the partisan House January 6 Select Committee subpoenaed several members of former President Donald Trump’s inner circle during his time in the White House. Several have declined to participate, including Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. According to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the partisan congressional investigative team, led by seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, met with former US Attorney General Bill Barr.
During his tenure, Barr repeatedly clashed with Democrats over false narratives regarding Russian collusion and their attempts to smear Trump over the false allegations. At the end of Trump’s term, it seemed the two men had a falling out over concerns regarding the 2020 presidential election. On Sunday, January 23, Thompson appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to discuss where the committee stands to date, and he coughed up the news the committee spoke with Barr.
Thompson Offers Little Information
The fact the committee talked to the former attorney general is a new disclosure. During the CBS interview, Brennan asked Thompson if the committee intended to question Barr about a draft of an executive order that would have authorized the National Guard to seize voting machines. President Trump never signed the order. Nonetheless, the revelation sent shockwaves through Washington, DC.
Thompson said the committee did intend to ask Barr about the executive order and said the committee already had conversations with him. Thompson wouldn’t reveal any more information.
Does Barr Have Relevant Information?
Moments after the Electoral College formalized its vote giving the White House to Joe Biden on December 14, 2020, Barr submitted his resignation to President Trump. For several weeks, Barr and the Justice Department supposedly looked into President Trump’s allegations of voter fraud and improprieties.
Barr quietly left office just before Christmas. Yet, the days following his resignation were rocky between the two men. Early in December, Barr contradicted Trump’s allegations of voter fraud. The then-attorney general said he found no evidence of voter or election fraud large enough to overturn the election. Barr’s assertion undermined the president’s private legal team headed by Rudy Giuliani, who stated the Department of Justice did little in the way of an investigation.
So, would Barr reveal any new information to the Select Committee regarding the January 6 riot? It’s possible, but it’s also doubtful. By the time of the riot, Barr was well out of the loop of Trump’s inner circle. Still, after the riot, Barr said Trump’s behavior was inexcusable and called his actions a betrayal of his office. Months later, in a harshly worded statement, the former attorney general told ABC News he believed Trump’s allegations were nonsense, initiating a strong response from Trump, who called Barr a disappointment and spineless.
Without context or more public information from the committee, it’s impossible to know what details Thompson might have received from Barr. When will the public learn what Barr told the committee? We may have to wait for the partisan report. Stay tuned.
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