Barr Beats Back Bullying Dems: ‘Since When Is It Okay To Try And Burn Down A Federal Court?’

AG Barr: Nightly riots cannot be called protests, ‘it is, by any objective measure, an assault’ on US gov

Barr Outmaneuvers the Democrats

Editorial of The New York Sun | July 28, 2020

If the hearing of Attorney General William Barr today made anything clear at all, it is this: The Democratic Party is unwilling to back up the federal authorities who are defending the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon. In four hours, the House heard from any Democrat nary the slightest expression of support of the officers who are on the front-line of this battle. The hearing will shock millions of Americans.

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One Democrat after another, though, failed to show concern of any kind over the violence at Portland. No Democrat praised the courage of the federal officers. Instead, Democrats mocked President Trump’s motive for sending in officers as political.

Today Amerians learned otherwise. Attacks on federal property and personnel have been going on for weeks. The need for action is plain. Mr. Barr was unflappable, but blunt. One highlight came when he was being questioned by Congressman Steve Chabot, a Republican of Ohio. “Federal courts are under attack,” Mr. Barr said, before exclaiming: “Since when is it okay to try and burn down a federal court?”

That a U.S. attorney general has to make that point to Congress is itself amazing, and Mr. Barr marked it well. “This is the first time in my memory,” he said at one point, “that the leaders of one of our great two political parties — the Democratic Party — are not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts. Why can’t we just say, you know, violence against federal courts has to stop? Can we hear like that?”

Attorney General Barr’s treatment by the House Democrats in yesterday’s hearing was a total disgrace. It was wild. Rational Americans should be very frightened about the current state of the Democrat Party. This party is nuts.

Attorney General Barr showed up to testify today. But Democrats were more interested in shouting over him than they were in listening to any answers.

Worse—they defended mobs trying to burn down a federal courthouse. Dems have turned the House of Reps into the House of Riots.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 29, 2020

2. I hope the American people are watching this.  Most will be disgusted.  This House sucks.  Throw these bums out.

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 28, 2020

Please seek professional help immediately if you watched the hearing today and came away with anything other than the conclusion that Barr is a national hero, and the Democrats are double-digit IQ toolboxes.

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) July 28, 2020

What in the world is going on at this House Judiciary Committee #BarrHearing with the Democrats. It’s insane. They are cutting him off, asking non questions, accusing him of things that are lies… This is wild. Can’t wait to hear what @KerriKupecDOJ has to say about this…

— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) July 28, 2020

in that hearing you witnessed people whose salaries you pay, accuse a man of murder and treason – then refuse to let him speak or defend himself. you think the unbending mob on the street is worse? no, this is. and it’s coming for you.

— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) July 28, 2020

U.S. Attorney General Defends Aggressive Federal Response in Portland

Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday aggressively defended the federal response to violence and protests at the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon.

“Did they do that before or after the fire was put out?” pic.twitter.com/qz1aUPjzJW

— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) July 28, 2020

By Officer.com, July 28, 2020

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday aggressively defended the federal response to violence and protests at the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, and his decision to inject himself into criminal cases involving President Donald Trump’s close associates.

The attorney general’s highly anticipated and contentious appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes amid violent clashes between protesters and federal authorities in Portland and other cities, unrest that Democrats and local leaders said exploded in the days after federal agents were captured on video taking people into custody without probable cause and driving them away in unmarked vans.

“Every night for the past two months, a mob of hundreds of rioters has laid siege to the federal courthouse and other nearby federal property,” Barr told the House Judiciary Committee.

“The rioters arrive equipped for a fight, armed with powerful slingshots, Tasers, sledgehammers, saws, knives, rifles and explosive devices. Inside the courthouse are a relatively small number of federal law enforcement personnel charged with a defensive mission: to protect the courthouse.”

“Since when is it OK to try to burn down a federal court?” he demanded, saying that federal agents were taking the necessary steps to protect federal property, particularly in Portland.

Local officials in Portland say that the presence of federal law enforcement agencies in the city has been inflaming the situation, making the violence worse, not better.

Barr has also come under attack from Democrats for ordering the violent clearing of protesters outside the White House on June 1, a move that allowed Trump to have his photograph taken holding a Bible outside a historic church across the street. Widespread protests, including those outside the White House, were sparked by the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died in May after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him at his neck while he was begging for air.

Democrats more broadly attacked Barr on Tuesday for amplifying Trump’s conspiracy theories, seeking to instigate confrontations with protesters to help Trump’s campaign and downplaying the role of racism in policing.

Barr testified he did not believe police departments were generally infected by deep-seated racism but understood why Black people felt they were often treated as “suspects first and citizens second.”

Democratic members of the committee pressed him on the Stone sentencing.

Trump ultimately commuted Stone’s sentence earlier this month.

The attorney general has also supported the effort to throw out Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to federal agents about his conversations with a Russian diplomat during the presidential transition.