Democrats demand Barr, senior officials testify on Ukraine
“Those documents raise additional concerns that the White House has known about and, potentially aided by top officials at the Department of Justice, may have taken steps to conceal presidential misconduct,” they wrote.
{mosads}As part of their hearing request, Democrats noted that Trump mentioned the attorney general specifically in his call with Zelensky. The committee, according to Democrats, should look into the “full extent” of Barr’s involvement “with Ukraine and matters related to the whistleblower’s complaint.”
In addition to Barr, Democrats want Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel and Assistant Attorney General John Demers to be called to testify.
A senior Justice Department official told BuzzFeed News that the final decision on whether to open a campaign finance investigation into the Zelensky call was made by Benczkowski. Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported that Demers was made aware of the complaint on Aug. 14, and CNN reported that Engel was responsible for determining if the whistleblower complaint was an “urgent concern.”
The decision by Democrats to step up their demands for hearings tied to the complaint and Trump’s call with Zelensky comes after Trump reportedly said that whoever gave information to the whistleblower is “close to a spy.”
“This committee should not sit idly by as the president threatens potential witnesses, whose testimony may be crucial to congressional investigations into credible allegations against him,” Democrats wrote in their letter.
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