A US House of Representatives panel has voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress amid a showdown over the Mueller report.<\/p>\n
Democrats on the judiciary committee took the rare step after Mr Barr refused to submit an unredacted version of the special counsel’s findings.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump has hit back by asserting executive privilege over the report, shielding it from public view.<\/p>\n
The White House and Congress accused each other of abusing power.<\/p>\n
The judiciary committee voted 24-16 along party lines on Wednesday to refer a contempt citation against the attorney general for a full House vote.<\/p>\n
Democratic lawmakers put forward the measure after Mr Barr did not comply with a legal order to release the Mueller report minus the redactions.<\/p>\n
The 448-page report was released last month with parts blacked out, including information that is classified or linked to pending investigations.<\/p>\n
The special counsel did not conclude there was a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 US presidential election.<\/p>\n
But Mr Mueller detailed 10 instances where Mr Trump possibly attempted to impede the investigation.<\/p>\n
Democrats say they need to see the full report and its underlying evidence to investigate possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump.<\/p>\n
House judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler said afterwards that the vote was a “grave and momentous step”.<\/p>\n
He called the Trump administration’s refusal to provide the full Mueller report to Congress “an attack on the essence of our democracy”.<\/p>\n
“We have talked for a long time about approaching a constitutional crisis, we are now in it,” the New York Democrat told reporters.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Doug Collins, a leading Republican on the committee, said Democrats were acting out of anger and fear “without any valid legislative reason”.<\/p>\n
For Mr Barr to actually face the prospect of charges, the entire House – where Democrats hold a 235-197 majority over Republicans – would have to vote against him.<\/p>\n
The measure may be largely symbolic as few expect the Department of Justice to indict its own head with criminal contempt.<\/p>\n
However, it would send a powerful message to the White House that congressional Democrats won’t retreat in an increasingly vitriolic showdown.<\/p>\n
Mr Barr is the first attorney general held in contempt of Congress since the Obama administration’s Eric Holder in 2012.<\/p>\n
The White House earlier on Wednesday accused Democrats of a “blatant abuse of power” and blocked access to the full Mueller report by claiming “executive privilege”.<\/p>\n
Executive privilege allows a president to keep certain materials private if disclosing them would disrupt the confidentiality of the Oval Office decision-making process.<\/p>\n
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the president had taken such a step at the attorney general’s request to reject “unlawful and reckless demands” by Democrats.<\/p>\n
She added in a statement: “They didn’t like the results of the [Mueller] report, and now they want a redo.”<\/p>\n
The judiciary committee chairman argued the White House was misapplying the doctrine of executive privilege.<\/p>\n
Mr Nadler said: “This decision represents a clear escalation in the Trump administration’s blanket defiance of Congress’s constitutionally mandated duties.”<\/p>\n
Mr Barr was greeted with a standing ovation as he entered a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The House Judiciary Committee has formally requested Mr Mueller testify, though a date has not been set.<\/p>\n
The special counsel is still a Department of Justice employee, which means the attorney general could prevent him from testifying.<\/p>\n
Mr Barr has previously said he would not mind Mr Mueller testifying before Congress, but Mr Trump has said the special counsel should not appear before lawmakers.<\/p>\n
When Mr Mueller handed in his report, a spokesman said he would be leaving the department “within the coming days”.<\/p>\n
If he does quit, he will become a private citizen and able to testify regardless of the department’s wishes.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, was reportedly served with a subpoena to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee.<\/p>\n
The panel’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in US politics has been rumbling on for the past two years.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"