Congressman Cohen Votes to Hold Attorney General in Contempt of Congress

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, voted today to hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress, and the Judiciary Committee sent the contempt citation to the House floor.

Barr has declined to produce the unredacted report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and underlying documents subpoenaed by the Judiciary Committee in its effort to exercise oversight of the Trump administration.

Congressman Cohen spoke at the committee's markup of the contempt citation, saying:

"The Attorney General has been contemptuous of this Committee and the Congress. He was contemptuous last week when he didn't come when he couldn't dictate the terms of the hearing. He's contemptuous this week when he will not bring forth papers…We're talking about the opportunity for Congress to do its proper oversight as described in Article 1 of the Constitution which is being trampled upon. The Trump administration refuses to respond to any subpoenas, destroying Article 1 and Congress' prerogatives…

"Somebody said we're afraid. Yes, we're afraid. We're afraid of the loss of the rule of law. We're afraid of the loss of the power of Congress to be an independent and co-equal branch of government, and we face that today if we don't stand up."

See Congressman Cohen's complete remarks here.