“Looks like President Trump found his Roy Cohn,” Welch wrote on Twitter, referring to the late lawyer and fixer famous for his loyalty to senator Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump. “AG Barr should resign.”
In an interview later Thursday with Seven Days, Welch cited the role Barr played in “undercutting” Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice by Trump.
“He really became a defender of the president, rather than a lawyer defending the rule of law for all Americans,” Welch said.
Welch joins many other Democratic lawmakers in calling for Barr’s resignation, including several presidential candidates, but he is the first member of Vermont’s congressional delegation to do so. On Wednesday, both Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stopped short of such a demand.
“I’m disappointed by Mr. Barr, who’s been acting more like the President’s defense attorney than our Attorney General,” Leahy said in a written statement after grilling Barr in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “I want to hear from Robert Mueller before deciding on whether I think Mr. Barr should resign.”
Sanders, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, wrote on Twitter Wednesday that Barr’s “handling of the Mueller report has been a disaster,” noting that the senator had opposed the AG’s confirmation.
“I look forward to Special Counsel Mueller’s testimony and believe Congress must continue to investigate whether the president obstructed justice,” Sanders wrote.
Welch’s call came as the House considered holding Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena for Mueller’s full, unredacted report. Barr was scheduled to testify Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee but backed out at the last minute, citing concerns about the format of the hearing. Also on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reportedly accused Barr of lying to Congress about whether Mueller had raised concerns about the AG’s characterization of his report.
In the interview, Welch declined to say whether he agreed with Pelosi and said his call for Barr’s resignation was not prompted by the AG’s testimony Wednesday in the Senate. Rather, Welch said it was driven by Barr’s decision in March to issue a “sanitized” and “misleading” version of the Mueller report and to hold a “prebuttal” press conference in April ahead of the report’s release.
“That was the role of a partisan press secretary,” Welch said. “I mean, that’s the kind of stuff you’d expect from [Trump spokesperson] Sarah Sanders, but not from the attorney general of the United States.”
Welch blamed Trump for Barr’s no-show in the House, arguing that the president is “basically saying Congress has no constitutional right to do oversight of any kind, to issue subpoenas for any reason.” That, he added, was “alarming.”
Asked whether he thought Trump had obstructed justice, Welch said, “Yeah, he took steps that were obstructing [the Mueller] investigation.” But the Vermont Democrat, who has declined to call on the House to initiate impeachment proceedings, said his views on the matter had not changed. He said he continued to believe that Congress should first investigate the evidence uncovered by Mueller.
“One step at a time,” he said.
As for whether he believed that, like Barr, Trump should resign, Welch said, “One at a time.”
Disclosure: Paul Heintz worked as Peter Welch’s communications director from November 2008 to March 2011.
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What evidence is that, Mr Welch? There is nothing. Now, lets get on with the real crime investigations of the massively corrupt Democrats. Maybe discove why Seth Rich was murdered, and by whom. Oh, and there were 7 more sealed indictments issued this past month, bringing the total to 93 in Vermont! You probably know some of them being charged. Then there is the release of the FISA requests, the OIGs report, the new 9/11 grand jury ongoing in NYC., such exciting times. So much being uncovered, so many liars, freeloaders, to be revealed. Justice is coming.
Right on, Rep. Welch. Barr is supposed to be the impartial chief law enforcement officer of the U.S. Not a cheap legal flak for the Trump Crime Family. How low can he prostrate himself to America*s own Caligula? Now he is just literally a less endearing Peter on Family Guy. What was this traitor promised when he was offered the AG job? A free timeshare for life at sleazy Mar a Lago (in a suite right next to Rudy *I wasn*t always a sad, pathetic TV clown* Giuliani)? A 5% interest in the Moscow Trump Tower? A tanning booth right next to Trump*s? Membership for life in the Trump Russian-mail-order-bride-of-the-month Club?
Barr is doing what Trump hired him to do: be a political hack and Trump’s personal janitor. Barr is not tainted, he is totally polluted and will be remembered by history as a disgraced AG along the lines of John Mitchell.
It is obvious that the Republican Party is interested in only one thing, and that is to destroy the government and replace it with a Corporate/Military/Christian ( phony Christian) oligarchy where the poor are made to suffer even more, the rich pay no taxes, and the environment is ruined all in the name of “capitalism” and “free markets”. In other words, a total Pig Fest until the planet has been depleted. We are already headed in that direction, but the Flat Earth Trumpsters seem bent on accelerating our date with disaster.
The Republican Party is a lawless Death Cult.
Welch can call for Barr to be removed all he wants, the cowards of the GOP in the Senate will do nothing, they have abandoned the Constitution long ago. They are traitors, as are any who defend, enable, or apologize for Trump. The world would be so much better off without them.
What did Eric holder describe himself as in relation to the administration?
Why all dislikes for the people telling the truth about the trump administration and Barr? He’s just another liar that’s protecting Trumpty dumpty and doesn’t care about the real truth…
“What evidence is that, Mr Welch? There is nothing.”
The evidence concerning Mr. Barr is as plain as can be. He issued a 4 page “summary” of a report which distorts the report’s actual conclusions. In particular, he claimed that the report exonerated Trump, when it went to some pains to state exactly the opposite: If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Additionally, Mueller makes it plain (again contradicted by Barr) that he was well aware of the longstanding DOJ position (ironically written by Barr decades earlier) which postulates that a sitting President cannot be indicted for a crime.
In plain English, Barr lied about Mueller’s conclusions and then delayed the release of the report which shows that he did so, thus continuing the cover-up which constitutes an obstruction of justice under our law.
Given that Barr serves as the highest legal official in the executive branch of the US government, this is a violation of Constitutional importance, not “nothing.”
Anything Democrats may or may not have done has NO bearing whatsoever on this issue. Even if we were to grant every absurd allegation and suggestion, the fact that Barr’s behavior has been criminal in this matter would not change one whit. The claim that 2 parties are potentially at fault does not exonerate either from the consequences of its own behavior.
If Barr does not resign, HE should be impeached, regardless of what the Congress does or does not do about Trump.
I would like to call for the resignation of most of the politicians in DC. Welch and Sanders included. They no longer represent the people who elected them and have only focused on Trump and investigations. The American people have had enough of BS party politics. It is time to institute term limits and elect people who are going to do the business of the US and represent the people who elected them.
NorthOldEnder should run for political office of any kind since he is never happy about any decision by any politician, but that would mean he would have to stop using fake names.
Ted miles645 Lets not forget my favorite Patrick Leahy.
Currently looking at property in Maine, cannot wait to get out of the moonbat state.
I guess they did not order enough KFC and Welch is mad he did not get any….. What a waste of taxpayers money the clowns in Washington are
There is evidently either (a) a bot farm pumping out support for knuckle-dragging right wing causes, or (b) a swarm of 60 low IQ readers who methodically and moronically jump on the looney bird wagon as it rolls by here in the Comments section. Quite the thinking crowd.
111 sealed indictments for Vermonters, currently. Hoping there us one for each of our delegation. They have all obstructed calls for an independent investigation of 9/11. But it is in grand jury now, and the truth will out. Who are the traitors?