Before Thursday's lightning fast House Judiciary Committee got underway, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sized up the proceedings as a sham. The key witness, Attorney General William Barr, did not show up, because Chairman Jerrold Nadler told him that staffers would be doing the questioning.
The Democrats already "embarrassed themselves" at Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which Barr did show up to. The AG sat for hours as Democratic panelists grilled him about his summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and a new Washington Post report that suggested Mueller was not happy with his interpretation. Some of the more fiery exchanges were between Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Barr, when the senator concluded that the AG had "sacrificed" his "once-decent reputation for the grifter and liar who sits in the Oval Office." Her words prompted a rebuke from Chairman Lindsey Graham, who said he wouldn't let her slander the witness from top to bottom.
