- The Washington Times - Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Attorney General William P. Barr will testify before the House Judiciary Committee next month, a Justice Department spokeswoman said Wednesday.

“The Attorney General has accepted an invitation to appear before the House Judiciary Committee for a general oversight hearing on July 28th,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted.

The announcement came just minutes before the Judiciary Committee convened a hearing with two Justice Department officials who have alleged Mr. Barr has politicized the department, giving breaks to President Trump’s friends.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, had threatened to subpoena Mr. Barr.

Mr. Barr had agreed to testify in March, but that hearing was nixed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Democrats want to question the attorney general over the abrupt firing of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Berman was terminated over the weekend after he refused to step down from his post.

Democrats say the firing was politically motivated, noting that Mr. Berman’s office was overseeing investigations into the president and his allies, including personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani.

Mr. Barr is expected to face questions about a host of Justice Department decisions. Democrats also want to ask him about the “process” the department set up to collect evidence from Ukraine and its handling of a whistleblower complaint the department determined should not be shared with Congress.

He is also expected to be grilled over the department’s interventions in the prosecution of Trump allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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