The vote on contempt will now head to the full House, where Democrats control a majority of seats.
The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt over the Justice Department's refusal to comply with Democrats' subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller's unredacted Russia report and its underlying evidence.
Democrats stressed that they were holding Barr in contempt as they pushed for the full report — and the"millions" of pages of underlying evidence that have so far been withheld by the DOJ — in the name of transparency, accountability and oversight. "This is all about impeaching the president," said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., after Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson mentioned in his remarks the prospect of impeaching Trump following further investigation.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement:"It is deeply disappointing that elected representatives of the American people have chosen to engage in such inappropriate political theatrics." Nadler had subpoenaed Barr on April 18 for the materials, saying his committee is"entitled" to them. The DOJ called that measure"unnecessary."
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