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Watch Sen. Kamala Harris Eat Attorney General William Barr for Lunch

Watch Sen. Kamala Harris Eat Attorney General William Barr for Lunch

The presidential candidate flustered and cornered the Trump loyalist during his heated hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Following the release of the Mueller report, Attorney General William Barr not only decided not to charge President Trump with obstruction of justice, he mischaracterized the report's findings on Russian involvement in the 2016 election in a four-page "summary." With Tuesday's bombshell that Special Counsel Robert Mueller found Barr's summary lacking in "context, nature, and substance" and found it threatened to "undermine" the nearly two-year investigation, Barr's hearing today before the Senate Judiciary Committee promised fireworks -- and Sen. Kamala Harris delivered them.

Harris first pointedly asked Barr if the president asked or suggested him to open investigations on anyone, something wildly unethical. Barr danced around the word "suggested" and ultimately did not give an unequivocal response.

Then, Harris asked Barr if he looked at Mueller's underlying evidence when he decided not to charge Trump. Barr said he did not, nor did Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"As the attorney general of the United States you run the United States Department of Justice," Harris said. "In any U.S. attorney's office around the country, the head of that office, when being asked to make a critical decision -- in this case the person who holds the highest office in the land -- and whether or not that person commited a crime, would you accept them recommending a charging decision to you if they have not reviewed the evidence?"

Barr initially pointed the finger at Mueller, saying he saw the evidence and didn't make a decision to charge -- but Mueller clearly left that decision to Barr, a point Harris made.

"I think you made it clear you did not look at the evidence," Harris said. "We can move on."

Harris then used her questioning to demonstrate that Barr refuses to recuse himself from 14 other Trump-related investigations that Mueller referred to other jurisdictions. Barr asked why he would recuse himself.

"I think the American public has seen quite well that you are biased in this situation and you have not been objective; that's a conflict of interest," Harris said.

Harris then moved on to Rosenstein and his involvement in not charging Trump. Harris pointed out that Rosenstein was a witness in Mueller's case, since Rosenstein was involved in the firing of former FBI head James Comey -- the action that spurred the whole Mueller investigation.

"Had he been cleared [to be involved in the charging decision]?" Harris asked.

"That's what the acting attorney general's job is," Barr, growing angrier, said of Rosenstein's decision to charge or not charge the president.

"To be a witness and to make the decision about prosecution?" Harris asked.

"Well, no, but to make charging decisions," Barr said. Harris, getting her point in, concluded her questioning. Harris then tweeted that Barr should resign.

Watch Harris question Barr below.

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Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.