The Attorney General on the Hill
The Washington Post reported this week that Special Counsel Robert Mueller sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr complaining that Barr’s summation “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of his report. Barr appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his conduct in handling the Mueller report.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for The Attorney General on the Hill
Links
“Graham asks Mueller if he wants to refute Barr testimony about phone call”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/03/politics/graham-mueller-barr/index.html
“Barr defiant amid furor over his handling of Mueller report”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/politics/bill-barr-hearing-congress-senate/index.html
“Defiant Barr grilled by Senate Judiciary Committee on Mueller report”
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/william-barr-testimony-live-stream-attorney-general-testifies-congress-today-2019-05-01/
“Mueller fallout deepens Senate tensions”
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/441907-mueller-fallout-deepens-senate-tensions
“Harris urges DOJ watchdog to probe whether Trump asked Barr to investigate ‘enemies’”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/03/kamala-harris-barr-trump-1301502
“The big lie that Barr lied”
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/05/the-big-lie-that-barr-lied/
“Harmeet Dhillon: What Dems left in their wake after Hill hysteria – – defeat, desperation, fear”
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/harmeet-dhillon-democrats-hill-house-senate-barr-testimony-russia
“Senate Democrats accuse William Barr of lying to Congress about Mueller’s reaction. Did he?”
https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/may/01/senate-democrats-accuse-william-barr-lying-congres/
“Why Barr set a “dangerous precedent” and one senator “gets an A+” for her questioning”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorney-general-william-barr-set-dangerous-precedent-senator-klobuchar-got-a-for-her-questioning-rikki-klieman/
“Democrats channel their Trump outrage on Barr”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/02/democrats-william-barr-1299590
Assessment
- Writing: Explain the reasons why Attorney General Barr was asked to testify before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
- Debate: William Barr’s refusal to testify before the House should result in impeachment proceedings against him.
- Poll: Do you believe the American public is concerned about ongoing controversies over the Mueller report?
- Short Answer: What are the Republican and Democratic positions that have emerged regarding the Mueller report?
Current events quiz:
1) Which senator requested that the Department of Justice launch an investigation into whether President Trump directed William Barr to investigate ‘enemies’?
a. Cory Booker
b. Mikie Sherill
c. Kamala Harris
d. Elizabeth Warren
2) Robert Mueller told William Barr that he was displeased with the letter he gave summarizing Mueller’s report because ______.
a. it was not complete information and did not really capture what the report stated
b. Barr blatantly lied in his summarization of the report
c. Barr did not redact enough information from the report
d. all of these
3) The House Judiciary Committee could hold Barr in contempt for refusing to ______.
a. release the unedited version of the Mueller report
b. answer Senate questions truthfully
c. testify before the House of Representatives
d. testify before the Senate
4) William Barr spent over five hours testifying before the Senate last week. (T/F)
5) Some Democrats have called for the impeachment of William Barr. (T/F)
6) Mueller is upset about the redacted version released of his report, but he does not think that Barr has been untruthful. (T/F)
Answers:
1) C
2) A
3) A
4) True
5) True
6) False
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