WASHINGTON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and Attorney General William Barr clashed in a hearing on Tuesday.
In his opening remarks, Nadler, a New York Democrat, said that Barr's tenure "has been marked by a persistent war against the department's professional core in an apparent attempt to secure favors" for President Donald Trump and that he has "aided and abetted the worst failings of this President."
Nadler added that he is "deeply concerned" about a series of Barr's decisions, including "flooding federal law enforcement into the streets of American cities, against the wishes of the state and local leaders of those cities, to forcefully and unconstitutionally suppress dissent."
The Trump administration has recently sent federal agents to Portland, Oregon in the wake of continued protests triggered by the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota police custody late May, despite opposition from state and local officials. Trump has also announced a "surge" of federal agents to other cities to drive down what he called "violent crime."
Barr, in response, claimed that "violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction on innocent victims" in the wake of George Floyd's death.
"We are concerned about this problem metastasizing around the country," Barr said. "We feel that we have to, in a place like Portland where we don't have the support of the local government, we have to take a stand and defend this federal property."
Barr, 70, is the Trump administration's second attorney general.
