A Senate panel voted on party lines Thursday to advance President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee William Barr, setting up a confirmation vote next week that will underscore the deep partisan divide over the nomination, particularly concerning how Barr would oversee the special counsel investigation. "I appreciate what Mr. Whitaker has done, but I think the time has come for new leadership at the department".
Democrats have been critical of Barr, claiming they have concerns over his potential handling of the special counsel investigation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said that Barr, as attorney general, would have the authority to change policies that now might prohibit him from revealing information about Mueller's work and that his nomination must be considered in the context of the historic moment in which the Justice Department finds itself. But the Republican said, that his committee is "close to pushing out the door" an assessment of the Obama administration's response to Russian interference efforts in the last presidential election.
A corporate lawyer who previously served as attorney general under Republican President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s, Barr has been praised by lawmakers from both parties as someone who is deeply familiar with the workings of the Justice Department and does not owe his career to Trump.
Blumenthal said not releasing Mueller's report would be akin to a "coverup." Sen. "I don't know what Bob Mueller is writing", Barr said at his hearing last month.
"I believe the memo is disqualifying", said Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee's top Democrat.
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Khris Middleton, Nikola Jokic, Ben Simmons , Blake Griffin, D'Angelo Russell, Nikola Vucevic and Kyle Lowry made up the reserves . James selected Davis, and Giannis had a question about the pick when Ernie Johnson asked James if he was sure.
Democrats also expressed concern about Barr's memo he sent to the Justice Department previous year, unsolicited, that detailed presidential power and said Mueller had a "fatally misconceived" theory that Trump committed a crime when he fired a political appointee, FBI Director James B. Comey, because that was in his powers as president.
The Republican president has repeatedly criticized the investigation as a "witch hunt" and denies any collusion with Moscow.
But Barr has refused to promise that he will release the report in its entirety, citing Justice Department regulations that encourage prosecutors not to criticize people who they do not end up charging with criminal behavior.
"I hope I'm wrong", Durbin said.
Before the committee vote, ranking member Sen.
Barr pledged at his confirmation hearing to keep politics out of Justice Department decisions and said he would refuse an instruction from the president to fire Mueller absent good cause to do so.
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