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Schiff calls on Barr to step down

By KATIE GALIOTO

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called on Attorney General William Barr to resign after it was revealed that special counsel Robert Mueller believed the chief law enforcement officer publicly misrepresented the findings of the Russia probe.

Schiff’s appeal stems from his belief that Barr last month “willingly misled the Congress” when he told members of a House Appropriation subcommittee he did not know what was behind reports that the special counsel’s team was frustrated with the four-page memo he sent to Congress summing up Mueller’s report almost a month ahead of its release.

The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that Mueller sent a letter to Barr in March complaining his memo to Congress “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed justice.

“He knew exactly what he was being asked by Congress,” Schiff said on CBS. “He knew his answer was false. So look, there's no sugar coating this — I think he should step down.”

Schiff in a separate interview Wednesday on CNN claimed Barr’s statements might be considered perjury “for an ordinary citizen.”

“It's worse when it comes from the attorney general of the United States because it means the public cannot have confidence in what he says,” Schiff said. “It means that we cannot have confidence in how he administers justice.”

Mueller sent the letter to Barr on March 27, three days after the attorney general released his memo to Congress. A Justice Department spokesman said in a statement Tuesday that Barr called Mueller after receiving the special counsel’s letter to discuss the matter further.

In an April 10 hearing before House appropriators, however, Barr made no mention of the letter or phone call with Mueller.

“Reports have emerged recently, General, that members of the Special Counsel’s team are frustrated at some level with the limited information included in your March 24 letter,” Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) asked at the hearing. “That it does not adequately or accurately, necessarily, portray the report’s findings. Do you know what they’re referencing with that?”

“No, I don’t,” Barr replied. “I think — I think — I suspect that they probably wanted, you know, more put out. But in my view, I was not interested in putting out summaries. … I think any summary regardless of who prepares it not only runs the risk of being underinclusive or overinclusive but also would trigger a lot of discussion and analysis that really should await everything coming out at once.”

Schiff on Wednesday said he has “no expectation” Barr will step down.

“What we are seeing, I think, is that anyone that gets close to Donald Trump becomes tainted by that experience and the fundamental conundrum is: How do you ethically serve a deeply unethical president?” Schiff said on CNN. “As we are seeing with Bill Barr — and I think as we saw with Rod Rosenstein — you can't.”

Schiff added that lawmakers will have a conversation about whether Barr’s actions merit impeachment but expressed concerns such measures could face major political challenges.

Congressional Republicans in the past have criticized Schiff for his statements about the special counsel investigation, including repeated allegations that there was evidence the president colluded with Russia — a claim Mueller’s report did not substantiate.

Schiff said Wednesday, hours ahead of Barr’s two days of congressional hearings, that the attorney general could not be trusted. He called for Mueller to testify before Congress, an arrangement he said is in the works.

“This is bigger than Bill Barr,” Schiff said. “This is a problem now of a president who, there is a strong case to be made, has violated the law with innumerable acts of obstruction of justice, has potentially violated the law in terms of a campaign fraud scheme. We are engaged in a debate within our caucus about what's the right remedy for this.”