WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to the House Judiciary Committee’s vote today to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, People For the American Way (PFAW) issued the following statement from PFAW Executive Vice President Marge Baker:

“Trump seems to think that Congress has no right to conduct oversight of him and his administration as it has with all others before him. As if to emphasize that point, today the administration asserted executive privilege over the entire report from special counsel Robert Mueller. It’s a breathtaking assault on the carefully constructed balance of powers established by our Constitution.

“Chairman Nadler issued a valid subpoena for the entire Mueller report. Attorney General Barr has now flatly refused to provide the documents. Barr provided zero credible reasons for defying the committee. It’s an open-and-shut case of contempt of Congress and an assault on the oversight powers of a co-equal branch of government.

“Nobody, not the attorney general, not even the president, is above the law. Barr is clearly in contempt of Congress, and we applaud Chairman Nadler for standing up for our democracy. The full House should now act in a prompt manner to approve the contempt resolution and act to enforce the subpoena.”

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

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