Chris Wallace: Democratic attempt to question Barr with staffers ‘a bit of a stunt’

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Friday called the effort by Democratic House Judiciary Committee members to have their counsel ask Attorney General William Barr questions “a bit of a stunt.” 

The comments from the “Fox News Sunday” anchor came after Barr refused to appear at a House hearing on Thursday, prompting outrage from Democrats and claims of political showboating from Republicans. 

{mosads}Wallace was reacting to an earlier interview from Vice President Pence backing Barr’s decision not to appear. 

“I have to say I kind of agree with the vice president on all this,” Wallace said. “There is some history of asking staff lawyers but it is pretty rare. It hasn’t happened recently.”

“Frankly, there certainly is the implication it would look and sound like the Watergate hearings where staff interviewed witnesses or the Iran-Contra hearings where staff interviewed witnesses,” he continued. “I don’t think it was entirely a coincidence on the part of the Democrats.”

“This is Bill Barr, who was doing nothing but talking about a report which he read which he had nothing to do with,” Wallace added later, referring to Barr’s handling of the Mueller report. “The idea that you would need to get counsel to drill down on the Mueller report with the attorney general who just received the report and forwarded it on to Congress, I have to say it does sound and seem and look like a bit of a stunt.”

Also on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to the Justice Department stating a willingness to go forward with holding Barr in contempt of Congress if the committee does not receive subpoenaed information on the Mueller report.