Barr hesitates when asked if campaigns need to report foreign governments offering ‘dirt’ on competitors

Attorney General William Barr did not immediately answer Wednesday when asked a pointed question on whether campaigns should report directly to the FBI when foreign governments offer “dirt” on competitors.

During his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr was asked by Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) if he believes a campaign contacted by a foreign adversary, using North Korea as a hypothetical example, should contact the FBI.

{mosads}Barr paused for more than five seconds before Coons clarified his question, to which Barr agreed and said “yes.”

“If a foreign intelligence service does, yes,” Barr said.

Members of President Trump’s 2016 campaign have faced ongoing criticism for meeting with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin whom they’d been told could offer dirt on then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Sen. @ChrisCoons to Barr: “If a foreign adversary…offers a presidential candidate dirt on a competitor in 2020, do you agree with me the campaign should immediately contact the FBI?”

Barr hesitates before responding. https://t.co/Z1drKV2h5U pic.twitter.com/PRPSFyslrM

— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) May 1, 2019

Barr faced hours of grilling Wednesday from senators about his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.

Barr has faced multiple complaints from Democrats over his handling of the probe, particularly after a letter from Mueller surfaced expressing his “frustration” over Barr’s summary of the report’s findings.