In an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, explained congressional Democrats were on the offensive over Attorney General William Barr refusal to comply with their demands given they were concerned that the claims of collusion were “unraveling.”
The Texas Republican described them as “in a panic.”
BARTIROMO: So, what happened when Jerry Nadler, chairman of your committee, went for a contempt of Congress vote for William Barr? Can you tell us about what that day was?
RATCLIFFE: Well, Maria, there have been plenty of days I have been embarrassed to be a member of Congress, based on the conduct of some of its members, but none more so than this week.
And think about it. The once-esteemed House Judiciary Committee marked up a resolution to hold the attorney general of the United States in contempt for his refusal to commit a crime.
Bill Barr, who had no obligation to turn over a single word or comma of Bob Mueller’s report, turned over as much as was permitted by law. And that wasn’t enough for the Democrats. And they stood there and accused him of lying about what Bob Mueller really meant before they have heard a word from Bob Mueller about what he really meant.
It was all staged. It was all scripted. It was all part of the Democratic effort to create the illusion of a cover-up. Remember, Maria, that these are the Democrats that promised evidence of collusion that didn’t exist, that promised that Bob Mueller was going to find Donald Trump guilty of crimes that he didn’t commit.
And when that didn’t happen, they either had to admit they were wrong to the American people, or they had to find a villain. And, unfortunately, they have made Bill Barr that villain. And they will do anything they can to try and damage his reputation before he delivers the message that he intends to deliver, because he’s promised to get to the bottom of the very suspect origins of this Russia-Trump collusion, conspiracy investigation.
BARTIROMO: So is that what this is about? They don’t want him to do an investigation that he said he would be doing?
I mean, there, in and of itself, is obstruction.
RATCLIFFE: Yes, Maria, they’re scared to death.
It’s why, when you talk about accountability, one of the things that they fear is Michael Horowitz’s report coming out. But the other thing that they fear is an attorney general who has been unapologetic, unabashed and unrelenting in his pledge to get to the bottom of this Trump-Russia collusion narrative that doesn’t make any sense.
We know now, because we have waited on Bob Mueller’s report, we know that there was no collusion. But the predicate behind looking for that evidence of collusion is quickly unraveling. And the Democrats are in a panic about it.
BARTIROMO: You know, it’s incredible to me that they’re so obviously upset and afraid for what comes out.
But it’s incredible that you have got people like Jim Comey going on TV shows and saying that he’s proud of the FBI and how it handled the Russia probe.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor