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Barr could face questions about the controversial removal of peaceful DC protesters
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
Attorney General William Barr is expected to be questioned today about the Department of Justice's role in the forceful clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square that took place in June ahead of President Trump's photo-op outside St. John's Church.
Barr has repeatedly defended the actions of federal law enforcement officers.
In his interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" in early June, Barr said the protesters were moved because the Park Police wanted a larger security perimeter around the White House — not to aid the White House in staging President Trump's subsequent photo.
The clearing, though, ultimately devolved into a discordant and violent spectacle, with federal law enforcement agents clashing with protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets about 30 minutes before a curfew was set to take effect in the nation's capital. Barr was seen surveying the crowd shortly before law enforcement acted.
Barr, who has sought to distance himself from the official order to clear the protesters, also claimed in June that the protesters at Lafayette Square, which had become the center of attention for the ongoing demonstrations, were violent. There is no evidence of that claim, and CNN personnel on the scene reported the protesters were peaceful.
"They were not peaceful protesters. And that's one of the big lies that the media is — seems to be perpetuating at this point," Barr claimed. "The Park Police was facing what they considered to be a very rowdy and non-compliant crowd. And there were projectiles being hurled at the police."
Some background: As CNN has previously reported, Barr appeared in Lafayette Square shortly before 6 p.m. ET, about an hour before Trump left the White House. In a scene that was captured on news cameras, Barr stood flanked by a security detail, his chief of staff and the head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.
As Barr surveyed the situation around the park, some protesters spotted and recognized him, and shouts went up.
A Justice Department official previously told CNN that Barr had been told that police believed protesters were gathering rocks to throw at law enforcement, and while he was in the park, water bottles were thrown in his direction.
CNN did not witness any water bottles being thrown at the attorney general.
Barr will be grilled in a House hearing today. Here's what to expect.
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz, Jeremy Herb, David Shortell and Devan Cole
Attorney General William Barr's hearing today is titled "Oversight of the Department of Justice," and it is expected to serve as a moment for the Democratic-led committee to press the Trump official on a number of episodes that have raised concerns in the House about the agency's independence and use of force.
Tuesday's appearance on Capitol Hill will be Barr's first before the House Judiciary Committee, where the panel's Democrats have accused Barr of a litany of offenses and raised the specter of impeachment.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have long been angling for Barr to appear before them after a no-show last year and previous dates this year were scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are some key topics that could arise during the hearing:
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have a whole different set of issues they're eager to discuss with Barr related to the FBI's actions in the Russia investigation, which Barr has tapped US Attorney John Durham to investigate. Republicans are likely to ask Barr for an update on the Durham probe and the recent set of documents he declassified related to the origins of the FBI's Russia investigation — while pushing back on Democrats charges of corruption and misconduct.
