"I'm reclaiming my time."
That was the democrats' line for the duration of the combative and pathetic Congressional hearing featuring United States Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler opened the hearing with a lengthy rant leveling all kinds of nasty accusations against the Attorney General.
“Your tenure is marked by a persistent war against the Department’s professional core in an apparent effort to secure favors for the president,” he charged. "... Shame on you Mr. Barr, shame on you."
Barr rejected Nadler’s assertion, making clear that Trump "has not attempted to interfere" in decisions regarding the handling of criminal matters.
"On the contrary, he has told me from the start that he expects me to exercise my independent judgment to make whatever call I think is right," he continued. "That is precisely what I have done."
Ranking member, Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio fired back in his opening, charging that Democrats' hostility toward Barr is based on one thing: "Spying."
Jordan explained that democrats are angry at the Attorney General because he discovered and is probing "Obama-Biden" administration's spying on the Trump campaign in 2016.
Barr revealed that he has appointed U.S. Attorney John Bash of the Western District of Texas to investigate the practice of "unmasking" Americans who have had conversations with foreign officials.
In a dramatic move, addressing the riots that have been happening for months in democrat-run cities, Jordan played a lengthy montage of media clips that began with reporters calling the riots "peaceful protests." Followed by a string of clips of violence and fires in several of the cities.
Barr spoke out against "violent rioters and anarchists" that he said have "hijacked legitimate protests," in cities like Portland and Seattle.
The Trump administration has been blasted by democrats and the media for sending federal officers in to quell the unrest, but Barr defended the effort, arguing that these are not peaceful protests, but "an assault on the Government of the United States." He described the weapons that some demonstrators have used, and noted that a federal courthouse has been under siege.
None of the democrat members of the committee showed any interest in hearing what the Attorney General had to say.
A democrat member would rant and ask an incoherent question, only to immediately scream "I'm reclaiming my time!," once the Attorney General starts to answer.
At one point, Barr asked, “This is a hearing, I thought I was supposed to be heard?”
It was so disgusting and so difficult to watch that there was a bipartisan agreement online -- something really rare on social media -- that democrats blew it.
Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic Party political consultant tweeted “Barr is having a great day re-announcing the Trump re-election strategy.”
Republican senator Lindsey Graham tweeted, "The #BarrHearing in the House Judiciary Committee turned into an audition by liberal Democrats to make the @MSNBC / @CNN highlight reel."