to secure cooperation.

If the committee tried to subpoena Barr without a showing that it tried to obtain his testimony through its standard invitations and asked a court to enforce it, the short-and-sweet hearing would go something like this:

"Your Honor. We are here to request a declaratory judgment that the Attorney General is legally obligated to comply with the Congressional subpoena issued April 29, 2019 and appear before the Committee on the Judiciary on the appointed date."

"What steps did you take to secure Mr. Barr's appearance prior to issuing the subpoena?"

"Your Honor, the Committee invited the Attorney General to testify, pursuant to its rules. He accepted. However, when he learned that a Committee Counsel would ask the questions, he withdrew his acceptance. We thereupon approved the issuance of a subpoena by a majority vote of the Committee."

"Did you make any other attempt to compel his appearance prior to issuing the subpoena?"

"No."

"You didn't try to work it out with the Justice Department?"

"No."

"Did you respond to him after he said he wouldn't appear under those terms?"

"No."

"Not even a letter?"

"No. We didn't see the point. We know they're not going to cooperate."

"You know that's not how it works, Counsel. You have to try to find a solution before you come to me to enforce a subpoena. If, after good faith effort, the Attorney General still refuses, we will revisit it. But I'm not going to issue a declaratory judgment until you exhaust all of your remedies. We're adjourned." Bang Bang (that's the gavel)

and let them do their jobs."
Yes! I feel as frantic as anyone but it is maddening to see the constant dissing of the Democrats.

If the investigations and impeachment do not go forward i will be as bitterly disappointed as anyone. but at this point?

we need to be putting the blame where it belongs: with the republicans, who have abandoned their posts and turned their backs on the constitution and the rule of law.

the issue i see with your above scenario is there IS no good faith among republicans. i'm also distressed because as I see it, trump has been committing impeachable crimes since Day 1. If he cannot be impeached nobody can. it would be fair to say that i have lost faith in the process because the republicans get away with everything. but i believe the Democrats are doing their best to uphold our democracy.

President Pence is as dangerous as - if not more dangerous than - President Trump.

fire up trumps despicable followers . Maybe if he appointed some other Nazi as VP.

He'll bring back into the fold the Republicans who are repulsed by Trump and soothe many other Americans (including a few Dems) into believing he's bringing sanity back. Many people will be so relieved that Trump is gone and think that ANYTHING is an improvement, they'll let down their guard. He'll have just enough time to benefit from a honeymoon, but not enough time for anyone to really get their hooks in him that he would very likely be elected in his own right - opening the door to serving 9-10 years.

And even if he DOESN'T win, he'll have more than a year to continue Trump's policies, including appointing bigoted right wing judges to lifetime appointments to the federal courts.

No, thank you.

by RWers always portray Democrats as undecisive and in disarray.

I'm pretty sure they know how horrible Pence is. They also know how horrible t-rump is. Further, the Republican congress is horrible too.

This waiting three/four weeks each time just gives the russian gop another month to infiltrate our govt and set the groundwork for more destruction. Issue a subpoena, and make it 48-72 hours to show up. No more of this wait a month for the big 'no', to wait another month. Arrest these people how ever congress can. Tomorrow we start to see if our elected congress is going to be fresh and ready to put the boots to fascism in America.
Mueller really kicked us in the ass. I heard the report. Literally 10s and possibly hundreds of opportunities to charge and indict or go harder, and he just wasted a bunch of time and money on a report that is inconclusive, on purpose. Republicans are evil. They can't justify this other than they are waiting for horrible things like, RBG to die (God forbid...Ugh.), so they can take another branch of govt. It was one disappointment after another in that report. What a collossal waste of time. And sure makes it hard to appoint others in the future bc....why? This did nothing at all but illucidate on paper what we already heard from TRMS. If we just needed a prosecutor to give us tips, Congress shouldve started impeachment hearings two years ago and hired him as a consultant. We'd be done w this by now.
Seems like the repub party is the enemy within. And that's no exaggeration.

Pelosi has been overseas for most of that.

And many members off on their junkets overseas.

Barr took advantage of that.

Why should Americans wait for the liesure of congress? We work on holidays. We work when its inconvenient. Seems congress could knuckle under JUST a bit more til we get this ahole out of office. It's akin to saying, two planes just hit the twin towers, but, it's spring break. We'll be back. Just seems to be a big lack of urgency. These deadlines of a month or more didnt just start. Thats how we got two years of them under our belts already.
Bring some cots in, stay until you secure the country. Congress is THE PEOPLES BRANCH. Let's go.

they may not be in session in DC where we can see them but it does not mean they have been on vacation. Many have been on these educational junkets so they can see what they have to vote on and write legislation for. As mentioned above, Speaker Pelosi has been overseas as have others to do other parts of their jobs that don't get televised, much of that due to security protocols. I'm sure we will be able to find out what they were doing over the week in the near future.

I am sure that they are not off playing golf or romping about with their families during this crucial point in our Constitutional crisis. there are legal steps that must be taken in a certain sequence and they take time. I think the House committees are working with expediency on all matters because they see the dangers we are facing with this regime. But in the legal process, instant motion is not the first thing to take place in most instances.

ETA: And it's not fair to blame the newly configured House for the past two years of inaction, the Rs were in control and covering for the toad, it's only month three and a lot is happening if you step back and look at it from a little distance.

It's not like these folks volunteer thier time though. We pay them 200k a year and healthcare for life. Thats a lottery size paycheck for most Americans. I hear what youre saying re the "not out golfing" etc. Congress is our last hope. Personally, after going through the Mueller Report and seeing chance after chance to charge somebody, it's disturbing. Most every American works a job where they are employed at will, and can be terminated for absolutely nothing. Just seems like these deadlines of a month or two for testimony, papers, whatever they are asking for, should'nt be a new norm. Especially when the mueller report did say clearly, the russian GRU is actively attacking us. When youre too comfortable, it seems there's less reason for urgency. Wtf do i know though.

I watched the Nixon and Clinton nightmares up close and personal, this is actually moving faster than either of those in most ways. Process is demanded here and we have to have the patience to allow the process to work for us. Meanwhile, it appears that efforts to truncate stupid moves by anusorange are ongoing. The best we can do is support the efforts of the House, try to convince our Senators to get their heads out of their asses and make sure the vote to oust them is overwhelming.

Think of it as good food, it takes time to prepare no matter how hungry you are.

Seems to be somehow Bigger, Longer, More drawn out nowadays bc we didnt have 24 hour news in the early 70s. Clintons were different, but, I think we all knew tat was a fishing expedition. Just seems like there's a lack of urgency. The month or two deadlines on having people come to CONGRESS has to be revisited. The gop are running out the clock at this point, being "kind" or "collegial" w witnesses to come before congress only seems to set the table for letting the witness try to control the hearing, then, not give any real info anyway See MANUCHIN W MRS. WATERS. God, what a joke he is.

testify before Congress or any court, wouldn't you want ample time to prepare for that? Like getting documents and lawyers all arranged to state your case? The process allows for that no matter how egregious or contemptible the witness, unless it is a criminal who is an obviously harmful to the public with violence, then that gets handled differently.

Process, including demands to show up for hearings, requires a reasonable amount of time to schedule such a hearing for all participants in the interest of fairness. It matters.

They can't turn a hearing around on a few days notice.

This hearing isn't the only thing the Committee is doing. They have other hearings, markups and other various activities.

For example, here's the House Judiciary Committee's hearing and markup schedule for this week:

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
10 a.m.
Hearing: Equal Rights Amendment
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties


2:00 p.m.
Full Committee Markup of: H.R. 965, the “CREATES Act”; H.R.___, the “Preserve Access to Affordable
Generics and Biosimilars Act”; H.R.___, the “Stop Significant and Time-wasting Abuse
Limiting Legitimate Innovation of New Generics Act”; and H.R.___, the “Prescription Pricing
for People Act of 2019”.

Thursday, May 2, 2019
9 a.m.
Full Committee Hearing: Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice: Report by Special Counsel Robert S.
Mueller, III on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election; and
Related Matters

Friday, May 3, 2019
10:00 a.m.
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Mickey Leland Federal Building, 1919 Smith Street, Houston, Texas
Hearing: Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act in the State of Texas


These hearings and markups take a HUGE amount of Member and staff preparation. And this is in addition to their other duties on the Committee, their other Committee memberships and the day-to-day voting, meetings, etc. Things have to be scheduled carefully and strategically to ensure that staff and other resources are being applied in the most effective ways.

https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/weekly-schedules/week-april-29-2019

It can get exhausting.

Public outreach and education isn't exactly my strong suit but I used to do it for a living. This matters more than whether a tourist gets eaten by a bear because they couldn't obey the protocols for being safe.

instant gratification or as being victims of trolls demanding instant gratification. It’s really unrealistic but serves the purpose of fomenting defeatist hopelessness. It wears us down because we’re forced to use a great deal of energy on dispelling it. That’s why I thanked you, because we can’t give up.

You're welcome and I thank you for your efforts as well!

Never give up.

Its heartbreaking to be called a troll after this weekend. My beef was with giving the gop too much time. That's all. I sure wish folks would take everyones posts in totality around here bc we all are fighting our own battles. I thought I did the right thing by using almost a full weekend to listen to it. God forbid anyone have a tough position. Heartbreaking to me to be described as a troll.

I wrote my response before seeing your much more eloquent and comprehensive answer.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one trying to push back against the kneejerk and usually informed assumption that everyone in Congress is corrupt, lazy and stupid.

I appreciate your input but, thats a real mis characterization of what I said. Namely it's about time frames for showing up. To say someone is knee jerking their response by saying that is disingenuous all in itself. God forbid after two years of "be a good American and be patient w the system and Mueller." that anyone would want an expedited process for awhile to catch up.

It's the time that Members spend in their home district with constituents or travel as part of their fact-finding and oversight obligations.

Thanks.
And I get a feeling from some of these posts that my positing the suggestion that we dont give 2 month notices on people to appear before congress is somehow Dissing Democrats. That in itself is pure baloney and i kind of resent it. Especially after being a patient plebe for the last two years waiting for the 'answers" from Mueller. AND when anyone said anything to quesion mueller, they were and still are attacked as though hes Christ come down from the cross. Im not the only one. See the post below on DU of Bill Maher.
ps...ill stand by now to be flamed for daring to have a point of view here. Anti Dem isnt in my make-up. Ive been alive and kicking too long to just continue to not speak up about the process if it seems like it may be flagging. If you havent heard, all the trumps are doing fine today. The rest of us, have been warned BY THE MUELLER REPORT that the russians attacked us, and they are still doing so today. The Mueller Report on audible was 15+ hours long. I listened. Before anyone flames me, maybe take 15 hours of your time and listen too. Its not all bad, but, he didnt indict Donjr. THAT alone, Says a lot right there. Where would OUR kids be if they had done that? Two words, in jail.

[link:https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/41519-2/|

London — Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a high-level congressional delegation concluded two days of meetings in London with top U.K. government officials. Speaker Pelosi released this statement:

“Our delegation, led by Chairman Richie Neal, was warmly welcomed in London for high-level meetings with U.K. leaders and representatives. In all our meetings, we recognized the importance of the U.S.-U.K. special relationship. And as we observe the 21st anniversary, we emphasized the bipartisan U.S. commitment to protecting the Good Friday Accords.

“On Sunday, we were honored to be received at Westminster by Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow. Next, we had a wide ranging and candid discussion with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn about the status of Brexit negotiations, Northern Ireland, NATO and security issues. We discussed the need to act boldly on the climate crisis, protecting human rights, and the necessity of forcefully confronting anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination. Also that day, we heard from former Labour Party MPs on why they left their party.

“Today, we met with Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond at Downing Street, where we discussed shared security concerns, challenges and opportunities facing the U.K. and U.S. economies, Brexit and the importance of protecting the Good Friday Accords. We were pleased to have a detailed discussion with Deputy Prime Minister David Lidington on the next steps on Brexit. We also heard the views of MPs from the Conservative Party’s European Research Group, who oppose their government’s path on Brexit.

“In the course of the day, we were briefed by top U.K. security officials about cybersecurity, counterterrorism and other national security threats. We also focused on the Salisbury attack and Russian aggression.

“To conclude our visit, it was my privilege to participate in a discussion with students and faculty at the London School of Economics.”

time to just then, show up, and say nothing. All the other stuff is just from answering back to posts.

Just saying...

If you don’t mean to do that maybe you can stop doing it.

I surely know our guys are going to save us. Im beyond frustrated. I spent the weekend listening to that report. If the goal for them now is to run out the clock, allowing them a bunch of time on stuff just doesnt seem kosher.
PS...I busted my ass for the Blue Wave. So did my family. Sorry if it sounded harsh.
I go to every protest in range for our side.

When you vent nothing but negativity then you’re creating negativity. Good critiques are always positive, even as they point out defects.

15 hours this weekend on that report. Hard to crack free of "the negativity" I guess. I also guess stating that too much time for subpoenas just finishes up what has already been related in that report, and for a whole bunch of trump folks to go away scott free, was being negative specifically to Democrats. It was characterized that way, and i defended myself, before the inevitable email from the admin's where you get in trouble. If that was a negative spin....all I can say is sorry.
Have you listened to the report? Took three days for me. If i hear trump again Im going to go in the closet and start screaming. Damn Im tired of these people. (THE GOP)

is not listening to Trump, or even any press on him for a couple of days. Take some R&R for a few days. It’s important. You’ll come back in a much more positive frame of mind. Binge on your favorite show and allow yourself to get caught up in the story. Take long walks and breath and be present in the moment. Play with your pet or your kids and relearn the fun of their innocence and naìvety.

You’ll come back stronger than before.

to try get the NI government going again.

These fucking traitors have some bloody nerve - lock him up Nadler

Serve the subpoena NOW!

His job is to get it right so that it sticks, even if it doesn't sate our impatience. That's what he's doing.

And stuff gets done. Maybe we need to take a chapter out of that book. Even if just for awhile. The Democratic party isnt inherently evil like the gop have shown themselves to be.

that makes us different than they are. And I'm glad. Because what's the point of any of this if, in the end, we turn into them?

JUST FOR AWHILE.
And the little ditty about us 'not being inherently evil', I guess. Never said I liked that we had to be that way. I hear ya though.

As far as necessary to get Barr’s lying ass in a seat before the committee, then slam him.

That testimony will be talked about ad nauseam.

If he can just delay his comments before he House committee, he can use his Senate testimony to set expectations, and avoid tough questions Dems may ask in the house.