House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.) fired back Sunday at Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE after the attorney general warned he may not appear at a scheduled committee hearing this week.

"The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period," Nadler said Sunday, according to CNN.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nadler also threatened to issue a subpoena if President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's attorney general refuses to attend the hearing.

"Then we will have to subpoena him, and we will have to use whatever means we can to enforce the subpoena," Nadler said.

Barr previously told House Democrats that they need to change the proposed format for the hearing, scheduled for Thursday, before he agrees to attend.

In addition to five minutes of questioning for each member of the committee, Nadler has proposed a round that would allow for each side to question Barr for 30 minutes, a source said earlier Sunday. That round of questioning would allow the committee counsels for both parties to question Barr.

Nadler also proposed having the committee enter a closed session to discuss redacted sections of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, the source added.

Barr has rejected those additional rounds of questioning, though it's possible he and Democrats could come to an agreement before Thursday.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said in a statement to The Hill that "members of Congress should be the ones doing the questioning."

"The Attorney General agreed to appear before Congress. Therefore, Members of Congress should be the ones doing the questioning. He remains happy to engage with Members on their questions regarding the Mueller report," said Kerri Kupec, the spokeswoman.



Updated April 28 at 2:21 p.m.