Dems vote to hold AG in contempt as Trump asserts privilege over full Mueller report originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jerry Nadler, voted along party lines Wednesday to advance a resolution to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller's unredacted report, after President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege over Mueller's findings.

The moves marked an escalation in tensions between Democrats and the Trump administration, and set up a likely battle in the courts as Democrats work to review Mueller's conclusions.

“There can be no higher stakes than this attempt to take all power away from Congress and away from the American people. We are in a constitutional crisis,” Nadler said following the committee action.

(MORE: Sen. McConnell declares Mueller probe 'case closed'; Sen. Schumer calls that 'whitewashing' )

The resolution, passed after more than six hours of sharp debate, could receive a vote on the House floor in the coming weeks.

"Faced with Chairman Nadler’s blatant abuse of power, and at the Attorney General’s request, the President has no other option than to make a protective assertion of executive privilege," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders speaks to the press in the driveway of the White House in Washington, May 8, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) More

The resolution would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia, a Trump appointee in the Justice Department unlikely to pursue the matter. It would also pave the way for Democrats to seek enforcement of their subpoena in civil court, which could lead to a prolonged legal fight.

PHOTO: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler presides over a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, May 08, 2019, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) More

"If allowed to go unchecked, this obstruction means the end of congressional oversight. No person—and certainly not the top law enforcement officer in the country—can be permitted to flout the will of Congress and to defy a valid subpoena," Nadler said as the committee meeting began.

'What's really at stake here is Congress's ability to do its job for the American people," he said.

"This decision represents a clear escalation in the Trump administration's blanket defiance of Congress' constitutionally mandated duties," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says as President Trump asserts executive privilege https://t.co/xYs986GOp4 pic.twitter.com/uXVF8H9fH1 — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 8, 2019

Republicans on Wednesday argued that providing access to the full report, including sensitive grand jury information, would break the law.

A Justice Department statement, issued just after committee vote, echoed that argument.

“It is deeply disappointing that elected representatives of the American people have chosen to engage in such inappropriate political theatrics," DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupic said. "Regrettably, Chairman Nadler’s actions have prematurely terminated the accommodation process and forced the President to assert executive privilege to preserve the status quo. No one, including Chairman Nadler and his Committee, will force the Department of Justice to break the law.”

During the committee debate, Republicans accused Democrats of rushing to condemn Barr in an effort to discredit the attorney general as he begins a review of the origins of the Russia investigation supported by the president and some Republicans.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the top Republican on the panel, said Democrats were moving ten times faster to condemn Barr than Republicans did to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over a subpoena for DOJ documents in 2012 related to the Fast and Furious gunrunning operation.

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