Democrats, infuriated over what they see as the executive branch's contempt for Congress's role in American government, are moving closer to making it official, holding Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress.

Barr was scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning to address details of special counsel Robert Mueller's 448-page report on Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. Instead, there was an empty chair and an angry Judiciary chairman, who invoked the specter of the presidency becoming like a dictatorship or monarchy as he lamented Barr's refusal to appear.

"He is trying to render Congress inert as a separate and co-equal branch of government," Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, said of President Donald Trump, referring not only to Barr's absence but the failure of the administration to provide other documents and witnesses. "We risk losing forever the power to stand up to any president in the future." Avoiding a president who becomes "a dictator" is "very much at stake," Nadler said.

If Barr does not negotiate in good faith and appear before the panel, "we will have no choice but to quickly hold the attorney general in contempt," Nadler added.

Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the committee, said it was Democrats' fault Barr was not there, since they insisted that Barr be questioned by a committee lawyer, in addition to taking questions by committee members.

The empty chair hearing is "a circus, a political stunt," said a furious Collins, a Georgia lawmaker. Democrats "want it to look like an impeachment hearing, because they won't (start) impeachment proceedings," he said.

Barr is becoming an easier political target for Democrats wrangling with what to do about President Donald Trump, whom many believe obstructed justice in the Mueller inquiry by trying to shut down or frustrate the investigation.

Impeaching Trump is a thorny undertaking for Democrats. From a practical perspective, Democrats wonder if it's worth impeaching when the GOP-run Senate almost certainly would not convict Trump. Yet many also feel they are abdicating their obligation to uphold the integrity of the law if they do nothing.

Politically, there is a concern that impeaching the polarizing president will please progressives but also rally the president's base, perhaps making the critical difference in the 2020 election.

Taking action against Barr, however, doesn't carry the same political risks. Further, the House can hold Barr in contempt without any involvement of the Senate.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, criticized Barr for his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, when Barr said Trump was within his rights to thwart an investigation if he felt he was being falsely accused.

"If a president can do away" with an investigation he doesn't like, "then no president can be held accountable," Schiff said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday. "If that's the view of the attorney general vis-a-vis the president, it's probably the view of the attorney general vis-a-vis himself," Schiff said. "That is a recipe for lawlessness."

Schiff noted he has not called for the impeachment of Barr but believes a contempt citation may be warranted.

Cartoons on the Mueller Report View All 45 Images

A growing list of lawmakers and 2020 presidential candidates, most recently, former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday evening, have called on Barr to resign.

The Department of Justice and Trump himself say Barr should not have to answer questions from a House Judiciary Committee lawyer.

"They want to treat him differently than they have anybody else," the president told Fox Business Network on Wednesday night.

In fact, such a practice is not unprecedented. It was used during Watergate and the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton administration. Recently, professor Christine Blasey Ford, who accused now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexually molesting her at a high school party, was questioned by an outside lawyer hired by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans.

Democrats want to keep Barr from filibustering – continuing to drag out an answer, thus preventing lawmakers from asking follow-up questions during a hearing. They are also growing increasingly frustrated at what they see as the executive branch's efforts to set the terms of legislative branch activities, including committee hearings.

In April, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sparred with Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, over how long he would testify before the panel.

Mnuchin wanted Waters to dismiss him; Waters said he was free to leave if he liked. Mnuchin insisted that Waters bang her gavel and end the session. "Please do not instruct me as to how I am to conduct this committee," she replied.

And Nadler, too, tangled with former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, when Nadler in February was pressing Whitaker on whether he had been asked to approve any of Mueller's actions.

A frazzled-looking Whitaker finally said, "Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up." Nadler chuckled as an audible, collective gasp was heard in the room.

In the Barr case, Democrats say the sitting attorney general merely wants to avoid a similar experience before the House panel.