Rep. Richmond accuses Barr of systemic racism
Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond questions Attorney General Bill Barr during House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Two journalists from The Washington Post and PBS were slammed by critics for cheering on Democratic lawmakers during Tuesday's testimony of Attorney General William Barr.
Barr faced an intense grilling from Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee over a wide variety of subjects, including the Trump administration's deployment of federal agents at protests and the Justice Department's handling of the Michael Flynn and Roger Stone cases.
Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig highlighted a fiery exchange between Barr and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who pressed the attorney general on what she perceived was a double standard between the DOJ's treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters versus the armed anti-lockdown demonstrators who stormed Michigan's Capitol building earlier this year.
As Barr attempted to respond to the line of questioning, Jayapal scolded the Trump appointee.
"Excuse me, Mr. Barr, but this is my time. I control it," the congresswoman exclaimed.
"She was taking no prisoners," Leonnig reacted on Twitter.
PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor shared a quote from Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., who chastised Barr for expressing respect for the late congressman John Lewis while, according to Richmond, failing to address "systemic racism," including the lack of diversity of Barr's staff.
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“I would just suggest that actions speak louder than words and that you really should keep the name of the Honorable John Lewis out of the Department of Justice’s mouth," Richmond told the attorney general.
That quote that Alcindor shared, however, included a fire emoji, something critics say indicates approval of Richmond's remark.
Both Leonnig and Alcindor faced backlash for their tweets.
"In case there was any doubt that Yamiche is a partisan hack, she has helpfully eliminated that doubt for us," Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy reacted to the PBS reporter.
"Carol is supposedly a reporter, but is actually a #LiberalHack," NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck similarly said about Leonnig.
"Maybe I am just a right-wing crank, but I think we would be better served by having a press that did not also double as a cheer squad for a political party," conservative commentator T. Becket Adams responded to the tweets.
Adams added, "absolutely zero faith that these people will apply even an ounce of scrutiny to members of their team once it takes back power."