Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) questions former Special Counsel Robert Mueller as he testifies about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in the Rayburn House Office Building July 24, 2019 in Washington, DCWin McNamee/Getty Images
- The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday ia holding a hearing on Attorney General William Barr's decisions as head of the Justice Department.
- New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the committee's chairman, excoriated "the extremes to which Mr. Barr has reached to carry out the president's bidding."
- The committee will hear testimony from two DOJ officials: Aaron Zelinsky, a federal prosecutor at the US attorney's office in Baltimore, and John Elias, a senior official in the department's antitrust division.
- Zelinsky will testify that DOJ leaders improperly intervened in the case against the former Republican strategist Roger Stone at Barr's direction because they were "afraid of the president."
- Elias will testify that Barr weaponized the antitrust division to harass marijuana companies because he doesn't like the cannabis industry.
- The committee will also hear testimony from two former DOJ officials: former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer. Mukasey was invited to testify by the panel's Republicans.
- Scroll down to watch the hearing and follow Business Insider's live coverage.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held an oversight hearing focusing on Attorney General William Barr's decisions as head of the Justice Department.
As part of the proceedings, the committee will hear testimony from two DOJ officials: Aaron Zelinsky, a federal prosecutor at the US attorney's office in Baltimore, and John Elias, a senior official in the department's antitrust division.
Zelinsky worked on then special counsel Robert Mueller's team during the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the US election, and he is expected to testify Wednesday that the senior DOJ officials improperly interfered in the sentencing recommendation for the longtime former Republican strategist Roger Stone.
Specifically, he will tell lawmakers that DOJ leaders sought a weaker sentence for Stone at Barr's direction because they were "afraid of the president."
Elias will testify that Barr weaponized the antitrust division to harass marijuana companies because he doesn't like the cannabis industry.
The committee will also hear testimony from two former DOJ officials: former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer. Mukasey was invited to testify by Republicans on the panel.
Watch the hearing below: