Barr Sputters After Kamala Harris Grills Him on Whether White House Asked Him to Investigate Anyone

Attorney General William Barr was left flustered and flummoxed when Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) opened her question-and-answer session during Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing by relentlessly grilling the attorney general on whether or not the White House has urged him to open investigations into anyone.

“Mr. Attorney General, has the president or anyone at the White House asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?” Harris asked with her very first question.

As Barr sputtered while he contemplated how to answer, Harris sternly interjected: “Yes or no?”

The attorney general asked if Harris could repeat the question, which Harris was more than happy to do. After getting the question tossed back at him, Barr stalled as he pondered his next move, causing Harris to note that it would appear Barr would remember “something like that and be able to tell us.”

The nation’s top lawyer said he was “trying to grapple with the word suggest,” adding that there were “discussions of matters out there” and that they haven’t “asked” him to open any investigations, prompting Harris to pounce.

“Perhaps they suggested?” Harris wondered, to which Barr shrugged and said he didn’t know.

“Hinted? Inferred?” the former prosecutor added, going full thesaurus on the attorney general. After he again replied that he didn’t know. The California lawmaker then moved on to her next line of questioning as Barr attempted to offer up a rejoinder.

“Sir, I’m asking a question,” she shot back, suggesting/hinting/inferring that Barr’s time to answer the previous question had passed.

Watch the clip above, via MSNBC