Justice Dept. Officials to Testify on Politicization Under Barr

Mr. Elias, who served as chief of staff to Makan Delrahim, the head of the antitrust division, said that during a meeting in September, Mr. Delrahim “acknowledged that the investigations were motivated by the fact that the cannabis industry is unpopular ‘on the fifth floor,’ a reference to Attorney General Barr’s offices.”

Democrats are threatening to subpoena Barr, too.

Wednesday’s testimony is a linchpin in a broader attempt by House Democrats to scrutinize the Justice Department under Mr. Barr. The relationship between the two sides soured long ago, when Mr. Barr refused to comply with Judiciary Committee requests related to the special counsel’s Russia report, but in recent months, Democrats have looked on with increasing alarm as the attorney general has tried to undercut some of the report’s key findings and even prosecutions it spawned.

In addition to this week’s hearing, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, is trying to secure testimony from Geoffrey S. Berman, the New York prosecutor fired last week by Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr, who has overseen politically sensitive investigations into the president’s past and current lawyers. He may also move later this week to subpoena Mr. Barr himself to testify, though the attorney general would almost certainly resist.

Democrats have said they feel compelled to shine a light on perceived abuses at the department, but with a presidential election looming and the impeachment of Mr. Trump behind them, even they admit there are unlikely to be the kind of severe repercussions lawmakers once contemplated.

“He certainly deserves impeachment,” Mr. Nadler said of Mr. Barr on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But, again, that’s a waste of time, because the Republicans in the Senate won’t look at that, and we have other ways of getting at this.”

The hearing caps off a tumultuous month for the department.

The hearing comes on the heels of a string of public missteps, internal chaos and leadership changes at the Justice Department.

Mr. Barr was roundly criticized for leading the federal response to protests in Washington of police killings and the decision to clear Lafayette Square near the White House on June 1, just before Mr. Trump’s widely condemned photo opportunity in front of a nearby church. Mr. Barr also contradicted Mr. Trump’s assertion that he sheltered in the building’s bunker only to inspect the premises.