CNN’s Brinkley: ‘We Are Hovering on a Constitutional Crisis’

EXCERPT:

[clip starts]
NADLER: "There can be no higher stakes than this attempt to arrogate all power to the executive branch away from Congress and more important away from the American people. We've talked for a long time about approaching a constitutional crisis. We are now in it."
[clip ends]
BERMAN: "That’s the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee just moments after his committee voted to hold the attorney general in contempt for refusing to hand over the full Mueller report. Joining me now is CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. Doug, thanks so much for being with us."
BRINKLEY: "Thank you."
BERMAN: "Are we in a constitutional crisis?"
BRINKLEY: "We are hovering on a constitutional crisis. I don’t know if we are in the middle of one right now. Hovering in the sense that people are starting to wonder whether the executive and legislative branches are broken. You know, part of the constitutional mandate is the branches get along in some way, and right now we are seeing a big power play by the White House to treat Congress as a nonentity. To have an attorney general like Bill Barr come and act so condescending and arrogant and cold shouldered to the congressional Judiciary Committee was stunning. Because he really was visually showing contempt for Congress as an institution."