Sen. Mazie Hirono to Attorney General William Barr: Resign, Liar

Sen. Kamala Harris shone at today's Senate grilling of Trump apologist/Attorney General William Barr, but another female Democratic senator emerged triumphant -- Hawaii's Mazie Hirono.

Hirono didn't ask many questions of Barr; instead she laid out his duplicity in stark terms.

"Now, Mr. Barr, the American people know you are no different from Rudy Giuliani or Kellyanne Conway or any of the other people who sacrificed their once decent reputation for the grifter and liar who now sits in the Oval Office," Hirono said, before laying out how unethical it is that Barr even has the job overseeing the Mueller investigation in the first place (he previously wrote a 19-page unsolicited memo saying much of the investigation was invalid).

Hirono laid out in stark terms Barr's duplicity in the release of the Mueller report -- showing it first to Trump's lawyers, summarizing it in untruthful terms, releasing it during it a congressional recess and on the eve of two major holidays, and exonerating Trump in a press conference before anyone had a chance to read the report.

"You used every advantage of your office to create the impression that the president was cleared of misconduct," Hirono said. "You selectively quoted fragments from the special counsel's report, taking some of the most important statements out of context and ignoring the rest. You put the power and authority of the office of attorney general and the Department of Justice behind a public relations effort to help Donald Trump protect himself."

"Finally, you lied to Congress," Hirono said, describing Barr's previous congressional testimony where he denied knowing Mueller had issues with his summary; the special counsel made clear his problems to Barr weeks before the attorney general made those untruthful statements.

Hirono brought up how Barr -- who had a previous stint as AG -- previously shielded prominent Republicans, going back to President George H.W. Bush.

The senator said she is asking the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate Barr's handling of the Mueller report.

"Being attorney general of the United States is a sacred trust," Hirono said. "You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. You should resign."

Hirono then asked if Trump asked him to prevent Mueller from testifying to Congress; Barr brusquely said, "No." Hirono then asked, whether legal or not, if Barr thought the unethical actions by Trump -- like threatening witnesses and telling others to lie -- were "OK." Barr danced around the answer and asked for clarification.

"I think you know what I'm talking about," Hirono said. "Please, Mr. Attorney General, give us some credit for knowing what the hell is going on here."

Chairman Lindsey Graham then cut off Hirono by saying, "You slandered this man, top to bottom." Watch the entire exchange below.