Democratic congressman says he is 'ready' to throw Barr in jail

Texas Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett told CNN's Chris Cuomo, "If we have a lawless Attorney General or a lawless Secretary of the Treasury or some other official, it is our responsibility as a co-equal branch of government to hold them accountable."

"I don't want to throw him in jail, but I'm ready to do so," Doggett said.

He said, "All I want is for the Attorney General to realize he has a responsibility to the public, not just as a personal attorney of Mr. Trump, and to comply with the law."

Doggett is one of the more liberal members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Democratic leadership of that committee has requested the IRS turn over the last six years of Trump's tax returns. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rejected that request on Monday on advice from the Department of Justice, which is headed up by Barr.

Doggett said the tactics being used by Trump to block House Democrats' investigations makes it seem like he's "almost begging for impeachment."

"I don't think it's time to go there at this point, but I do think it's important to use all of our powers -- one of which is the inherent power of contempt," he said.

He said what that "means, and recognized by the United States Supreme Court in the 19th century, is that the Congress can on its own part issue a subpoena and enforce that subpoena through arrest or through fines, and I think we need to be prepared to do both."

"This is not a time for timidity," Doggett said. "We need to be forceful, we need to use every tool."

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler scheduled a Wednesday vote to hold Barr in contempt of Congress after the Justice Department declined to comply with a subpoena and provide an unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report to Congress.

The Justice Department last week said in a letter that the subpoena was "not legitimate oversight" and an "extraordinarily burdensome" request.

Barr skipped a scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee last week after a dispute with House Democrats over the questioning format.

The day prior, Barr appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he clashed with Democrats over his handling of the Mueller findings and his decision not to prosecute for obstruction of justice. Multiple Democratic senators called for Barr's resignation as attorney general and accused Barr of lying to Congress and the public about Mueller's concerns.