CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    SCIENCE
    • Hunt for the Cure
    • Rabbit Hole
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      HALF-FULL
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Face Masks
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Bedroom
        • Kitchen
        • Home
        • Fitness
        • The Case For
        • I'm Looking For
        • New Kids On the Block
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE
        Politics

        Bill Barr: I’m Not Giving Congress Full Mueller Report

        GO TIME

        The AG said a redacted version could come within a week. But he’s not giving in to congressional demands for the whole copy.

        Erin Banco

        National Security Reporter

        Updated Apr. 09, 2019 6:20PM ET / Published Apr. 09, 2019 10:43AM ET 

        Saul Loeb/Getty

        Attorney General Bill Barr said Tuesday that he would be in position to release the special counsel’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election within the week but that portions of it would be redacted in order to protect ongoing investigations and the privacy and reputation of individuals who have not been charged.

        Setting up a potentially contentious showdown with lawmakers, Barr added that he had no plans to release a full, unredacted report to Congress, despite their demands for one.

        “I don’t intend at this stage to send the full unredacted report to the [judiciary] committee,” Barr said. He also said that he would not seek a court order to release grand jury information despite demands by judiciary chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) for such information to be provided.

        The attorney general answered questions about the Mueller report in a hearing in front of the House Appropriations Committee on the Department of Justice’s 2020 budget. Barr said that his team, along with members of the special counsel’s office, was still in the midst of redacting the report, including material related to grand jury testimonies. When released, the report will be color coded to show why each redacted section was being withheld from public viewing, Barr said.

        Members of the committee, including the chair, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), pressed Barr on the process he used to write his four-page summary of the report. Barr said that the attorney general’s office consulted with members of the special counsel’s office in the weeks leading up to its submission of the report. He also said that he had offered Mueller a chance to review his summary of Mueller’s findings but that Mueller declined the offer. Since Barr released his four-page memo, it has been reported that investigators in the special counsel’s office felt that the report was more damaging to President Trump than Barr reflected in his summary.

        Barr’s summary said that the special counsel’s office “did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” It went on to say that the special counsel’s office stated in its report that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

        Should Barr follow through on his timeline of releasing the redacted version, the report could very well be released next week, when Congress is out on recess.

        President Donald Trump had initially said that he would welcome the full release of the Mueller report. But in recent days he has taken to Twitter to insist that Democrats would not be satisfied even were a full release of the report to happen, and hinting at his own reservations about some of the report’s details being made public.

        Lowey asked Barr if he had consulted with the White House before releasing his summary. Barr declined to answer.

        “I’ve said what I’m going to say about the report today,” he said, adding that he was prepared to testify in front of Congress about the report in May.

        Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) asked Barr if he let anyone outside of the Department of Justice read his March 24 letter to Congress summarizing Mueller’s work.

        “The answer, I am pretty sure, is no,” Barr said.

        “You’re not sure?” Crist asked.

        “I am sure,” Barr said.

        Later, Barr clarified that before the letter went out to Congress, the attorney general’s office told the White House counsel that the summary was sent out.

        “I think it may have been read to them,” Barr said, adding that he did not think that the White House actually saw the letter or that saying he doesn’t believe they saw the letter and didn’t get chance to change it.

        Erin Banco

        National Security Reporter

        Erin.Banco@thedailybeast.com

        Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Podcasts
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • Covid-19
        • Half Full
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Coupons
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC