House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Barr’s four-page summary of the report, his testimony last week before Congress and his plan to hold a press conference hours before Mueller’s redacted report is made publicly available has resulted “in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality.”
“We believe the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling of the Special Counsel’s investigation is for Special Counsel Mueller himself to provide public testimony in the House and Senate as soon as possible,” the two said in a joint statement. “The American people deserve to hear the truth.”
Mueller Day: What to Look For When His Redacted Report Is Out
The report will provide the fullest portrait yet of Mueller’s secretive 22-month probe, providing new insights into his findings, analysis and reasons for his conclusions on whether anyone in President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the election and whether Trump engaged in obstruction of justice, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are holding a news conference Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in Washington to discuss the release. The report will be delivered to Congress — on compact disc — between 11 a.m. and noon, according to a Justice Department official.
Democrats quickly blasted Barr’s plan to brief reporters ahead of releasing the report, with five House chairmen releasing a joint statement calling on Barr to cancel the news conference and “let the full report speak for itself.”
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