Author: Christal Hayes / Source: USA TODAY
The Justice Department has announced when Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation will be released to Congress and the public. Veuer’s Justin Kircher has the story. Buzz60, Buzz60
WASHINGTON – Democrats are in an uproar over Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the highly anticipated report by special counsel Robert Mueller, demanding that he cancels a planned news conference on Thursday about Mueller’s findings before actually releasing the report to the public.
For weeks, House Democrats have criticized Barr’s handling of the report but those critiques intensified significantly on Wednesday, one day before the Justice Department is set to release a redacted version of the 400-page report to the public.
“Once again, Barr wants to shape the public’s perception of the report,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., wrote on Twitter. “This is not justice. Just PR.”
In a joint statement, Democratic House chairs called Barr’s news conference “unnecessary and inappropriate” and called for release of the full report.
“These new actions by the Attorney General reinforce our concern that he is acting to protect President Trump,” the statement says.
“He should let the full report speak for itself. The Attorney General should cancel the press conference and provide the full report to Congress, as we have requested,” the statement continues. “With the Special Counsel’s fact-gathering work concluded, it is now Congress’ responsibility to assess the findings and evidence and proceed accordingly.”
Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will hold news conference at 9:30 a.m. EDT, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. The report is expected to go to Congress between 11 a.m. and noon EDT and likely will be released to the public around the same time.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi railed against the decision and pointed to a New York Times report indicating that Justice officials had briefed the White House on the contents of the report in advance of its public release. White House and Justice officials declined to comment on The Times account.
More: AG William Barr to hold news conference Thursday on before Mueller report goes to Congress
“AG Barr has thrown out his credibility & the DOJ’s independence with his single-minded effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else,” Pelosi wrote on Twitter. “The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said the idea to release the report after Barr’s news conference was ill-advised. “This is wrong,” he wrote in a tweet. He continued, saying he was…
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