Attorney General William Barr is testifying before Congress Tuesday, as Washington waits for him to release special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Barr has said he hopes to release the full report by mid-April, after releasing a four-page summary of Mueller’s report that Democrats deemed unsatisfactory. Barr, however, says he won’t testify about the Mueller report. He’s there to testify about the Justice Department’s budget. Barr’s prepared opening statement discusses just that — budget justifications.
But that won’t keep Democrats from peppering him with questions about the report, or his summary of it.
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Barr’s testimony before the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. He’s also scheduled to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday.
–Emily Tillett, Rebecca Kaplan and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report
Nita Lowey to tell Barr the way he handled Mueller report “unacceptable”
New York Democrat Nita Lowey, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, will tell Barr the way he handled the Mueller report was “unacceptable” and that his four-page letter about the report “raises more questions than it answers,” according to excerpts of her remarks as prepared for delivery.
“I must say, it is extraordinary to evaluate hundreds of pages of evidence, legal documents, and findings based on a 22-month long inquiry and make definitive legal conclusions in less than 48 hours,” Lowey will say. “Even for someone who has done this job before, I would argue it is more suspicious than impressive.”
Rep. José Serrano, D-N.Y., Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee chairman, will refer to recent reports of disagreements within the special counsel’s office over whether Barr accurately summarized its findings on the question of whether President Trump obstructed justice.
“The American people have been left with many unanswered questions; serious concerns about the process by which you formulated your letter; and uncertainty about when we can expect to see the full report,” he will say.
Barr’s prepared testimony doesn’t mention Mueller
Nowhere in Barr’s prepared remarks is Mueller mentioned.
But he does address immigration and election security.
On immigration, Barr is to say, “We must ensure that our laws allow us to process, hold, and remove those who violate our immigration laws.”
On election security ahead of the 2020 presidential race, Barr said, the department “is pursuing several programs–both old and new–to protect national security. These include protecting American elections from foreign interference, combating and preventing cyber attacks, and fighting terrorism both at home and abroad.”
