- The Washington Times - Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Rep. Nita Lowey said Wednesday Attorney General William P. Barr “shut down” when asked about whether the White House was briefed on special counsel Robert Mueller’s report during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.

“It was very clear to me that as soon as contact with the White House was mentioned, the attorney general shut down, and he was off to the next subject and did not respond to any questions from my colleagues that was related,” the New York Democrat said in an interview with CNN’s “New Day” show.

“The key is what did the White House know and when did they know it? Did the attorney general release that report before discussing it with the White House? I’d like to purse that another time,” she added.

Ms. Lowey said she is “looking forward to seeing the entire report without redactions,” adding that Congress “must know the facts.”

“The attorney general is just going to have to deal with the Judiciary Committee because he would not respond openly and directly to my questions,” she said.

Mr. Barr said the White House did not review the four-page synopsis, but he refused to answer Ms. Lowey’s questions about whether the White House has seen the report since then.

Mr. Barr released a four-page summary saying Mr. Mueller exonerated Mr. Trump and his campaign from any collusion with Russia but chose to not make a determination on obstruction of justice.

Mr. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the evidence against obstruction of justice is not enough to pursue charges.

Jeff Mordock contributed to this article.

• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.

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