William Barr to appear Tuesday before Congress as Mueller questions swirl

Attorney General William P. Barr will appear Tuesday before Congress to discuss the Justice Department’s fiscal 2020 budget request, but will likely face questions from lawmakers about special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Mr. Barr and Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus will both testify before the House Appropriations Committee.

The hearing will occur roughly one month before Mr. Barr’s back-to-back testimony before the House and Senate judiciary committees about Mr. Mueller’s findings.

The Tuesday budget hearing comes among increasing distrust from Democrats about how Mr. Barr has handled the special counsel’s findings.

News reports this week said some members of Mr. Mueller’s team have privately complained about how the attorney general has conveyed their conclusions. Those members reportedly said Mr. Barr’s four-page summary shielded the president from some of the damaging evidence they uncovered.

House Democrats have increasingly called on Mr. Barr to release the full, unredacted report to Congress. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, has vowed to subpoena the report and its underlying evidence if Mr. Barr does not turn it over quickly.

Mr. Barr said he intends to release a version of Mr. Mueller’s report to Congress and the public by mid-April, if not sooner. On Thursday, a Justice Department spokeswoman said “every page” of the report may include confidential details, including grand jury information.

Last month, Mr. Barr issued a summary of what he described as Mr. Mueller’s “principal conclusions.” The summary said the special counsel did not find evidence President Trump conspired with Russia during the 2016 election.

Mr. Barr also wrote there was insufficient evidence to accuse Mr. Trump of obstructing justice. The special counsel did not reach a conclusion on the issue, but said the report does not exonerate the president of obstruction.