Congress will get special counsel Robert Mueller’s ultimate conclusions on his investigation into President Trump and Russian election meddling by mid-April, if not sooner, Attorney General William P. Barr said Friday.
“Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own,” Mr. Barr wrote in a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
Mr. Barr told the lawmakers the Justice Department is marking progress on redacting the nearly 400-page report, noting that Mr. Mueller is assisting with the process.
In the letter, Mr. Barr said he will not hand over the report to the White House for a privilege review prior to delivering the report to Congress.
“Although the president would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me and, accordingly, there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review,” he wrote.
Mr. Barr offered to testify before lawmakers after the report is released to lawmakers. He suggested May 1 for the Senate and May 2 for the House.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, said he appreciates the update and looks forward to the May 1 hearing.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, New York Democrat, said he would take “under advisement” Mr. Barr’s offer to testify.
But he added that he wants Mr. Barr to testify “immediately” and wants the full report by April 2.
Last Friday, Mr. Mueller delivered his conclusions to the Justice Department. After reviewing the report for two days, Mr. Barr releases a four-page letter to Congress summarizing the special counsel’s findings.
Mr. Barr said the investigation did not turn up any evidence Mr. Trump or members of his campaign conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election. But he added that the special counsel did not draw a conclusion on whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct the investigation.
Democrats have demanded to see Mr. Mueller’s full report in its entirety, threatening to subpoena Mr. Barr and others if they don’t get it by next week.
By sending the letter, Mr. Barr is seeking to calm Democrats’ demands, while seeking more time to complete the necessary security reviews. Mr. Barr wrote that he would redact any information that compromises sources or “infringe upon the personal privacy and reputational interests” of third parties who were not investigation targets.
Mr. Barr promised lawmakers they will get the full version of Mr. Mueller’s findings.
“I do not believe it would be in the public’s interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report or release it in serial or piecemeal fashion,” the attorney general wrote.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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