WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Congress and the special counsel’s Russia probe (all times local):
7:05 p.m.
A House committee is poised to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt, the first step in what could be a lengthy, acrimonious court battle between House Democrats and President Donald Trump’s administration.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has scheduled a Wednesday vote to hold Barr in contempt of Congress after the Justice Department declined to provide lawmakers with a full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia and the 2016 election.
Nadler says Barr’s failure to comply with a subpoena leaves the committee with “no choice but to initiate contempt proceedings.”
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2:40 p.m.
The Justice Department is proposing a meeting to reach an “acceptable accommodation” with the House Judiciary Committee after the chairman scheduled a vote to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress for not producing special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report.
Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd proposed the meeting for Wednesday, the same day as the contempt vote.
The Justice Department released a redacted version of Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation last month.
But House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., issued a subpoena for the full, unredacted report and underlying investigative documents and set a Monday deadline, which the Justice Department did not meet.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec says the agency will “continue to engage in good faith” with the committee.
She says Attorney General William Barr has taken “extraordinary steps” to accommodate the committee’s requests for information.
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10:10 a.m.
The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee is calling a Democratic effort to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress “illogical and disingenuous.”
Georgia Rep. Doug Collins said Democrats “have launched a proxy war smearing the attorney general” when their anger actually lies with President Donald Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Monday scheduled a vote to hold Barr in contempt after the department failed to hand over a full, unredacted version of Mueller’s Trump-Russia report.
Nadler said the committee needs the report because it “offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels.”
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9:45 a.m.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has scheduled a Wednesday vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for not providing special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report.
Nadler had given Barr until 9 a.m. Monday to comply with his demand. Now Nadler is proposing to hold Barr in contempt after the Justice Department declined to provide the committee with an unredacted version of Mueller’s Russia report.
Democrats say they need to see the full report, including underlying materials like interview transcripts, to conduct a complete review of Mueller’s findings.
Nadler’s move escalates tensions between the Democrat-led House and President Donald Trump’s administration over Mueller’s investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election and contacts with the Trump campaign.
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12:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s turnabout on whether the special counsel should appear before Congress has sparked criticism from Democratic lawmakers. They are eager to question the author of the report on Russia’s election interference.
Trump had previously said he would leave the question of Robert Mueller testifying to Attorney General William Barr. The attorney general has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.
Not only did Trump in tweets Sunday contend that Mueller’s report didn’t reveal collusion and that there was no obstruction, he asserted: “Bob Mueller should not testify.”
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