Too bad the Republican Robert Mueller failed to interview Donald Trump or Ivanka Trump, or Jared Kushner, or Donald Trump jr.
If he had, he could have written a credible whitewash instead of the clumsy, INcredible whitewash he produced, which no adult can possibly take seriously.
Ah, the good old days of Republican Morality when Ken Starr was able to sniff unimpeded into the troubles of a young intern using her friend, Linda Trip, to record their telephone conversations. No Russian quagmire there to complicate American integrity. Oh, for the return of jailing women like Susan MacDougal for keeping silent, to put her in solitary confinement without bother or fuss. The salacious Starr Report, the envy of pornographers world wide, was rushed into the public eye like a beam of light. Nothing to redact there and why not? It had nothing to do with national security, election tampering, foriegn interference, unsavory deals with Russia, so it easily passed the tabloid standard. Now we are blessed with Bill Barr, and I am sure his name rhyming with Starr is a mere coincidence.
2
What will Barr's team redact? Might they consider using that all-purpose, tried-and-true, super-teflon excuse called National Security? Does the current POTUS consider his personal and political security to be equivalent to same? Are his cabinet level appointees chosen more for obedience & loyalty than service to our constitutional principles?
How could I or anyone imagine such a thing, in the US??
I need another beer.
Barr insists on redaction because he knows that "Full Mueller," like "Full Monty" would reveal just how ugly a naked Trump would be.
3
Funny how the only thing angrier than Republicans who do not get what they want is Republicans who do isn't it? (many online comments bear this out) Mr. Barr is stonewalling and I daresay that is what we will conclude when we common folk are permitted a peek at a few inconsequential paragraphs deemed suitable for our needs.
1
This is a very lengthy story summarizing AG testimony on his budget request.
I find it interesting that the NYT is reporting nearby the Democrats have punted on passing a budget resolution setting aaside spending priorities.
Here comes AG asking for his budget which is doing their work and all Democrats do is Mueller. There is no debate or questioning in his Justice priorities.
As to grand jury - one significant point is that during Watergate - it was the Judge himself - presiding over the Grand Jury in absence of special prosecutor - gave congress grand jury material.
Finally, this clamor for a 400 page report by the public.
I just crossed 70 and don't work any longer.
So, I have the time to read it which I plan to regardless of redactions.
But other than out of curiosity - I am not sure without Mueller and Barr conclusions - what different conclusions I will draw.
Barr admitted to Congress today that Mueller refused to be part
of Barr's memo, even though Barr lied to the American people by stating that Mueller had helped in the process.
This is a very important point that is not being explored and
amplified by the media for the people, the tax payers
of the report.
#Mueller refused to be part of Barr's cover-up memo
3
William Barr meet the ghost of John Mitchell, two peas in a pod.
2
I find it quite interesting that Barr has "demurred", when asked if he has shared elements of the report with the White House. Something stinks here...
4
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck than it's probably a duck.
Mr. Trump and the entire GOP looks, swims, and quacks like a Russian puppet government.
4
I think I just spotted the AG and his wife on TV in the front row at the Nationals vs. Phillies game in Philadelphia. He seems to have a lengthy document with him and is working on it with various markers and a ruler between innings (JK about that part).
1
During the hearing Senator Crist asked Barr if he had spoken with anyone about the report or his letter to Congress. His response was a pause then “not that I recall”. That response is the classic sign that there is more to the story. Barr’s son in law works in the White House counsels office. That is way too close to home. We need to know exactly who Barr consulted regarding his handling of this matter. He is clearly one if the President’s men and will put Trumps interests before all others.
3
Why is there no outcry over Barr not recusing himself? Having any hand in an investigation into the person who appointed you after the investigation was underway has an inherent conflict of interest.
2
Every piece of grand jury material that relates to Trump and/or White House Staff, and that Barr redacts, instantly becomes kompromat. They'll have something to hide, and somebody can let that secret out if they feel that it advantages them. That's called leverage/kompromat. Likewise, do the "peripheral third parties" (Kusher? Trump Jr? Ivanka?) work in government? If so, again, bingo -platinum kompromat. This is a matter of national security. Congress needs to see the entire thing. With every stroke of his colored crayola, Barr is advantaging foreign adversaries and others with nefarious aims over us.
3
It appears that the four page report, aka the Barr report, is the actual report. I believe the president’s attorney (where’s my Roy Cohn) came to this job to shutdown the Mueller operation and destroy the final report.
From Barr’s testimony today, nothing new or beyond those four pages coming out next week.
On the other hand, Mueller realized his limitations in his investigation, and decided to leave it to the body that has the constitutional power to balance the executive branch and able to do what he cannot do.
2
Mr Barr doing the bidding of one of the worst administrations of recent memory.
5
Just in time for Congress’ Easter break.
3
Even the people who prepared the report insist Barr is lying. But so what?
This charade is getting SO tiresome. The President is above the law. So were all the other rotten presidents of the United States who committed every crime in the book, up to and including genocide. These people are untouchable. It's all a big show with the outcome predetermined.
2
Mr. Barr is clearly only watching over Trump and not the American people or our country. How people we have elected into office, I am referring to the Republicans, can sit by and watch our country totally fall to pieces and unravel by someone who is clearly incompetent is shocking, sad and I worry for my children.
6
If there's nothing to hide, why hide anything?
We're supposed to have a government of, by, *for* the people, remember, Mr. Barr?
We don't need a summary, or any more political spin —
We need the full report. Remember who you work for.
4
Delivering a heavily redacted report to Congress demonstrates the contempt that this President and his new Attorney General have for the co-equal branches of government as designed by the founders. If in fact there is nothing to hide, then produce the entire report for Congress (who all have security clearances) and a lightly redacted report to the public. How can we not feel as if our country and democratic institutions have been hijacked in plain sight?
7
A group from congress should at least be allowed to see the report before it is edited, revised or even rewritten entirely.
4
"Mr. Barr said, “because I think any summary, regardless of who prepares it, not only runs the risk of being under-inclusive or over-inclusive, but also would trigger a lot of discussion and analysis that really should await everything coming out at once.”"
What about his own 4 page summary? Wouldn't this same sentiment apply to it as well?
3
Many of the replies here bring to mind the messianic religious fanatics who predicted, with great hope and longing, the end of the world on a specific date. Then, when the day came and the dawn broke just as it does on any other day - and nothing they expected to happen happened - they went berserk. After a short tear-filled time, they shrugged it off and sought new signs and omens that verified their fanciful notions.
Simply put: The Mueller Report didn't remove Trump and Pence nor did it proclaim Mrs. Clinton the president.
That was the unrealistic - almost religious - hope harbored by so many people. The reality now is just too hard for them to face.
It is over.
Listen: We have survived horrible presidents before. We will survive Mr. Trump.
Just remember, the People always get what they deserve... So cheer up! We have more horrible presidents to look forward to.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
2
Like all such reports, the redacted Mueller Report will be public property and publishers will rush to release it in paperback. And the faithful will have their bible at last.
I can just see the Collusion Truthers poring over the pages like a demented Sherlock Holmes, magnifier in hand, seeking the spoor of the dreaded Moriarty:
"I have it! If you read every 15th word of every 5th paragraph, it not only says 'Trump Is A Manchurian Candidate,' but it conclusively proves that Francis Bacon wrote all of Neil Simon's plays!"
Let it go, folks. It is over.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
2
Dancing around the issues who could expect or ask for more. He has shared his findings with Trump before sharing them with the Congress or the public no surprise there. Can we label this a performance?
3
H.A. Hyde | Princeton NJ
Having grown up with attorneys, judges and relatives holding state and federal office, I know how the suppression of evidence by one power hungry attorney general can throw “we the people” under the bus and damage a family or community or country beyond repair.
Congress is a co-equal branch of government elected by the people to be a check and balance to the President. If we do not see the whole report it will be, I fear, all it will take to destabilize irreparably our faith in our democratic institutions and our country.
4
The real question is why did Mueller feel empowered to render a conclusion as to criminality on the Russian campaign collusion allegation; but not so empowered on obstruction of justice ? And why did Mueller refrain from reviewing his Supervisors letter to Congress?
Could someone leak the darn thing, already?
3
Barr like Miller are total failures for Trump's far right agenda,
and his attack upon facts and truth.
Bar is badly failing in the way that he is trying to cover-up the
Mueller Report.
Miller is badly failing in the way that he is trying to use migration as a political weapon against migrants.
Are we living in a Post-Trump era that is falling to pieces
as the power of democracy is beginning to work,
and challenge and expose the fundamental errors and weaknesses of Trump and his henchmen.
Barr as an henchman of Trump was exposed in Congress as an agent of Trump and the Silent State,
#Deflacting is Failing
3
@PropagandandTreason
Deflection is failing because a lie can only function
for a moment in the minds of the silenced by propaganda.
By definition the concept of propaganda is all about
lies and cover-ups that deflect away from facts and the truth.
But truth is eternal - and the power of democracy
defines and destroys lies, lies, and lies.
2
Although the Attorney General is correct that the regulations promulgated by former AG Reno state that the Special Counsel’s report is supposed to be confidential, those regulations violate the very statute that authorized them, at least according to the Federal Register (FR). According to 64 FR 37042, the regulations regarding the special counsel, 28 CFR 600.1 - 600.10, were authorized by 5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, and 515-519. Among those statutes, only 5 U.S.C. 301 gives the department the authority to prescribe regulations. The remaining statues simply provide a basis for the appointment of special attorneys and other procedural matters, but they do not authorize the promulgation of regulations. Looking at 5, USC 301, which is the statute that does give the Justice Department the power to prescribe regulations, it states that, “This section does not authorize withholding information from the public or limiting the availability of records to the public.” So, while there are other federal statutes that require the Justice Department to keep certain information confidential, the Special Counsel statutes are not among them, meaning that any regulations that were promulgated under those statutes that allow for the withholding of information or records from the public would be unauthorized.
2
The comedy of the GOP continues.
They (including the AG and DOJ) want to cover up EVERY indiscretion and illegal maneuver by the (redacted) and his cabal.
They will continue to lose for two reasons, they lost the House in November 2018 and the electorate see through their incessant obstruction. The GOP have no legitimate policies or solutions that will advance this country. They only policies they have are tax cuts for the top 1%, a forever invisible Health Care plan and they still want to build a useless wall on the southern border with a gold (redacted) logo.
2
How can you come to a conclusion regarding the issue of presidential obstruction of justice if the POTUS was never questioned in person by the Mueller team ?
How can you determine why Mueller's investigation cannot "exonerate" the POTUS on this issue if you have not questioned Mr. Mueller personally?
How can you determine anything from a redacted Mueller report by an AG who auditioned for his position by pretty much stating he would protect the POTUS from indictment?
Subpoena Mr. Mueller, Mr. Barr and obtain an unredacted report NOW. Congress must do their job.
If Mr. Barr has in anyway overstepped his role in redaction or briefed the White House in an effort to protect the POTUS, he must be considered for possible obstruction of justice himself.
3
As Trump and Barr's employer, I demand to see the the entire Mueller report unredacted immediately.
4
The biggest takeaway for me is that Barr said he will do nothing to help get the Grand Jury testimony released, and since Mueller and his team heard over two hundred witnesses, that testimony (on assumes) takes up a good portion of the 400 pages. The Congressional Dems will likely have to fight for it, (when they go to the judge, expect the administration to object) thus reducing all the things that don't "look good" for the President to a slow trickle and further dilute the impact - like getting to read twenty pages of a novel every week.
6
Mr. Barr's antics and attempt to mischaracterize Mueller's report
is totally unacceptable.
8
Barr will not deliver the Mueller report. He will deliver the Barr report, redacted by his (Barr's) own choice of exclusions to reflect Barr's devotion to protecting the man who appointed him to the AG post. How much can we trust a man who in just 48 hours produced a 4 page summary of a nearly 400 page report that took almost two years to create through complex investigations. Trump holds many self-dealt cards -- the attorney general he appointed, a Republican party that fears its own president, and Republican judges selected by Republicans, hustled through the Senate by Mr. McConnell, who has chosen the "nuclear" option for stacking the deck for the President to deal himself a winning hand. Let's hope voters can remember the Barr bias and the cowardly and misguided Senators until 2020 when we will have an opportunity to vote for a new administration, "barring" any significant intervention from outside sources.
4
Mr. Barr's redactions will not convince a skeptical public. Trust was placed in Mr. Mueller who had an impeccable background from Princeton to the Bronze Star with valor in Vietnam to his directorship of the FBI and his major investigations including the mob and terrorists.
Mr. Barr comes in the fanfare of his unsolicited articles that presidents are the law and trailed by past names such as "Cover Up General" for covering up Irangate.
Respected figures said to give Barr a chance, so I did. Then came the four letter summary which was a joke. it was followed by the information that Mueller investigators had written summaries themselves. Those would have been trusted.
You cannot trust without verification in Trump times. Congress must receive the unredacted report. National security is at stake.
5
Barr is creating more drama - what is he hiding? I thought Trump was ‘exonerated’ ?! 🤔🤣😂
5
We pay your salary, your benefits, your pension and we paid for this report. Release it NOW, you GOP tool!
8
Old "Cover Up" Bill Barr back in business once again? Trust this redacted report? Gullible, totally gullible.
3
From my perspective, Barr is serving the Republican Party in this coverup of the Mueller findings.
There would be profound consequences for Republicans should Trump be found to be compromised by the Russians. They're going to stonewall to keep it from coming out. This is bigger than Trump.
12
Barr is repeatedly lying about releasing the “Mueller” report. He is releasing the Barr/Republican cover-up report. The people making all the decisions at the FBI, like Barr, are right-wing Republicans. Not a a single non-partisan, independent individual or Democrat, god forbid, is involved in the cover-up .
4
Barr is Trump’s AG. He will do what he can to hide anything that is negative in Mueller’s report. He will use current Justice Department regulations and laws to accomplish this objective. The House Intelligence Committee will use the legal system to try to get the full report. Then it’s up to the courts. Eventually, it will all come out one way or another. There will be much drama in the meantime.
9
Here's a silly idea. Why don't we wait to READ what is released publicly, and see if unredacted copies are shared with the appropriate committees, where there might be better security.
I would hope that would happen, since the similar committees in the House and Senate are controlled by the different parties, so there would be some hope for a level playing field.
Although it is likely to be one of the best spitball fights ever.
It's like we all watched live video of the crime going down and now we have to wait for a report to tell us we all saw what we actually saw... only by all accounts, the report refuses to do that... not just the summary... the actual report.
I don't need the Mueller report or Barr's summary to tell me what that Lester Holt interview already told me. Or what that meeting with the Russians in the White House told me... or what his various speeches on the campaign trail told me.
We're to believe the main impetus to prosecuting obstruction charges is proving intent... well I'm not sure what proves it more than direct testimony from the subject's mouth! Trump TOLD us why he fired Mueller on more than one occasion... that WAS obstruction and his intent was exclaimed.
Again... why do we need all of this to confirm what our eyes and our ears have already taken in?
I want reality back.
19
@J
What specifically was obstructed? I thought Mueller said he had full access during his investigation which he completed. Based on the amount of work he and his team completed, its hard to fathom where there was even a delaying tactic used.
There was more obstruction during the Kavanaugh hearing.
2
@Norville T. Johnson
"I fired him because of the investigation..."
"Now that I fired him, the heat is off..."
Since I have to spell it out... those two statements specifically detail his intent behind firing Comey. Whether or not that actually helped or hurt the investigation DOES NOT MATTER. Only that Trump believed his actions hurt the investigation. And his words specifically detail that.
3
Just imagine if some mob boss was investigated by the Feds and a report was created. On report's completion a select few get to see the report, including the mob boss! Hey Mr. Mob Boss. We didn't find a crime, but here's everything we did find out about you. Would you like to see our blueprint to help you avoid further suspicions and avoid jailtime?
The report wasn't created for the Justice department and the Whitehouse. It was created for the American people. Barr couldn't/wouldn't answer if the Whitehouse has seen the report? This is a straightforward question and perversion of justice if the answer to that question is "yes - we gave the report to Trump".
9
The Silent State.
Barr is part of the Silent State and is manufacturing a deflection of the Mueller Report to cover-up for Trump.
Barr is making himself the main object of deflection by constantly using tricks and tactics to manufacture
a type of confusion, denial and silence of the real facts and truth that Mueller has exposed about Russia and Trump.
#The Silent State is operating in plain sight
5
@PropagandandTreason
The Silent State is all around the people and is part of their cultural values - The Silent State manufactures
the meaning of culture and the very language that is used in everyday life.
Barr is using a language that is part of the Silent State,
and is defining meaning that is confusion and chaos,
that is manufactured that people will fail to really understand the narrative of the facts of the Mueller Report.
The so-called "Deep State" is a manufactured concept and is used by the Silent State to deflect, deflect, deflect.
Barr and Trump are the mouth pieces of the Silent State - the super rich and their invisible power to define and control the message.
The Democrats should penetrate and expose the Silent State that is operating in plain sight and is defining the language to silence knowledge, facts and the truth.
#Release the whole Mueller Report,
and stop Barr from manufacturing a way of seeing
that the people of America will look, and not see the
facts, the truth and the power that is really controlling the message.
Barr is the message.
2
Barr is not above the law either. If he obstructs justice then he can be sent to prison.
16
What happens if we sponsor protests in all American cities demanding the report? This Barr guy does not know who he works for - us!!!
7
@Scientist
He was appointed not elected. There is a difference here.
1
@Scientist
"What happens if we sponsor protests in all American cities demanding the report?"
Exactly the same thing that happens if you don't.
1
the un-redacted report should be delivered to Congress right away, no ifs ands or buts
6
The Mueller Report is now in Hangar 51 in Nevada along with the Ark of the Covenant and the Roswell remains.
The Congress, let alone the public, will never see the Mueller Report.
What all of us *will* see, however, is the Barr Report. At the very least this guy should be made to own it. Could we all please at least demand a little truth in advertising instead of pretending the bait & switch we are about to get is a "redacted" version of the Special Counsel's report.
Please stop calling Barr's Bowdlerization the "Mueller Report." That's not what we will be getting. We will be getting the BARR REPORT. Let's start calling it what it is & at least make the AG own it.
7
It's ironic that the only trustworthy institution these days seems to be the NY Attorney General office, Southern District. The US Justice Dept has become little more than a flunky of Trump. Where is the independence of the FBI, CIA and 18 other Intelligence agencies? Washington is a Capital Mess created by the so called President Trump. At what point is he acting in the interests of the Republlcan Party, the Executive Branch, the Russian Mob/Government, or the American people?
The entire Mueller Report needs to be given to the American people without any redactions...by whatever method possible.
I have no faith in the present government.
4
Truth is, Mueller should have taken his findings before the grand jury and let it decide. I’m aware of all the arguments against that, but don’t see the DOJ policy against indicting a president as a good one. That's a political policy. This mess has got to be placed in the hands of everyday human beings before the 2020 election. Instead, Mueller has let it return strictly to the political sphere, permitting it to compress. It’s going to reach critical mass at some point, and it might have been better to let it explode in a court battle re an indictment than to let Trump answer simply to other politicians like Barr and Mitch McConnell.
Trump must surely see that there are no limits now; his lawlessness becomes ever more brazen. He has become a despot, and Mueller has helped to enable it. When the heroic lose their nerve and retreat, the rabble rushes in to take the ground. That is what’s happening now.
5
This isn't good for the country. Withholding information casts a cloud of suspicion and anyone with a patriotic bone in their body knows that. I am suspect of the reasoning; yes, I am not a fan of Trump but come on. If I had to be subjected to reading all of the salacious details of the Starr report and throw up a little in my mouth...I say take it to the judge. I think there's more than stories about polka dot dresses and the like on these pages.
2
@Alexis ~
There is a difference between "withholding" information for what might be construed as political reasons, or protecting data that would be damaging to future efforts and innocent people if revealed.
And as fun as it is to compare this to Starr, those hot sexy scenes are dramatically different from multi continent investigations into election fraud or the possibility of direct obstruction of justice by the President.
6
@jhanzel So why not share it with Congress at least? We're all speculating about the contents.
1
Prepare for the circus ahead. Ever failing to learn from our past mistakes, we will, yet again, become the laughingstock of the whole world, and most particularly Russia. They wanted us to fight like wild dogs and devour each other. We have far exceeded their expectations.
Knowing all this, we still will not conduct ourselves in a manner that it is in the best interests of this country.
For in the end, we allow political ambition to override everything even if destroys us from within.
2
Why wait another week? What are they trying to hide, or to make disappear? We need it NOW!
3
@Andy
C’mon Andy, you can wait another week. I know you can.
1
I am only 13 years old but I know enough to realize that Barr should turn over the full report to Congress. The government is supposedly run by the people but they won’t let us see any important documents. If the report exonerates trump then why are there parts that are eradicated? The public deserves to see the document.
11
go outside and play.
4
@mkm Why such a low and demeaning response? Walker is 100% correct. When a 13 year old engages intelligently in the NY Times comments it should be applauded, not ridiculed. You should be ashamed of yourself, if possible.
10
@mkm
Best.Response.Ever.
You won the Internet today.
Thanks for a little comedic levity in tense times.
Be prepared for the unhinged intolerant Left to skewer your response and hurl insults your way.
2
I get frustrated finding myself asking "why, why, why" like a 4-year old. As frustrating as it has become, I find solace knowing that as a reasonably developed adult, I don't need every bit of information -or lack thereof- to draw my own conclusions.
Stop asking questions and waiting for others to "save" us. Instead, mobilize your friends and family to vote these hacks out of office.
9
This is officially a cover-up now.
Time to subpoena Mueller, as well as the all the investigators who worked for him.
It looks like that will be the only way Americans will know the truth.
A very sad day for America.
11
@SLBvt: The truth about Trump was obvious in his first nihilistic anger-stoking public rally. The man poisons wherever he goes.
7
How can dems say that Barr's handling of the report is unacceptable if they haven't seen any of it?
2
@bored critic What is unacceptable is hiding the report so "dems" and the American people can't know what's in it.
9
@Betrayus--hes not hiding it. Hes redacting it as required by law and then hes releasing it.
Barr also said during his "interrogation "He is looking into the Actions and Reasons the FBI used to Justify their
Trump investigation and no Hillary Investigation, and the Report will be out by/in June.... List is the One to watch.
1
We will not be seeing the Mueller report. It will be Barr's version. A curacy, please.
1
Barr has made it clear from the moment of his Announcement that he intends to cover up and absolve the criminals just like he did with Iran-Contra. Anyone who thinks we live under the rule of law, including the New York Times, it’s just deceiving themselves.
13
mr barr's defense of and deference to the executive branch make me wonder who is the people's attorney general. Who is there in the justice department whose job it is to stand up for what is right for country rather than simply defend the president? there needs to be a new attorney general-like position created which would not be subservient to the president. we had this same problem with W.
5
"I'll have the report to you in a week. The holdup is that we need a new supply of black Sharpies to finish the job."
6
Mueller should do the redacting. Barr has already proven to be dishonest and untrustworthy, a partisan hack.
12
Publish the tax returns.
Publish the FULL Mueller report.
PERIOD.
All else is noise.
Individual-1's MO is to hire sleaze-ball yes-men, use them to lie, cover up, perform the dirty work, ruin whatever reputation they ever had, then throw them in the dumpster. (see latest Kirstjen Nielsen). Barr is next.
9
Barr looks at the Mueller report and decides that the information contained therein does not reach the level that requires further indictments. Barr determines for those people who are not indicted, any information that might prove to be damaging to them should not be released to the public, because they have not been charged with a crime. Therefore, Barr redacts the information in the Mueller report that he has used to determine that there should be no more indictments. The end.
7
Barr cannot violate the law, nor should he. Contrary to those who believe that the American people have a "right" to know everything, the law (FRP 6(e)) forbids release of information that may be derogatory to people the GJ investigated, if they have not been charged with a crime. Why? Basic fairness. Such people have no due process, no place to defend themselves-no court, no jury will ever hear their defense. They will be tried in the Court of public opinion by politicians. I would not want anyone to be treated that way. I think most Americans believe in the presumption of innocence, and want the protection of due process. Political trials violate basic fairness. The public does not have a RIGHT TO KNOW-THE LAW IS EXACTLY CONTRARY.
4
If it was your job to look after the welfare of ten thousand kittens, what would be the easiest way to go about that?
Dangle ten thousand strings from the ceiling...
why is Barr being so coy about releasing the report IF, as djt claims, and Barr suggests in his 4 page letter, it completely exonerates djt? Asking for half the country and your neighbours next door.
3
Attorney General Barr must be allowed to finish his work without constraints. A new law may be needed to allow Barr to complete his work without the continuing attacls from Democrat Party leaders and the head of the House Judiciary committee.
2
How is his work being impeded by congress asking for the full report?
8
@Hank your comment is too funny. if there was going to be any new laws they would have to come from Congress, and yes the new House now run by Democrats would have to be involved. good luck with your new law.
4
@Ricky The irony is rich isn't it? The Democrats told us for two years that "Mueller's work should not be interrupted' and that congressional action would be needed to thwart any attempt to stop him. Barr wants to take two weeks to dot the i's and cross the t's...and yet somehow, that's obstruction. The Democrats have gone insane; completely.
1
Where is Mr. Snowden when we need him...?
We need a Daniel Ellsberg to release the entire report. With a side order of tax returns, please.
6
America your democracy has been hijacked and bad actors like Barr weaken and destabilise it every day. Forget about the Russians the Republicans are the one that need to be held accountable.
14
Re: "...Attorney General William P. Barr is testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on budget matters. But Democratic members are also questioning him about his handling of the Mueller report..."
Only a week, before someone / the congress / I can read the Barr Report?
...Whopppppeeeee!
{/sarcasm)
@R.G. Frano you really believe that if the sides were reversed it would play out any differently. it wouldn't.
We need to get the cameras out of these hearing rooms.
Too many Congressmen and women are tripping over themselves and making themselves look like fools in the process.
This is as bad as Ilhan Omar's questioning of Eliot Abrams. She asked him a question..he answered definitively
"NO" and she said "I'll take that as a yes."
You can't make this stuff up. Where do these people come from?
More importantly, why do people like the AG have to appear before them at all?
What a waste of time!!!
3
@Erica Smythe Why do people like Barr would support the lying trump? because birds of a feather flock together!
6
People like Barr need to appear to gently remind them that they work for the American people and not for the person who happens to be the president. In Barr’s case he knows who his master is. And it’s not us. The man should be disbarred.
9
@Max Green Would you feel better if he told the Committee that he considers himself Trump's
"wingman"?
Cause that's what Eric Holder did when asked about his relationship with President Obama.
In fact, I think the whole quote was "I'm proud to consider myself President Obama's Wingman."
If the people cannot see the full report then throw it in the garbage along with the people making the redactions. It's worthless and so are they.
4
Congress is allowed and needs to go to the judge to ask for Grand Jury documents..Or Congress could impeach the orange one and obtain all of the Muller Report.
2
@Steven
Good well thought out plan EXCEPT for two little tiny issues...
1) Nancy Pelosi wisely would move impeachment forwards and
2) The Senate will NEVER vote for it!
1
Since everyone in Washington is acting like children over this report might I make a suggestion. Sit down Pelosi, Schumer, McConnel, McCarthy, and Trump with some snacks and crayons. And then let First Lady Melania with her beautiful accent read the report to all of them.
"Okay boyz and girlz, once upon a time far, far away..."
1
Barr was hired to stall for time and at worst... obstruct the process.
7
Re Photo_Caption: "...Attorney General William P. Barr is testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on budget matters. But Democratic members are also questioning him about his handling of the Mueller report..."
I look forward to reading the Barr report, concerning the mitigation of criminal allegations, described, in detail, (in the Mueller report!!), over the next week or two!
While i understand the need to protect 'sources/methods, etc.', I ALSO look, forward to reading an unexpurgated Mueller Report, and...in this U.S. citizen-voter's humbled opinion...every minute the, (unexpurgated), Mueller Report is unavailable is a minute of additional criminality on Trump's / Barr's / this administration's part!
"But he demurred when asked whether he has briefed the White House on it."
So, yes, he did, despite Trump's repeated lies.
9
I truly cannot stand Donald Trump. I also cannot stand Hillary Clinton. That is why I did not vote for either of them.
But I must say, I love how Trump drives the Left insane.
7
@Liberty hound
If you think Trump drives the left insane, then you wasted your vote.
1
There hasn't been this much excitement about a report since Kinsey.
1
If I was one of the Democrat candidates for the Presidency, I would pledge to declassify the Muller report on Day 1. Trump's shameless Presidency is precedence.
Barr should be asked at the Judicial Committee hearing if that were to happen, would his reputation be damaged as someone who illegally blocked information from the American people, if not outright lied to the American population.
6
@Bottles: So now you want a president to revoke the laws that protect Grand Jury witnesses? Nice...
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
1
Barr is about to get a Democrat elected to the Presidency in 2020.
Thank you, Bill Barr, for your assistance.
The Mueller Report is so bad for Trump, that the lesser evil is to conceal it. If it exonerated Trump, there would be a political ad campaign in progress with long quotes from Mueller's report (not Barr's lies about The Mueller Report). Every reporter in America would receive a complimentary copy of the report paid for by Donald J Trump himself. The entire report would be published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, paid for by the Republican Party.
Does anybody (even Republicans) think this is good news for Republicans running in the 2020 elections?
I don't think so.
10
Meanwhile, back in the real world, while bitter ender Dems and ‘progressives’ shout ‘coverup!,’ the appalling DJT’s approval rating per Rasmussen is now at 53%.
Why? The unhinged behavior of his opponents and the policies they advocate actually make him seem sane in comparison.
1
@EGD
Citing the Rasmussen polls as an indication of the presidents approval rating is like quoting the bible to indicate the age of the earth.
9
@EGD
One of the most absurd comments I've ever read, nevermind Rassmussen always has a GOP bias.
I quite dislike this combination of 'the appalling DJT' and 'the behaviour of his opponents actually make him seem sane?' His opponents are not unhinged, but this is just double-talk you've presented us with. It has no thought behind it, and just proves you are a Trump supporter, but most of them don't talk about 'the appalling DJT' and then spit at those who are not moving fast enough, or it looks that way, but they're moving towards things. Pelosi is under enormous pressure right now, but her remark of several weeks ago was not so great, or at least needs to be revoked by her. Opening an impeachment inquiry is the way to get the Mueller Report. This was in WaPo last night. It will say something about her if she does not allow that, at least by now. It doesn't make as much sense to try to take impeachment off the table as it did 3 weeks ago. After getting the report, impeachment can then be taken off the table. That conviction is impossible is not relevant in this case. How much does Pelosi WANT the report? In this case, her little freshman babies should start screaming all over the place, and she should not hold to that near-proclamation anymore. So we now know Barr has told the White House, which means Trump himself, that is now very clear.
4
I guarantee that there will be portions of the Mueller report that will cause you to conclude that Trump is guilty of obstruction and that Mueller missed the boat. I would encourage you, before jumping to conclusions, to apply the standard of proof that prosecutors generally apply: However damning the evidence may seem, prosecutors will not bring charges if there is a viable and reasonable defense that cannot be disproven.
So, for example, ask yourself how Trump’s lawyers would defend the firing of Comey. If you can’t disprove their explanation, no able prosecutor would indict. This is what reasonable doubt is all about.
1
@michjas trumps own words for starters, during an interview (television) I fired comey because of this Russia thing. it works for me. guilty!!
4
@michjas: Impeachment is not required to meet the "reasonable doubt" threshold of a criminal conviction. Obstruction of Justice is a count in an impeachment resolution, not an indictment. The standard of proof, therefore, is what will convince the required number of Senators that the President is guilty. Mr. Nixon was never indicted. He was not even impeached. He resigned because he knew that he would be impeached (for obstruction among other counts) and subsequently convicted by the Senate.
The law is clear - grand jury testimony is secret and cannot be made public without a judge's approval. The Dem's are playing politics, pure and simple. Barr is playing this down the middle following DOJ rules and the law.
1
Nonsense! and you know it!
2
@Mike Patrick. What you say is true. But grand jury testimony is surely just a small part of the 400 page report.
2
@Mike Patrick: The law is clear and has been obeyed for decades -- special prosecutor reports and other DOJ investigations can be provided to committee chairs (who have necessary clearances already) without violating the sanctity of Grand Jury testimony. Nobody is asking to make the Mueller report public, that's a media fiction.
The request is for Mr. Barr to make the Mueller report available to the chairs of the relevant House committees. That does NOT violate Grand Jury secrecy. It not only does not violate the law, it is proscribed BY the law -- it is the way the law requires DOJ to deliver relevant information to Congress.
1
Honest question, is Mueller considered a bad guy by the Democrats again? If there really was collusion between Trump and Russia, is Mueller not intelligent enough to see it? Is everyone's reaction to the Mueller release a textbook case of intellectual stubbornness?
4
@Don Q All we know of the Mueller report is what Trump's appointee told us.
6
The Collusion Delusion continues. I’m sure the tinfoil hat brigade will have objections and conspiracy theories galore no matter what gets released. The mental health profession needs to come up with some kind of treatment for this hysteria.
5
You know when it becomes undeniable that you’ve lost the argument?
When you quote Donald Trump.
5
While I agree with most of the irritation and outrage expressed in these comments and I don't trust Barr, people need to understand that the "whole" report will contain information germane to ongoing litigation, including against Roger Stone. You can't just let that out in public without risking that prosecution. There is also reason for concern about Congressional staff leaking the document.
Barr needs to clarify all the reasons for his actions.
Otherwise, what are they hiding and why are so many people so slavishly and cravenly throwing their reputations and careers into the gutter in service to trump?
6
@Jsw: If the media would report this more accurately, more people would understand that Congress understands your concern perfectly well.
I'm not aware of any suggestion to make the full report public -- that's another right-wing strawman. Congress instead wants the full report made available to the chairs of the various committees with relevant jurisdiction, including the Judiciary and Intelligence committees. Those individuals have the needed clearances and can review the report in confidence.
This was done in the Watergate era and is a frequently used mechanism for giving Congress the information it needs will preserving Grand Jury secrecy, national security, and similar concerns.
1
How Congress can exercise oversight using its budget authority if it chooses:
Mr. Barr: I politely decline to answer the question, Ms. Representative.
Ms. Representative: Mr. Barr, you will not get funding to buy even a PAPERCLIP until you answer our questions. Are we clear about that?
The DOJ cannot operate without an appropriation, and that appropriation must come from Congress. The Democrats are now in the majority in the Congress.
It is time the Democrats start using the sticks they already have to stop grandstanding and start governing.
8
If there was ever the slightest question that these 21st Century Democrats have absolutely no regard for the law, the comments by many of the Dems on this subcommittee and their many supporters commenting here is clear evidence. Mr Barr cannot give Congress an unredacted copy of Mueller’s Report. If the Dems want it that way, there are plenty of Obama appointed federal judges who would, like these liberal congresspersons be willing to sacrifice the law for their anti-trump feelings. But criticizing Barr for not doing so is a sign of their lawlessness.
5
hmm. i think its their regard for the law that is driving their enthusiasm. Republicans have a lot of self-reflection coming in the same matter.
4
Wait a minute. Mueller report might only be a piece of this investigation. Times’ story just now says IG could report in late spring about how wiretaps were authorized and also FBI’s relationship with Steele. And Barr himself says he is investigating how/why FBI began investigating Russian ties to Trump campaign during the 2016 election. Let’s wait for all the investigations to conclude before rushing in with Mueller’s piece of it.
2
"pressed Mr. Barr to say whether the White House has seen or been briefed on the contents of the Mueller report beyond what was in his letters about it to Congress. But Mr. Barr refused to answer."
Well, that is an answer. We can be sure that Trump has seen it.
Another strange thing is this:
“The letter of the 24th, Mr. Mueller’s team did not play a role in drafting that document, although we offered him the opportunity to review it before we sent it out and he declined that”
How come Mueller is not curious about how his pretty extensive report was being summarized (although not being a summary)?
And this is even more strange:
“The letter on the 29th, I don’t believe that that was reviewed by Mr. Mueller or that they participated in drafting that letter.”
How come Mr Barr does not know who has participated in drafting a letter that has himself as a sender?
My guess is that we will never know the truth of that report.
4
“I was not interested in putting out summaries or trying to summarize,” Mr. Barr said, “because I think any summary, regardless of who prepares it, not only runs the risk of being under-inclusive or over-inclusive, but also would trigger a lot of discussion and analysis that really should await everything coming out at once.”
Except everything isn't coming out, right? It may be that there are wholesale redactions made under such fig leaves as "grand jury testimony is, by law, secret" or "there is a national security interest involved" as if a seasoned individual like Mr. Mueller would include such testimony or information in a verbatim, paraphrased or lightly summarized form.
Other commenters have astutely observed that there's no possibility that the full report won't somehow find its way to the Congress given this President's willingness to impugn the country's law enforcement and intelligence communities. If that's the case then AG Barr has only bought the President a respite and not a reprieve.
4
I am very sorry but the way this entire thing has been handled so far, stinks more thoroughly than last week's moldy cheese. First, we hear Trump was totally and completed exonerated by the report. Huzzah!! So why can nobody can nobody see it? If the report exonerates Trump the GOP should be falling all over themselves trying to shove it in our faces. But they are not. In fact they have now circled their wagons and seem to agree that nobody should see the entire report underacted. Barr lists security concerns of unidentified third parties as being the reason for this. Who are these mysterious third parties and how are their interests more important than granting freedom of information to the American people? When the report is finally released how much of it will be blacked out with magic marker? It would be just like this administration to release the report with only the page numbers visible. We are now dealing with men who are capable of doing just about anything to make sure they obtain and retain power. Democracy is a dirty word to the GOP circa 2019. Fascism is their new black. I hope we can retire some of these folks in 2020. Perhaps they can go work in the for profit prison system alongside Kirstjen Nielsen. Trump and the treasonous GOP are a total disgrace and Barr is nothing but a lying shill and "fixer."
24
@wildwest
What are you talking about? The report comes out next week. That’s just how long it takes lawyers to do things.
1
Best president since the late, great Abe.
Nothing to see here.
You're going to get tired of all the winning.
Ivanka hired the Iran National Guard to build her hotel in Baku.
Nothing to see here.
MAGA.
Billy Barr
11
Mueller according to Barr:
Best president since the late, great Abe.
Nothing to see here.
You're going to get tired of all the winning.
Ivanka hired the Iran National Guard to build her hotel in Baku.
Nothing to see here.
MAGA.
Billy Barr None.
1
The President does not have the right to interject his objections to a report that is about his criminal activities and his associates.
Barr is obstructing justice himself. When is the House going to decide to begin impeachment hearings...when is enough..enough. When does Nancy Pelosi decide she can now think Trump is worthy of the blue ribbon of impeachment. She made the mistake of taking the Iraq investigation off the table, taking this off the table will be the demise of the Democratic party.
He has shown his true colors, weakening our union, weakening our borders and our rule of law; weakening our defenses, weakening our justice system...and at ever turn, Russia invites themselves in to be the "turn to" guy. When are Americans going to face the fact that everything Donald Trump does is to strengthen Russia and weaken the American Democratic System and does it for his own benefit, not any one else's. Stephen Miller is the new President...people need to look at the devil who whispers in the ear of the would be tyrant.
Subpoena Mueller and get the Truth. Why hasn't Mueller went to the court and asked it be turned over to Congress..why the silence? Why was his investigation ended before it was finished. Subpoena Rosenstein. Why have these things not been done..waiting on Barr is like waiting on the weasel to steal the chickens before calling in the dogs.
The American people want their government back!
17
We do t want a redacted report, we want the full. As a taxpayer, we have every right to know what was concluded in the Mueller report. We already know that trump is unfit for office: he’s a criminal, has committed treason by backing a foreign government, hires undocumented workers while separating immigrant families from their children and firing/berating anyone who doesn’t agree with him. Impeach him or enact Article 25. His attacks on the American people must end.
15
Barr has not explained why members of Congress with TOP SECRET clearances should not get an un-redacted version.
Why exactly is this, specifically?
16
For so many commentators here it seems the Mueller report means nothing. Collusion or wrong doing had to have happened regardless. Barr is corrupt and protecting Trump ad nauseam.. Democrat Sen/Gov of Nebraska Bob Kerry pointed to the harm done by such a process recently. A 2 yr investigation was bad enough. Continuing even more investigations after the Mueller report and discounting the conclusion can do damage in many ways and sets a banana republic precedent.
3
@Lane
If this had been a Democratic President causing a fraction of the chaos and instability Trump has caused, Special Counsel or none, that president would be gone long before now. I mean, pick one: Unaccounted funds magically disappeared from the Inaugural accounts; Payments to illicit lovers for silence; Stonewalling Congressional investigations; and on and on.
Never mind the Mueller report. We have seen the coverups, the “Golly gee, I don’t remember” lies to Congress from Sessions and Flynn and all, the meetings with Putin that remain secret to all but Trump and the Russian government. Trump’s campaign manager, personal lawyer and Security Advisor are all convicted felons. The attacks on American allies, the cozying up to Putin and the murderer MBS. Prisons constructed for children stolen from their parents. And, the persistent, daily, constant lies.
And for two years a Republican Congress and a Republican Senate stood by and didn’t lift one lazy finger to try and save this country.
That is what turned what used to be our country, into a banana republic.
The House investigations are an attempt to save it.
5
Of course Trump has seen Mueller's Report! Is there really any doubt in anyone's mind about this? The laws mean absolutely nothing to the Trump administration so why would they suddenly change course and have any respect or consideration for the law regarding this report? I'd bet the house that Trump's lawyers are working feverishly trying to redact all the bad parts while trying to come up with corresponding legal reasons why they were redacted.
23
You absolutely right and to think any different is to have blinders on. What really really upsets me is that they think we are stupid enough to believe their lies.
11
@Sue They've been insulting our intelligence since the inauguration....and possibly before that.
2
@Wally Wolf I agree that Trump has seen the report. You can be sure that he didn't actually READ it. And if someone else read it to him you can be sure he didn't comprehend it.
2
So, the House asked for the report last week and still has not received it. Not until there are consequences for disregarding the requests will we the people ever be fairly represented.
For instance, Trump's tax returns -- they need to be released or Steve Mnuchin should be held in contempt.
15
The problem isn't the process, its that the process is thwarted for at every turn and the random messaging is hopelessly unfathomable. For all of the things that have happened in my lifetime and those that have learned from my parents, this has got to be (including Clinton, McCarthy and Bush) the most untrustworthy president I have experienced.
12
And Nixon. Another crook!
Barr is just another one of the Trump’s flunkies and his only purpose it to protect Trump. The answer to this dilemma is to have the redacted Mueller Report and Robert Mueller side by side in a public Congressional hearing. Robert Mueller can then explain whether the redacted section should have been redacted and why, and if there's not a good, logical reason for the redaction, he will then have permission to underact it on the spot – or something along these lines.
11
Barr needs to stop playing games and give the report intact to the democrats and the people of the United States.
Trump can not be protected and Barr is just being a fool for this administration. He doesn't even realize that Trump is laughing at him
21
So Barr is redacting anything that could touch on national security in Mueller's report. At the same time, he's opening a new investigation into all of the interactions Mueller's team had with the FISA court - all of which is highly confidential due to national security.
Just another example of the GOP picking and choosing to apply laws and norms for its own political benefit.
18
Now it makes twice that Democrats shot themselves in the foot . The first time was changing the special counsel rules to make the special prosecutor report to the AG instead of being independent, and the second time was when Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option whereby appellate court judges could be approved without a 60 vote margin. Then Republicans extended that to Supreme Court nominees when Trump became president. Very very bad.
I do not trust Barr further than I can throw him .
4
Democrats did not change the “Special Counsel Rules.” The Democrats are doing everything we elected them to do...demanding truth, Justice and transparency!
2
This exercise of delaying the release of the Mueller Report is just a distraction. There is no smoking gun within the Mueller report. President Trump is manufacturing a problem or impediment here to take attention away from other actions (ergo executive orders) he has taken, or stalling any attempts of creating meaningful laws that actually benefit 99% of the country’s population on issues such as single-payer healthcare, climate change, campaign funding reform, and student loan forgiveness. Nobody seems to get this strategy of creating these bombastic, utterly senseless distractions so as to stall progress in Congress, or employ redirection to the news media, so they don’t put any of his disastrous executive orders on the front page of the newspaper, or the top story and topic of discussion on the nightly news. It is sad to watch Trump get away with his strategy of stall and distract.
10
During the hearing, Barr also stated that he would redact "information about people who were not ultimately charged."
Barr is telling Congress that any evidence unfavorable to Trump, his family, or any of the unindicted members of his campaign will be redacted.
When Congress and the public inevitably complain, Barr will wring his hands and state that he was required to withhold that information, which will be a convenient lie, since it was Barr who decided not to indict Trump and DOJ policy is that no sitting President can ever be indicted. Procedure 6(e) gives the DOJ the right to decide when it is in the public interest to release such information.
As John Dean himself has observed, if Barr were AG for Nixon, Nixon would not have resigned.
15
I think your last paragraph is the point of this presidency: A vengeful fandom (and former members of his administration or campaigns) joining forces with (other?) racist and misogynistic far-right/"alt-right" people in order to stick it to the rest of America for Nixon's resignation and related indictments, and for having elected a self-identified Black feminist for two terms in the Oval Office.
4
How on earth is Congress supposed to make impeachment decisions if they are not allowed to see the full report? I hope they call Mueller and his entire team to testify under oath after Barr's Report is released to see if it remotely resembles Mueller's Report.
15
1. We get. Barr is not going to release the full Mueller report because it is too damaging to the President. If is wasn’t it would be released to help the president. Barr is working for the Republicans in Congress. Barr is not working for the majority of Americans. That is why he was hired. I knew that from day 1,
2. We get it. The Republicans working for Trump are not going to release Trump’s income tax statement. To do so would show what Trump really is and it would hurt his chances for re-election. If it was good it would be released to help Trump get re-elected,
3. Every day I get up and things get worse.
How long can this last.
21
I would like to get an honest response to this question from every Republican supporting Trump in hiding this report:
If Obama had been investigated by a special counsel, would you be okay with 4-page summary and a heavily redacted full report from his hand-picked Attorney General?
Republicans got up in arms when Bill Clinton talked to Loretta Lynch for 15 minutes while they were investigating Hillary Clinton's emails. Can they honestly say that they would be happy without the full report?
(Also, the Clinton report was released in full, despite no findings of wrongdoing and plenty of national security concerns.)
17
Congress persons, lovers of justice and truth, and lovers of American values - you must accept nothing less than very nearly the full unredacted report. Fine to strike out names and sources - but that's it. Seriously. Otherwise, Barr will definitely hide information about Trump's malign activities. They keep talking about the dangers of revealing classified information. What? Where was the concern when Trump took the Chinese into his confidence in Mar-a-lago when he showed them in real time no less as to how the executive branch initiates military action? Trump has also had private conversations with Putin whose contents were withheld from Congress and the people. Where was the concern about security and leakage of classified information then? Hold firm and do not let Barr dictate the narrative. He is unquestionably in Trump's court and has, and should have, zero credibility.
15
Barr is so obviously conflicted that it has become nearly impossible for the public to trust anything that he will do going forward. These conflict of interest issues remain in full view were somewhat ignored this morning.
Not only did Barr get his job with a clearly biased "application" letter, but he was approved by a Republican Senate majority with a party line vote, allowed himself to be publicly videoed as Trump praised him, and subsequently has parsed or twisted every word or document since he first joined the office two months ago.
We all know by now that the media and public are having a hard time keeping track of all the blatant gas lighting from this administration, but the goal of the Mueller report was to settle questions, in a non-partisan way, about interference in our elections. Only that can begin to bring the country back together again. Barr will only lead us to lose more trust in yet another pillar of our society. By being so clearly conflicted, he is nothing more than another symbol of what "Justice", the department he runs, is not supposed to look like.
Maybe he will surprise us, but it is more likely that Barr is another Trump lackey who puts self-interest over country. Those who want to give him the "benefit of the doubt" for now, should keep a low threshold to fight back once it becomes obvious he is so willing to mislead us.
12
I wonder how many clamoring for the full report will actually read it.
3
i'm sure the trolls will find another conspiracy theory to poke holes in anything released.
they can't accept reality.
reject reality, or accept?
let's move on. Obsessive minds will eventually recognize Trump was cleared of these conspiracy charges.
4
Whatever Barr releases should be released to the public not just Congress. If he releases it just to Congress they will pick and choose the items they feel support their existing opinions. I want to see the whole thing not just what some political hacks want me to see through their leaks to the media. Put the whole report on the internet.
3
Mr. Barr and the Republican (or should we say "Trumpian") congress handle our president with kid gloves because they know he is incapable of acting with integrity. A comparison between their treatment of the Clintons and Donald Trump is in-our-face hypocrisy. Putting Trump under oath is a perjury trap?! His own party knows that his world is built on self-promoting falsehoods. Hillary Clinton endangered our national security? Who faced the world and asked Russia to reveal stolen emails containing classified information? In this Trumpian country, integrity is considered a weakness. Our laws are not working if integrity is a joke.
9
My question is, what does our country do when the head of the DOJ is obstructing justice! This is not a democracy when 1 man wields this kind of power. If this was about a Democrat as President the Republicans heads would be blowing up!!
12
Is there a Daniel Ellsberg currently at the Department of Justice? If so, you are asked to step forward, perform your highest duty, and forward the Mueller Report in toto to this newspaper!
12
Comments on here and social networking are of a people sick to death of the corrupt environment Trump and his lap dogs have made of government. Purity was not lost for it was never was, but patriotism has been lost and that is the key to the dismantling of the country we know. The comments are also the least Americans can do as the country slides down the abyss. We have become an apathetic nation except for the Trump supporters who march their White Nationalists out committing heinous acts to remind us of the white "power" that supports a man intent on acting out revenge for how "victimized" he's been. This all as he melts into mental illness with his finger on the codes. Unless the army of the patriots unite in taking back our country, Trump and his Barr stooge will continue their destructive games of damaging America as its beauty falls into decay.
8
If you want to know what New York Mafia figures are like, you need only look at Trump. The Report will be unreliable as many Federal people helped Trump win. I won't believe the false narrative it presents. The delay is meant to cultivate a belief in it's legitimacy.
5
Barr told them, Mueller is Helping in the Redaction's, and to Help all the people who will read this Report he is Color coding all the redaction's into 4 Colors, so the explanations of Redaction's are consistent and not open to different interpretations by them. Color Coded just for them. so Funny.
1
So Mueller report says “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”, but the president’s hand picked AG determined after less than 48 hours reading it there were no substantive grounds supporting obstruction of justice.
Like most Americans, I find that hard to accept on face value and await the full report.
19
I thought in the US only juries and judges may "conclude" whether or not someone "not exonerate[d]" of a crime perpetrated said crime. What, indeed, is the point of having a Judicial branch of government if a single person who happens to be appointed Attorney General can issue a binding decision / conclusion of law? Rather than letting Congress or, after Trump leaves office, a jury or judge decide whether or not Mr. Trump committed a crime or other unlawful act, Mr. Barr seems to have obviated, or attempted to obviate any such options.
3
Every day i contemplate the same basic question- How did we get here? Perhaps it started back in the 1990's with Newt Gingrich and from that movement is has fully metastasized. Never did i imagine that we'd be fighting white nationalism or defending those attempting to seek asylum in our country. What scares me the most is this question- Will we ever be able to get back on track, to alteast some semblance of normalcy back to the United States of America that we all once knew and loved? I truly hope so, but not until this unfit man is out of office.
19
Well, legally what the author gestures at is key: if the Democrats in Congress grow a spine and open impeachment proceedings--which in this ex-prosecutor's mind are clearly supported by probable cause that Trump obstructed justice and violated campaign finance laws based on what is *publicly* known--then they can ask a judge to un-redact the entire report to inform their related investigation. Will they do this--and act with the courage of the convictions they swore to have when they took office? That is the question.
8
Mr Barr, we the American people deserve the facts of the
Mueller Report. No censorship of the truth is acceptable.
Members of the US Senate or House of Representatives that block this fact filled report should be voted out of office ASAP.
Citizens that cherish democracy get ready to run for office to replace these' been there too long ' members of Congress. They can't see the forest( big picture) cause they're
stuck in the trees.(lobbyist for the NRA, big Pharma etc)
Hardworking Americans require facts not snake oil (sales pitches)
4
The public will have to wait and see what Mr. Barr has determined we can see. I don't understand why the appropriate committees in Congress whose members hold the proper clearances can't see the entire report now. These members of Congress have classified documents in front of them regularly. Are they not to be trusted now just in this one particular case? Transparently opaque.
5
If the FULL and unredacted report is not handed over to at least the Judiciary Committee, the investigation will never be settled or satisfied that the whole truth has been revealed. This editing to suit the story the President wants the public to hear will never do. I am not satisfied. The Congressional investigation is not satisfied. We are left forever in a state of doubt.
20
People with nothing to hide don't waste effort hiding things. America deserves to see what Trump is hiding--in his taxes and in the Mueller report. We the People want to see it all.
17
What if the report includes information about private citizens that is extremely unlikely to relate to Trump or anything or anyone being investigated? For example, what if third parties were observed smoking marijuana (still a federal crime) or the report includes the private, personal health information of someone (especially someone who did no wrong)? What if the report includes information about a minor child, particularly one not suspected of participating in or knowing about any wrong-doing? Or information that specifically identifies a highly-placed mole in the Russian government the public revelation of which would not only likely lead to that person & family's torture and death, but might also directly cause a violent war with Russia or other country? Or what if the report contains identifying information of a person not involved in any wrong doing who has a domestic violence or other criminal restraining order on someone(s) or who is in the witness protection program? Should everyone and their sisters be allowed to access and circulate that information? Someones other than just Barr and people under the thumb of the Trump presidency and its administration (departments) probably should have access to the information, but not the general public.
2
This is just phase 2 of the great deception. When we see the report, there will be more holes in it than the best Swiss Cheese. Does Barr impress anyone as being a public servant or a Trump lackey?
Nothing short of the full report will due.
15
When you don’t hold corrupt people in government accountable, they will boldly betray the country.
That’s what we have been seeing in the Republican Party for at least the last forty years.
They will not stop. They will need to be stopped.
Anyone?
10
The recent flurry of investigative activity attests to the abject negligence and reckless disregard of the GOP dominated congress in executing its overseeing responsibilities over the last two years. What a terrible travesty of governing incompetence bordering on malfeasance of such massive depth and breadth it's mind boggling.
5
I really hope that after Barr releases his version of the Mueller report and summaries that someone on Mueller's team leaks Mueller's version of the Mueller report and summaries.
Comparing the two versions will actually be far more revealing of the amorality of both Trump and the GOP than simply the Mueller report on its own.
We can only hope that someone with integrity has the courage to leak the real Mueller report.
10
Mueller’s “no collusion” conclusion
Has morphed due to mass confusion
Into Trump’s maniacal self delusion
That the report equals exoneration.
He was only cleared of electoral shenanigans
Conspiring with Putin and his hooligans
To interfere with voting machinations
And distort the electorate’s imaginations
But the core of Trump’s Big Apple is rotten
He and his clan’s wealthy may be ill gotten
With Russians has he thrown his lot in?
Investigate Trump’s conflicts...let Congress begin!!
5
William Barr might be a clever lawyer, but he's a terrible, terrible liar. Anyone who possesses a basic understanding of non-verbal communication can watch Barr flagrantly betray himself as he lies to whatever congressional committee before which he sits. He is no more honest than the despicable man he has sacrificed his reputation and integrity to protect.
16
There is no doubt that the entire, unredacted report would have been loudly presented to everybody and his dog if it exonerated Trump.
23
To quote Rick Wilson, "Everything Trump touches dies". Add William Barr to that ever-expanding and lengthy list.
15
The more redactions, the more questions by the public. The more redactions, the more trump will spout lies, which he has already done when reciting over and over "no obstruction". He's such a redundant bore.
10
I'm so happy Attorney General Barr is confident that the attempt to repeal the ACA will lose in the courts. I was worried that with Kennedy gone and Kavanaugh in place, the Supremes stood a good chance of lining up against Roberts and the justices who upheld Obamacare on the first go-round but apparently there's now nothing to to be concerned about.
Apropos of nothing, I'm reminded of the practice during the Victorian era to "sanitize" ("redact?") performances of Shakespeares tragedies deemed too upsetting for mixed audiences.
In "Romeo and Juliet" for example, Tybalt and Mercutio are just rendered temporarily insensible by their sword wounds; Juliet doesn't drink enough of the poison to kill her; Romeo stabs himself but not successfully enough to succumb, and even the Capulet equerry who Romeo fights in the tomb is okay.
Everybody lives and in the end everyone is happy.
No obstruction, no collusion, no tragedy.
5
No wonder they cannot get a thing done!
We start with budget and end with Trump.
Go get the budget passed.
Did the House of Reps appropriate/assign the (taxpayers') money that paid for the Special Counsel and his team and for the investigation and for the creation of the report and its summaries?
1
The mueller report cost 25 million. Manafort paid 40million In fines and forfeitures. The mueller report MADE money for the taxpayers.
9
@Patriotic
Trump's Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller after Trump fired FBI director James Comey and bragged about it to Lester Holt and the Russian ambassador and AG Jeff Sessions recused himself due to his own dealings with the Russians.
Thus, this is a Trump Administration investigation into the Trump Administration and campaign that might not have occurred had Trump contained himself.
Mueller's was not a House investigation. -- thegamesmenplay.com
3
The worst thing is that he would not answer whether or not the White House had seen it, because he wasn't going to lie to Congress. If he didn't say 'no', that looks very bad. He had said elsewhere that he wouldn't show it to them, but who believed it even then?
What other reason would he have to refuse to answer that?
10
A remarkable highlight of this testimony of Barr is his statement that Mueller declined to review Barr’s 4 page letter ! This must have been quite a shock to some of the active combatants fighting over the Mueller report !
1
Mueller and Barr are colluding.
And this cynical, shameful, and self-serving political charade continues unabated before our very eyes. Until when? That is the questions that every intelligent and law-abiding U.S. citizen asks himself/herself today. Until when?
7
The two year Mueller probe finds that Trump did not cullude with the Russians.
Democrats, ‘progressives,’ and Rachel Maddow hit hardest.
3
Not at all. Intelligent people know that the only activity the unaccomplished GOP do is to lie. Barr is part of that pack.
7
If it is a Republican President being investigated, the GOP games the report (Trump, George W.'s -9/11 Commission). If a Democrat, they game the investigation and release (Both Clintons). Pretty simple.
If the report recommend indictment- pardon. (Nixon, HWBush) If not- claim exhortation. (Trump, George W.). Or, just keep saying you can't remember (Reagan-to be fair he was senile by his second term and Bush was acting POTUS).
Here's an idea-- stop burglarizing the DNC (Nixon, Russia/Trump?), relying on foreign governments (Nixon, Reagan, Both Bushs), and phony investigations (both Clintons).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/17/ronald-reagan-alzheimers-president-son
4
So much obfuscation and dodging of a report which "totally exonerates" the President. Why?
24
Those who accept Russian money do a lot of dodging - bullets, poison, tax audits, truth.
8
$72 million for 100 immigration judges? They get paid $720,000 each? What's going on here?
5
It’s the offices that go with it. Bailiffs etc..secretaries court reporters
4
It took Mr. Barr less than 72 hours to read AND compose a four page summary of this report. Now it takes him weeks to release this report. I am sure he is redacting with much more precision than writing his quixotic summary.
14
The Trump criminal nightmare continues unabated.
And democrat politicians upholding the law when the entire world already agrees Trump is a criminal is going slow as molasses.
8
No collusion, period. End of story. You lost. Get over it. Bye.
2
18 indictments - 5 arrested and convicted - jail time - and 17 on going investigations? No collusion. But what about everything else?
9
Can the White House legally withhold the full Muller report from the Congress just using an argument of national security? I have not been able to locate a clear answer to this question and would appreciate if you publish some clarification.
5
The report must be released unredacted. Just as other reports have been. This report must be looked at without comments from Barr. He is a trump toadie. trump is not president to the majority of citizens and he must not be given any power as president of his own fan club. Mueller must be questioned in front of the country. Sunlight is very much needed to expose trump.
4
I do not believe we will ever see the whole truth about what the Muller investigation has learned. This whole thing with Barr saying he needs to redact several sections of it just keeps the whole thing shrouded in secrecy. I do not believe him nor do I trust him with this handling what is obviously a lot of important information now being covered up. It's all a sham.
4
@CCB "I do not believe we will ever see the whole truth about what the Muller investigation has learned."
That's because Mueller, a lifelong Republican thug, has no interest in informing the public of Trump's crimes and never did. His job is to whitewash and lie. Like all Republicans.
1
"William Barr Says Mueller Report Will Be Public ‘Within a Week’"
Translation: "William Barr Will Make The Barr Report Within a Week"
Low-Barr was chosen SPECIFICALLY to protect and serve Trump, not to protect and serve We The People. Why? Because Trump is guilty of many, many crimes against this nation. The innocent to not NEED protection, do not NEED to appoint and hire stooges to stand in the way of uncovering their crimes.
Despite Trump's supporters' belief that they're somehow being lifted by the phony president, like the rest of us they're only sinking farther down under the weight of this lying, corrupt, ignorant imitation of a man.
7
This headline is misleading. He will not be releasing the report. He will be releasing a heavily redacted report.
11
Congress is not going to get its hands on the full Mueller report! Whatever redacted results it does get will be able to be disputed. That's all that's needed: Trump has plenty of bodies to throw in the way of him being personally held responsible, much less arrested, for anything.
Trump is above the law; American democracy has met its match. To predators, civilized underpinnings are barbecued spareribs— they can't get enough. Either we bring an end to our self-sacrifice or Trump will eat us all.
Trump is a criminal. He must be extirpated from our midst extrajudicially if necessary and dealt with as though he were a red Ebola frog being collected in a HAZMAT suit. He must be dealt with "decisively" (burnt at the stake), not "fairly," (impeached).
8
@Anthony Adverse Replace Trump with "all Republicans."
No reason to single him out.
Trump has always demanded loyalty from the sycophants who surround him and when he doesn't get they are out and the search starts to find a true yes man. When Trump says he is happy with someone's service as he has with his new AG Mr. Barr, what does that say about Mr. Barr and his ability to be objective in his evaluations of his new boss? Trump glories in finding at last his new consigliori and Barr has done nothing to disprove that this is not so.
8
It is no surprise that Barr has shared all the information he has with trump. That's why he was hired, isn't it?
When the history of this horrific administration is written, future generations will wonder how this could possibly have happened in our country.
10
Transparent on the redactions? I'm lost.
4
Someone needs to leak the full report. And they should do it the day before Barr releases his butchered version.
14
@Uncle Donald
I vote the day after Barr releases his version. If Barr is obstructing justice, I want Barr caught red handed obstructing justice, no warning.
9
The US does not need Barr to filter out anything in the report. Especially to members of Congress.
Just like in a dictatorship the dictator assigns his flunky to judge something and he always finds in the dictator's favor. Too many people are watching and Barr will not get away with anything...
3
It appears that no one even bothered to ask Barr how many pages the Mueller report contained. Is AOC the only Member of Congress who knows how to ask questions?
8
Attorney General Barr is doing everything Trump wants him to do, cover-up the most important report in the history of this country. Trump continues to put "his" people in every post who turn out to be the worst choices possible. There is only one reason Trump with the help of Barr wont let us see the Mueller Report and his taxes, because these documents will prove he is guilty of treason, lying and cheating.
6
This is all very very funny. Barr says he will follow the "law". Very important.
Trump says the law on immigrants is bad. Very bad. So he tells everyone NOT to follow the law. Send them away. Separate them. Yada yada.
Guess you can choose in this country, no?
5
It's very difficult to see why the relevant Congressional committees should not already be in possession of an unredacted copy of the full Mueller report.
Barr is a partisan; another Trump flunky putting party and the Trump maladministration before country.
8
Since apparently Barr is the one who will decide what to black out, he might as well decide to black out the whole report.
That would save every one time and money.
2
Bill Barr's reputation is jeopardy. His "reputational interest" is at stake. In this way it is a conflict of interest for him to be at the helm of deciding who gets to see what and when.
2
There is something profoundly wrong with a political appointee saying to the whole nation that he uses his own discretion to decide when and how much truth the people can know about their president.
12
Despite many regretful episodes, our country is really not based on arrogance. Barr disappointed me but he did not disappoint Trump and, in his world, that's what counts. But our system will prevail; ideally with more Democrats in office after the 2020 election.
2
I am so glad we finally have an AG who can't be intimidated and will not break the law because the Democrats demand he do it. Barr will follow the rules and let Congress and the public see what they are legally entitled to and no more. If the Democrats are legally entitled to the entire unredacted report, they will get it. If they aren't they will not get it. The problem with the Democrats is that they will release or leak information that is not legally allowed to be released if they think it will help them release it to the public. That is a fact. They have done it historically. How do I know? The NYT and the WP are always printing classified and secret material aimed t hurting the GOP or Trump.
1
@NYChap
Unless you have clearance at the level required to review the documents you claim Dems are leaking, and you have a legally valid reason to have reviewed said documents, how do you know?
And how about this: Trump (via Barr) gets to redact only what he's legally _required_ to redact, and nothing more.
If what may or may not fall under the category of "required" (vs. "permitted") is the least bit unclear or debatable, a panel of (elected?) judges with expertise in those areas of law and whose party affiliation is evenly divided or proportioned, will review everything in un-redacted form and verify that each redaction was in fact _required_ by law.
2
Something that hasn’t even happened yet and most likely will never happen is a fact?
That’s a new one! I guess some people will say anything. Now, that’s a fact.
1
What he will release is the cliff note version of the report, or as I call it the Barr report.
Until we see the full Mueller report it's usefulness only because of how this was handles, which is to say very poorly.
4
Interesting that it took Barr five minutes to tell us Trump was clean as a whistle, but it's taking him a month to send the report to congress.
11
It’s going to come right before Passover and Easter, to inconvenience Congress and to bury the story as much as possible. Or it’ll come on tax day, for the same reasons.
2
After watching Barr this morning, I'm convinced the Democrats are right. There was too much side-stepping and careful answers for me to believe anything but the full Mueller report. Mr. Barr, YOU have convinced me you're just another Trump tool.
12
Exactly when was there any doubt?
3
Someone (wink, wink) needs to get a copy of the report and spread it on the internet. I'm not condoning illegality (nudge, nudge) but if someone put it out there in its entirety there is no way Trump could stop it. You hear me Deepthroat? You hear me Pentagon Papers? Press a button on Barr's computer and let it fly.
8
Good information. At this point our only hope is that there is so much wrongdoing that if all is redacted, there won't be much left. Anyone expecting information on Russia, even beauty pageants, will be disappointed.
In the meantme, the Attorney General will update the white house so they can test out different diversions and counter-attacks. I expect we'll hear a lot more witch hunt and lying Hillary with a dash of "Bill Clinton did it too."
It's probably best to give this round to President Trump and Fox News. Democrats may have to accept that sometimes good things happen to bad people.
So Mr. Barr may have talked to the White House about the Mueller report. That may explain the President's base-pleasing actions of the past week:
- Designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization
- Ousting his top immigration officials in order to (likely) replace them with hard(er)liners
Perhaps he's shoring up support knowing that there's damaging material in the report. I guess we'll know soon.
6
For the report going to the relevant Congressional committees, like Intelligence of Judiciary, the only redactions should be grand jury material, and even then that should be only because you have to do an extra step, in court, to have a judge allow that material to be revealed. Other than that issue, there is no reason why the appropriate members of Congress, if not all of Congress, cannot see everything else immediately. What the public sees immediately, or even eventually, is a different story; for example, let's not be stupid and reveal sources and methods of intelligence operations.
If we can't trust even the chairpersons of committees to see classified information, even information related to third parties who might be embarrassed(!), then we have a problem with Congress a whole lot bigger than most anything else.
1
“This process <> and <> of <> to release this by mid-April <>,” he said. "And so <> that <>, within a week <> to release the report to the public.”
Weasel words 101. See above emphasis. Place your bets on which of these will prevail. From the top:
- it is not longer going along very well
- my original timetable was flawed
- no longer able
- it no longer stands
- I thought wrong
- my standpoint was bad
- I am no longer in a position to
My money is on some sort of trifecta.
2
So, Barr was telling the truth. And, Trump supported releasing the entire report.
I can hear the air escaping from the Democrats' tires.
Barr "demurrred" when asked "whether he has briefed the White House" on the report? You mean he refused to answer? How can that guy sit there and and withhold information on whether the White House has been given information on the report before Congress and the public get to see it?
7
"Barr Tells Congress He Will Deliver Mueller Report Within a Week"
Also assures them that the bridge he's selling is a bargain.
3
It's as if trump himself gets to make the redactions. Ridiculous.
9
In a week? So he can black out all the incriminating bits?
he works for us, the people.
He is not trump's personal henchman.
Enough. Trump is a treasonous criminal traitor doing terrible damage to our democracy and he must be removed from office.
Otherwise we are doomed.
4
The real art will be Barr's attempt to obscure certain important truths under the guise of properly redacted material. He knows it will not be easy to create a narrative that supports the president, but we can tell, he has been giving it his best shot.
He will delay release of the full report (without redactions) until he is legally compelled to do so.
By then, he and the president will have controlled the narrative for months, or perhaps years, with the hope of the american public losing interest in the entire affair.
Will democracy win out? Only time will tell.
4
Under the Clinton presidency Congress pasted a measure limiting the distribution of the products of special counsel investigations. This constant carping is just more evidence of the disappointment the Democrats experienced when the investigation essentially found nothing. The Dems are beginning to look like children throwing tantrums when they don’t get what they want. There is an election in 2020. Resolve it then. Now they should get to work on the issues they were elected to address.
5
How do you know what the report reveals, as you haven't read it?
4
Another way to look at Barr's slick obfuscation: He will put out the redacted report ("redaction" makes it sound like what he is doing so very legal and so very official-doesn't it?) and eventually the true report will emerge, and we will all be able to see what he and his client were trying to hide. That just might be worth waiting for.....
1
Wasn't it predictable that Barr would redact everything and anything possible?
And, if it had been any other Trump appointed AG, same result.
Unfortunately, the Special Counsel team was hamstrung from the beginning. DOJ policy says cannot indict a sitting president.
Special Counsel must get DOJ approval for lots of actions. Barr says nobody ever said "no." I do not believe him.
2
@Alexandra Brockton
Mueller’s Grand Jury is still in session and at work. And a number of logically expected indictments, given the information in the earlier indictments, appear to have been abandoned midstream.
It’s not unlikely Barr got appointed and immediately shut down the investigation and requested a premature report. If he had, this is exactly how it would look.
2
"We the People" seems to have no part in getting this report, even though we the taxpayers paid for it. If the law excludes us, we've already lost our democracy.
8
Congress needs to see an UNredacted report.
If they can be trusted with national security reports, they can be trusted with this.
They can redact portions they want to release to the public.
You cannot trust the fox to guard the hen house, especially since he wanted to give it to the White House to redact before he gave it to Congress. Who knows how much influence they're giving him on redacting it now.
8
AG Barr's logic on full disclosure of the Mueller report appears to rely on equating either a youthful White House interns' threat to national security, or, an Arkansas land deal gone awry to possible campaign collusion with a foreign government. Impropriety in one's personal behavior is far removed from collective disregard for the tenets of campaigning for this nation's highest office. The law cannot and should not be applied without regard to it's overall impact on the well-being of a nation.
4
We all know there will be egg on the face of the partisan Barr when the entire report is leaked, as it inevitably will be. Individual-1 will be obviously upset and will quickly tweet or say something to distract the public attention and the press will indulge him as they have since his candidacy. We are being let down by the fourth estate.
1
Mind-boggling that this guy can waltz in, view the whole Mueller report and take total control of it, but the people's representatives in congress, let alone the people, can't see it. It was a democracy, if we could have kept it.
10
Submit the unredacted report to congress simultaneously so that the public can have some immediate assurance regarding the material contained in the redacted portions.
4
Barr's work during Iran/Contra was to ensure that the truth would never be known.
What makes anyone believe this time will be any different?
Anything less than the full report and all accompanying documents is clear evidence of a coverup and whitewash.
Is Barr willing to go to prison? He best be.
7
@Citizen 0809 Same is true of Mueller, another Republican criminal who helped lie the country into a disastrous war with Iraq.
1
A fundamental point is being missed in this story:
The fact that Mueller didn't indict is being presented to support exoneration.
But, according to DOJ rules Mueller was bound to comply with, he could not indict Trump.
Compounding this problem, Barr has publicly announced his bogus legal theory that a sitting President can not be indicted.
And Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh shares a very similar view of Executive power.
When will we get reporting on this?
9
Please release the full and unredacted report. So we can all get on with our lives, and back to the business of beating Trump at the ballot box, with policies, not conspiracies.
3
Can someone please at least leak the Mueller summaries? As they were carefully prepared by Mueller's team to protect grand jury secrecy, you can feel comfortable such release would not violate the grand jury secrecy statute. If you leak these summaries to be public, you would be doing a public service. Please don't let Barr and Trump whitewash the report and prevent the American people, who paid for this investigation and report with their hard-earned tax dollars, from learning the truth.
5
Here is a guy (Barr) who is appointed to his post. He answers to one person (Trump).
Yet, this guy Barr is saying “no” to dozens in Congress who were fairly elected by citizens. If that’s how our system is intended to work, then, there’s something very wrong with our system.
9
@Patrick alexander
Sure. Elected officials get to tell the non-elected ones what to do. That must be why, for example, a member of the House from South Dakota can tell a Supreme Court Justice (unelected) how to rule on a particular case. And it must also be why, when he was in Congress, Devin Nunes was able to frequently direct Hillary Clinton as SoS what actions to take with foreign countries. Or why Maxine Waters can call up the chairman of the Fed and tell him how to set interest rates
Yes, that is precisely how it works. In nonsense-land. But not in real life, where we have laws, and a Constitution.
There's actually nothing wrong with our system of government. But clearly there is something wrong with our educational system where a person like you can arrive at voting age without having a fifth grader's knowledge of how our government works.
"Relying on my own discretion" says it all. Barr is covering up for Trump and his family and associates by deciding what to reveal and not reveal in the 400 page Mueller report--and history will not judge him well. Why did he take a job with Trump who lies all the time and works with people who are going to prison like Trump's personal lawyer of ten years Cohen and his campaign manager Paul Manafort? This seems extremely ill advised. Barr made his bed and he will have to lie if he doesn't change his course. Seems he is too power hungry to not associate his name forever with Donald Trump's. Sad.
9
What will the Dems do once this happens? They will actually have to try to find something to do in Congress.
2
Everyone connected with Don the Con is expected to defy rules and break the law if necessary. I totally expect Barr to follow suit.
5
Attorney General Barr, a partisan, will deliver the "Barr Report," not the "Mueller Report." And that, my fellow Americans, summarizes the problem.
7
"William Barr Says Mueller Report Will Be Public ‘Within a Week’"
Good reason for Trump to fire Barr on Friday.
3
Barr's job is to protect Trump. Barr will do exactly when he wrote his auditioning as Trump's AG. At today's hearing when asked if he had consulted the WH about his 3 page summary, Barr initially answered 'no'. Later, he remembered that he or his associate read his letter to WH counsel. Give me a break,
4
Sooner or later, if not in my remaining few years, we'll enjoy installing a truly honorable Attorney General.
3
Mr. Barr's testimony, stances and arrogance remind me of John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst. Mitchell went to prison. Kleindienst has a less than honorable place in history and resigned in disgrace. Richardson who succeeded Kleindienst will always be regarded as a person of honor. I believe that people who believed that Barr was an institutionalist talked themselves into believing that Barr would be like Richardson. It's sadly clear this is not the case and Barr will find himself among those whom history will have labeled as "dishonorable." Barr revealed all in this hearing.
4
Are we going to see the rest of the sentences that he EDITED for his summary letter? “[T]he investigation did not establish.....”
Still want to see what he cut out if that statement, along with the sentences before and after.
1
Given the track record of this administration I wonder if Barr will still be Trump's lawyer in a week. I say Trump's lawyer because he isn't the nation's attorney.
7
Barr is zealot. He will lie for Trump until the end.
This hack is hiding information for the congress and the public but has shown Trump already. Whats wrong with this picture? It’s the blind devotion of
Republicans to do anything, say anything and even
break laws for Trump.
3
Instead of acting as attorney for the United States, Mr. Barr is acting as Donald Trump's personal attorney.
For Barr to attempt obstruction of oversight is shameful, not to mention illegal.
7
I am astonished to read that the Department of Justice will only try to enforce laws that the president approves of!
7
Barr's refusal to say whether the White House was briefed on the report was a display of arrogance and his contempt for the congressional committees. By what authority is Barr allowed to refuse to answer their questions? Barr comes off as the Devin Nunes of the justice department.
3
If anything, and I mean anything is redacted, that is not the entire report, contrary to what Barr or anyone else says.
1
Obviously, the report contains information detrimental to trump - I would think Congress would want to see it - can you imagine the screeching by the gop if President Obama we’re still on office - but no, the cowardly gop are silent.
2
Fox talking about Bernie Sanders owning 3 houses!
Apr 23, 2018 · Sean Hannity reportedly owns at least 870 properties in 7 states. Fox News host Sean Hannity has said he only sought legal advice from Michael Cohen, President Trump's personal lawyer and fixer, regarding real estate, and they would have a lot to talk about, according to a report in The Guardian.
1
I'd comment on corruption in Washington except we have practically the same situation in Ottawa. SAD!
The situation in Ottawa isn't remotely comparable to the Trump Administration. Please contain yourself.
1
Simple question: If there is no wrongdoing then why edit, why hide any portion of the Mueller report and why within a week, why not now? Publish the Mueller report in its entirety not just for the Congress but for all the Americans!
2
Barr is between a rock and a hard place here.
If his "redactors" excise too much, the odds of a leak (of the entire unredacted report) will be higher. If they excise too little, the odds of a leak will decrease but others may complain that the redactors have ignored the rules.
I don't think anybody seriously objects to redactions of classified information or of references to secret grand jury proceedings or other investigations. As for Barr's fourth "exclusion" category -- protecting the reputations of individuals who were investigated but not charged -- I understand there's no statute or rule that requires this (Barr just made it up), but I doubt many Americans object to it on principle, provided Barr's "redactors" don't get carried away on that basis.
My strong hunch is that Barr has issued very general "hands off" instructions to his "redactors." I hope so, and I hope that they don't redact very much at all.
1
""But he demurred when asked whether he has briefed the White House ""
Enough said.
3
After he has time to scrub it clean? I wonder if the only way we the people who want to see this information will be allowed to do so is by leaks (from patriots who just can't remain silent) or years from now after it's pried from the hands of this crooked administration.
1
By definition, redactions are not transparent. Labelling redactions to explain why they were redacted may be okay for the general public, but Congressional Oversight and Judicial committees, among others, should get the full report. They already security clearances. Congress neglected its oversight duties when both houses were under Republican control. Now that Democrats control the House, those oversight duties have resumed, as they should.
1
"There is a bear in the woods. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others don't see it at all. Some people say the bear is tame. Others say it's vicious and dangerous. Since no one can really be sure who's right, isn't it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear."
Ronald Reagan Campaign Ad
The Republicans have changed.
2
Values matter. So does freedom.
The AG is right and will release the Mueller report as he sees fit. It is true the American people have the right, the full right, to know the truth, but there's a limit to that truth taking into consideration the security issues.
1
Sort of. The American people, of and by and for whom the American government exists, have the right to see the entire report. The question is when will the security rationale for redactions or omissions be less valid or not valid in a reasonable sense.
1
The question that was not directly asked, and so not answered: was the President, his counsel and others able to view the nonredacted report? If so, what a great advantage.
1
One comment provides a succinct history of Barr's role as a fixer for the Reagan White House's problem of producing a bunch of felons: under George H. W. Bush, Barr engineered pardons so a full investigation could be silenced.
But Barr makes a fair but specious point that he is exercising his duties under rules engineered by the Clinton White House in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal. It is significant that it was under the Clinton Attorney General, Janet Reno, that the Department of Justice "policy" was implemented that said a standing president can't be indicted (deferring to the House to deal with misdemeanor offenses).
In hindsight, our national procedures for dealing with problematic presidents needs to be revamped so our country doesn't go through a constitutional crisis every time the issue comes up.
2
An office pool on the percent of the report that is redacted should emerge in workplaces around the country....my bet would be around 50% of the text.
It will make for some interesting speculation...
1
William Barr's loyalty first and foremost is to protecting Donald Trump. That is why Donald Trump made him attorney general. William Barr's loyalty is NOT to the constitution. He is going to try to keep twisting the Mueller Report so it does not damage Donald Trump. Of course the American public deserves to see the whole report, but there are those in power now who don't believe in this democracy.
7
If Barr doesn't release the full version of the report, then the contents in the redacted portions are anybody's guess. So everybody, please put your guesses into writing and publish them. Then Barr, Trump and the republicans will have an incentive to release the full report.
2
Why is everyone so reluctant to call a duck a duck? The Barr Coverup is underway in plain sight, and that's precisely what it is.
Barr has stalled releasing the document for weeks. He's hidden the summaries crafted by the Special Counsel. Instead he's released a deliberately misleading 'summary' of his own, so cravenly whitewashed to give the President cover that it completely ignores the primary focus of the report: the depth and breadth of the Russian attack on our electoral process. He has refused to release the full report to Congress at all. He has expanded the type of redactions he's employing to further hide the substance of the report.
Anyone who still has any lingering doubt that this is a coverup in plain sight should simply reflect on what Republicans and their media outlets would be shrieking if the Clinton AG were to hold a Special Counsel report investigating her campaign for an entire month while carefully scrubbing it before releasing an edited version to Congress.
11
Good: Barr told Congress he'd specify WHY he made each redaction. I don't see any requirement for him to do that, but I'm glad to hear he will.
1
The American people hope his explanations will be detailed (not just generic labels such as "Security" or "privileged" or "classified") and state a date by which he will, or his successors should, release the information in each redaction to Congress (not just Republican Representatives) and/or the public at large, and why he believes each date would be appropriate or necessary.
Perhaps, too, a panel of Judges, or a Judge appointed by a Democrat, should review the entire report and all background material and then confirm or disconfirm the legal necessity of each redaction.
Before you say no to that, consider that Judges are already handling matters and material of national security in FISA proceedings.
2
Mr Barr has already stated his conclusions. His redactions will fit his perspective. How can it be otherwise?
4
Feeling more and more hopeless as this cacophony of corruption continues. We'll never see the "real" report and we'll never see his taxes and he'll probably be elected again next year. Please tell me I'm wrong!
2
@billy pullen
Wish I could but I'm with you all the way, except I'd add some kind of *civil war* after he's elected.
1
Oh the irony Mr. Barr.
Justice gets almost 30 billion $ to "protect the country against national security threats" - great. Start with the most dangerous one.
Maybe this will help you.
It can often be found in the Oval office. It's usually tweeting, watching TV (fox & friends) drinking diet Coke, has hilarious yellow hair like stuff on his head, wears orange make-up, an extremely long tie, and the number 45 monogrammed on its shirt cuff.
You'll note I've properly redacted it's name.
14
"...must black out..." certain information means he's actually reading it now.
1
In 1787, Alexander Hamilton put forward this challenge to the American nation. He asked "whether societies of men (and women today) are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force." AG Barr's refusal to make the Mueller Report Summaries public and to provide Congress with an redacted report, coupled with 45's purging of DHS gives the impression the 45 led GOP prefers the second option; "political government by force. AG Barr's testimony does not inspire confidence and trust. We pledge liberty and justice for all. AG Barr practices liberty and justice for those I choose to grant liberty and justice or as 45 chooses. This is not good government.
13
@craig80st Correction. AG Barr's refusal … to provide Congress an unredacted report,...
So, the Barr-Trump cover-up continues. And of course Barr is now investigating Mueller's team. This farce relies on GOP Senators willingness to ignore illegal actions by the President. If the courts do not hold, our only chance to preserve democracy is a blue wave in 2020. Otherwise we will be living in an autocratic state, Thanks McConnell.
16
The Mueller report stated clearly that the evidence it found did not exonerate Trump from obstruction of justice. In his short letter, Barr used his own judgement to exonerate the president. What authority did Barr have to disregard Mueller's conclusion of "no evidence to exonerate" to Barr's assertion that there was no obstruction of justice? Barr finally admitted that he did have conversations with Mueller before writing his letter, but what he didn't say was that Mueller knew of the fact that he (Barr) was going to exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.
Even more suspicious was the fact that Barr said he gave Mueller a chance to see his letter, but Mueller declined to see it. Did Barr discuss with Mueller his decision to exonerate Trump before his letter was written? If so, did Mueller agree with Barr's decision?
Eventually, Mueller will be
required to testify. Perhaps Barr will also be required to testify after Mueller. Someone isn't telling the truth.
We know Trump liked Barr's credentials by his prior actions, allowing criminals in the Iran/Contra matter to be pardoned when he was attorney general. His letter to Trump last summer probably cemented Trump's decision to appoint him attorney general because he stated that the president couldn't be guilty of obstruction.
15
@Underdog.... "What authority did Barr have to disregard Mueller's conclusion of "no evidence to exonerate" .....Barr is AG, the head of the Justice Department. Mueller works for him. Barr can do anything he wants with the Mueller report. He can make the decision to indict or not to indict as he sees fit. The end.
1
Both Barr and Mueller work for the American people. Period and end of sentence.
1
Congress is the first among three equal branches of government. It was established in the first article of the constitution. Congress has a duty of oversight of the Executive branch. Congress ordered this report. Congress financed this report. The report is their property. Barr has no right whatsoever to keep it from congress. Because it is THEIRS.
16
According to the Constitution, the U.S. Attorney General is the people's lawyer NOT DJT's personal counsel! Full stop!
4
Congress is composed of Ladies and Gentlemen, who are involved with a street fight in a dark alley in Brooklyn, NY.
Congress is fighting according to English Rules of Extraordinary Behavior, while Attorney General William Barr is knife fighting according to Moscow rules.
The Intelligence Chairmen of the Congressional Committees awaiting the Muller Report need to think on their feet, and adapt to the unprecedented methods of Mr. Trump's enablers.
3
I have listened to parts of Barr's testimony and found him arrogant and obstructionist, and clearly not interested in full transparency.
For example, when asked about any additional changes to the bottom line -- no collusion, no obstruction of justice - he could have corrected the questioner knowing full well that is not what he had written. Instead, he chose to deflect, saying his letter spoke for itself (i.e., his summary actually said the President was not absolved on obstruction).
More significantly, he flatly refused to request full disclosure of the grand jury testimony. To me that is not the response of a man committed to transparency, but rather the opposite. Someone hiding as much of the report as possible behind rules and regulations, and the presidency.
16
This commenter asks what many others have asked:
"Why can't anyone in Congress see the full, unredacted report?"
The reasons have been given many times, and so I won't repeat them here. Whether Barr's redactions go too far remains to be seen; I'll read what he releases with considerable skepticism.
Yet Barr's hands are somewhat tied. Nobody seriously challenges 3 of his 4 stated reasons, and the 4th -- protecting the reputations of people who were investigated but not charged -- strikes most of us as sensible, if Barr doesn't overuse that "justification" for redaction.
I guess we'll soon see what Barr has redacted. My strong hunch is that the Mueller report will show pretty much what Barr's summary claims. Mueller already would have protested if that were not so. Several unidentified members of Mueller's team have (according to the NYT, at least) claimed that Barr's summary is misleading, but each of those individuals declined to give any example and so it's hard to take them seriously.
1
@MyThreeCents
How could the Mueller team members give any examples from an as-yet unreleased report? They are professionals. They’re not going to divulge specifics before the report is made public.
4
Actually, people do challenge Barr's failure to obtain court permission to release the grand jury testimony. He really should act like the Attorney General of the United States and make the request.
He should be required to answer Rep. Lowey’s question: has he already shared the substance of the Report with the White House, in whole or in part? Refusing to answer that question strikes me as contempt of Congress—which is no doubt the case, but why should he be allowed to get away with it?
15
It is hard to draw any other conclusion than that Barr's redactions are meant to protect Trump from the full report and the grand jury evidence becoming public. If there were nothing for Trump, Barr, and the GOP to hide, the report would have been made public within hours after Mueller released it. AG Barr appears to be doing for Trump exactly what he promised to do both in his June memo and personally when he was nominated and then confirmed--protect Donald Trump from the truth about his behavior becoming public. Just a little bit of corruption in plain sight...
16
How much will Trump attorney William Barr cut out of the report? We saw a great deal of editing and modification of complete sentences to fit his narrative in the summary letter.
1
Based on Barr's past actions I think he will release just enough to say he released the report with redactions of anything that may "embarrass" Trump, Jared, Ivanka, Don Jr and many others.
"But he demurred when asked whether he has briefed the White House on it."
I think his non answer can be taken to mean there is an extremely good chance that he has briefed the president.
Every member of the GOP Congress should be asked:
“Have You No Sense of Decency” like Joseph Nye Welch asked Joseph McCarthy.
6
Considering all the manipulations and sleights of hand, will this still be called the Mueller report? Or is it now the Barr report?
7
The appointed investigators investigate, republicans investigate the investigators to suppress the investigation, Barr goes along, redacts information, and has his own department investigated for making investigations into an attack on our elections.
So far, no conclusions.
But most of the country believes that trump is a criminal.
So far, no exoneration.
The republican need to supress evidence must mean that someone is guilty.
Wonder who?
1
“William Barr Says Mueller Report Will Be Public ‘Within a Week’
Yeah, sure. And elephants can fly.
4
It begs the imagination to think that team Barr has not shared the report with the White House. Barr has long espoused unfettered presidential executive powers and was hired to be a loyal foot soldier to Trump unlike the "traitorous" former Attorney General Sessions. It is very obvious to see how little concerned the president has seemed to be on the eve of the report's release. His attorney general has his back right from the jump with the "no collusion" "exoneration" parts of the four page memo to Congress. How many more redactions concerning Trump's character, behavior or penchant for obstruction of justice will be redacted from the final version ready for public viewing? The White House version will surely be much less than 400 pages.
1
"Attorney General William P. Barr said he will deliver the Mueller report to Congress and the public within a week, reiterating his earlier promise to release it by mid-April."
I guess he must be running out of Sharpies, chisel point no less.
1
The House should say, “No report, no budget for the Justice Department “. Time to take the gloves off and leverage power.
1
Like seeing this report is really somehow going to make the world a better place? And I thought I was delusional most of the time.
This comment, like many others I've seen recently, suggests strongly that Congress has some general "oversight" authority over the President that Congress doesn't actually have:
"Otherwise, by withholding the full report from the Congress, the check and balance system will not be functional."
Where in the world (or, more accurately, in the Constitution) is this Congressional authority to be found?
3
Umm, impeachment? Don't you think the ability to remove the president implies an obligation to oversee his work, at least to the extent of policing his abuse of office? Trump's abuse of power seems to make up a big part of the Mueller Report.
1
It is very obvious that Barr is well aware of the reason for his existence. I only hope Democrats can put something together to defeat this hateful and dangerous administration.
1
Dems and so-called ‘progressives’ need to know that everyone except for them have moved on from the media-driven Russian collusion hoax.
Here are the facts:
— The appalling DJT did not collude with the Russians.
— There is no cover-up by AG Barr.
— Dems and their media allies are mounting yet another disinformation campaign for ratings and to keep a gullible base in a frenzy.
— This entire hoax was nothing more than a Clinton campaign / DNC dirty trick.
You’ve lost Independents on this issue. Move on...
5
@EGD....It was reported that Manafort, as Trump's campaign manager, gave Republican polling data (essentially Republican strategy) to Kilmnik, a Ukrainian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin. You say there was no evidence of collusion with Russia. Please explain why Manafort gave Republican polling data to Kilimnik? Until that question is answered, claiming there was no collusion is whitewash.
2
Time for those in senior positions to stop treating citizens as idiots. The only way to move forward is with unfiltered information so that people can educate themselves on the issues and draw their own conclusions.
4
Barr is a trump stooge.
Subpoena the entire Mueller team and begin around the clock House Judiciary Committee hearings . Impeachment proceedings would start within hours.
The Con Man in Chief is our crisis. Immigrants built our country and Donald does not even know where his father was born. Impeachment proceedings must start now.
Barr and McConnell are the current twins of Paul von Hindenburg . The Con Man in Chief and his cult leader in the white house Stephen Miller are breaking laws and firing all defenders of our constitution and the rule of law on a hourly basis .
Civil servants should be protected from the bullying and threats of The Con Man in Chief and miller.
Congress must stop this destruction of our democracy . Cabinet members and agency heads are threatened or fired if they do not abide by the dictator's demands and Barr and especially McConnell are enabling this unlawful purge.
The Senate Republicans are not abiding by their oath of office, protect and defend our constitution. McConnell is an embarrassment to the great state of Kentucky and to the Senate
16
At this point I wouldn't trust anything Barr says. I put his reliability and truthfulness roughly on a par with that of Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
23
I've been listening to William Barr, and it's hard not to view him as just another Trump Hack!
21
Barr is nothing but another Trump henchman in a line which goes as far as the eye can see.
And as a lapdog for Trump he could care less what us peasants think of him as he laughs all the way to the bank. Some of these criminals have a slight concern of how they will be remembered in history (Cheney). However with "reality" so distorted in todays world it's all about the immediate power and money. And oh yeah being part of the good ol' boys club.
13
Each week the new low becomes the new norm. And then before you know it your rationalizing things you never imagined you would.
Trump and his supporters continue to dismantle our democracy. Selfish!
9
I was reflecting the other day all the outrages things Trump has done to weaken democracy and trash the rule of law. The list is far to long to keep in one’s head - the list is far to long to keep on asheet of legal paper single spaced. I, like you, watch Trump every day achieve a new low/norm. I would never have believed that 30 some odd percent of America would not only accept Trump’s behavior but encourage it. Are we in the end of times when the “so called” Christian faithful fall in love with the Antichrist? May God take pity on us and deliver us from evil.
1
Trump has the same leadership structure as the Mafia. He is the boss of course, Barr and Kavanaugh and his other Supreme Court picks are the Underboss; the packing of the courts with judges and the acting heads of each department are Capos who are in charge of the Soldiers, and Associates are Trump supporters.
He needs his boys, who gave him the oath of loyalty, to protect him, and they might actually do that. We cannot let this happen.
6
The Barr New Testament translation: "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth... and a bunch of other stories about Jesus, Job, Jonah, Cain and Able. Note: Abraham (wasn't guilty of collusion). Also cool stuff about Noah and his ark. There's lots more but this is what counts."
1
The American people will always see a cover-up unless we hear directly from Mueller.
Barr is a Trump/GOP lackey, willing to sacrifice his integrity and reputation to protect a GOP President...even if the President is completely lawless and incompetent.
The GOP demands this from Barr.
9
Those of you who have access to the report - leak it already
15
@LAM
Will you pay their legals fees?
Will you support their families when they are in prison?
Yeah, didn't think so.
Big talk, small thinking
Given the extremely high profile status of the Mueller Report, the testimony by Mr. Barr appears to be more delay and obfuscation. Surely there is nothing in that report that at a minimum the Congressional Gang of 8 leadership should be denied access to. Otherwise, by withholding the full report from the Congress, the check and balance system will not be functional. This state of affairs is not good for democracy.
15
It seems as though the left has a difficult time learning.
If I were on the left, I would recognize everything that has been so paradoxical about Trump's ascension, and the "too many times to be counted" that the left has declared the "death knell" for Trump based upon yet another thing said, done and/or unsaid, undone and been PROVEN EMBARRASSINGLY WRONG.
I was unable to hold my nose long enough to vote for Trump in '16 (went Libertarian as I often do when faced with terrible choices) but have watched with interest the buffoon's innate ability to render "deadly" things harmless. Teflon Trump? Less teflon required, apparently, when you're getting good things done as well as turning the old, inefficient political ways of DC upside down.
Would it ever occur to the left that Barr's "evasion" on whether he briefed the White House has more to do with correct prudence, and impartiality? Or is the left just destined to fall like lemmings down every rabbit hole in existence to show how wrong, and foolish it is capable of being?
7
The comedy of the Democrats continues. They want more innuendo to smear Trump some more. They continue to lose for two reasons. Trump did not collude or obstruct, and they have no legitimate policies that will advance this country.
6
@Duane Mathias
Transparency Duane! Why do I not hear your advocating for the full release of the report since you are certain of what is in it? hmmm maybe you do not want it released.....
according to you "Trump did not obstruct"....except for the part about not being exonerated on obstruction as stated in the Barr letter. Trumplicans are willfully blind to the truth.
1
Did the Democrats lose in November 2018? Just asking.
1
What’s the rush. We waited two and a half years for the investigation and now can’t wait another week for the report? Would like some of these blowhard politicians to explain the rush other than to here themselves talk.
5
All the delay and drama is intended to create a desire for the report. Do you understand?
The fact that Barr will not or cannot answer "yes" or "no" to whether he has briefed or is working with the White House on his redactions is incredibly worrying.
16
Dean/AG...
Irresponsible and obnoxious how you fan the call for a non-actionable request...
Barr can no more release the unredacted report than can he authorize business class air travel for Congressional travelers - or cause them to sprout wings and fly...
As always - for clarity - completely agree with the Dem's social and civil agenda...
But they won't be getting my vote - and, more significantly, that of my centrist demographic - in 2020...
If Schulz runs - my first choice...
GOP candidate is next...
At that point, if Jill Stein is promising even more free stuff that you all - gotta take a serious look...
4
"William Barr Testimony Updates: He Says Mueller Report Will Be Public ‘Within a Week" ... Convenient, since congress heads to break next week, Barr probably forgot that...
6
As Andy Borowitz wrote, Barr may die of inhaled Sharpie fumes before he finishes redacting that report.
6
Congress,
Be sure to run what Barr gives you past Mueller's investigators so that you can verify Barr has only redacted and not Photoshopped as well. It's amazing what a skilled person can do to a pdf today.
6
The report that William Barr received, if the coverage on it is to be believed, was so thoughtfully produced that it already contained portions which were methodically constructed in order to be released with near-immediacy to the public.
What is this man hiding?
16
Certainly there are copies of the Mueller report to be leaked by investigators that have worked diligently and devoted their lives in the past 2 years to uncover the truth. Please reveal the truth. Apparently, Barr won't. The American people deserve to know the whole truth.
We should also be having the discussion whether or not a sitting President can be indicted. As far as I can tell, that is still unresolved. If ever there was a time for this discussion, it should be now. Could Trump shoot someone on fifth avenue and be protected by executive privilege?
12
The report will come out, it cannot be hidden.Whether it changes anything is another matter. Trump folks do not care what it shows and anti trump folks will want to impeach. The Senate will stop any action.
1
It will be the Barr report, part two and Trump will appear even more innocent.
What is happening to our country is worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy. (Is that a Bob Woodward statement?)
Read Philip Allen Lacovara and Laurence Tribe's piece in WAPO today; "The Full Mueller Report Could Be Released --if the House opens preliminary impeachment hearings." Pelosi is specifically named as the wall against impeachment.
While I understand her fear of a Trump backlash and the point the Senate will barr (pun intended) impeachment, we may have no other choice to confront the capture of the DOJ by the Executive branch.
Pelosi was weak to cop out to Mueller; now it looks like a second bite of the apple for the House Committees to conduct any of their investigations. Mistake number two is to keep waiting for the right time to confront Trump. He only grabs more of government with each passing day. Case in point: Trump's hotels are now exempted from the emoluments clause, by yet another Trump enabler.
And both the NYT and WAPO must cover the Resistance; tens of thousands demonstrated on the streets in several cities/states for the release of the full Mueller report. Please acknowledge us; putting Trump's tweets on every front page distorts is not serving Trump, not the public.
2
So basically, Barr will do what he wants and Congress can entertain itself with threatening subpoenas that are never served, much less enforced.
6
So Barr appears before the committee to answer questions related to the AG's budget request for border security and opioid crisis and he gets questions about the witch hunt?
Congress needs to take a powder and reconsider if they really are doing OUR work or just trying to raise money to keep themselves in office for another 2 years.
Serious people want serious problems solved and this very unserious crew of Congressional members is making this serious person seriously consider voting for Trump in 2020..something I swore I would never do in my life.
3
All along I've tried to keep an open mind about this whole Russian investigation, and view it rationally, according to what the facts reveal and not what partisans opine.
So when Barr's letter clearing Trump of collusion with Russia came out, it seemed a relief to learn that the president was not, in fact, an asset of a foreign adversary. That's good news!
But still... there are three things I just can't square:
1. Why do we have just Barr's letter so far, and not a summary provided by Muller's team? One was written, according to the Times, and presumably was done without including any classified or confidential material. Why haven't we seen that yet?
2. Why can't anyone in Congress see the full, unredacted report? I understand that there are portions of it that should be kept from the public, to protect national security or personal privacy, but I see no reason why the members of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees shouldn't have access to the complete contents of the report.
3. If all of the numerous interactions between the Trump campaign (and administration) and Russia were legal and above-board, as Barr's letter implied, then why was there so much lying about it?
Until I have clear, straightforward answers to these questions, I can't help feeling like this whole thing is one giant cover-up. And Barr's refusal to say whether he's shared the report with the administration does nothing to reassure me that it's not.
22
Barr won't release the full report to congress, BUT Trump has seen it! COVER UP!
2
Mr. Barr should turn over the ENTIRE and unredacted report to Congress, which has every right and entitlement to see it and let the House Judicial Committee, which is totally capable of coming to their own conclusions of what may or may not be sensitive material due to other ongoing investigations or national security concerns, determine what should be made public.
We, the American People deserve nothing less than to know the truth.
576
@N. Smith You can argue this point ad nausem in terms of what may be morally and/or ethically right but legally there is no obligation. Regulations adopted in 1999 placed no such requirements on the Attorney General.
23
@N. Smith Barr is a Republican; Trump OWNS the GOP; he says jump; they say how high. Release the full report; we no longer trust anyone in GOP. Ray Sipe
57
@N. Smith
With apologies to Jack Nicholson in ‘A Few Good Men,’ you Democrats can’t handle the truth.
The appalling DJT did not collude with the Russians. End of story.
The latest Democrat disinformation campaign about a cover-up is just chum to keep the base in a frenzy.
22
"The public has every right to see Robert S. Mueller III's conclusions. Absolutely nothing in the law or the regulations prevents the report from becoming public. Indeed, the relevant sources of law give Attorney General P. William Barr all the latitude in the world to make it public."
First paragraph in an article written by Neal Kumar Katyal who wrote the special counsel rules. He is now the Saunders Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and was acting solicitor general of the United States from 2010 to 2011.
With apologies to the Times, worth reading.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/23/i-wrote-special-counsel-rules-attorney-general-can-should-release-mueller-report/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.26b98854b9d8
4
Congress should receive the "entire report" and can go into closed session if necessary to protect sensitive information - such as any information still to utilized by the Federal District of New York (and others) in their continuing investigations. Also, Mr. Mueller should testify in open and appropriately-closed congressional hearings to provide factural clarity regarding his protracted investigation.
10
It appears that Trump is winning, again, with Barr as AG.
All this winning that Trump is doing is all about propping him up; the GOP is anticipating that RBG will be the next justice to step down, and they want that seat.
On the other hand, patriots have been known to disclose.
3
Barr's evasion to answering 'has the AG briefed/informed the White House of the Mueller report' is most intriguing. At what point will this be honestly addressed?
5
Evasion @whs? It seems as though the left has a difficult time learning.
If I were on the left, I would recognize everything that has been so paradoxical about Trump's ascension, and the "too many times to be counted" that the left has declared the "death knell" for Trump based upon yet another things said, done and/or unsaid, undone and been PROVEN EMBARRASSINGLY WRONG.
I was unable to hold my nose long enough to vote for Trump in '16 (went Libertarian as I often do when faced with terrible choices) but have watched with interest the buffoon's innate ability to render "deadly" things harmless. Teflon Trump? Less teflon required, apparently, when you're getting good things done as well as turning the old, inefficient political ways of DC upside down.
Would it ever occur to the left that Barr's "evasion" has more to do with correct prudence? Or is the left just destined to fall like lemmings down every rabbit hole in existence to show how wrong, and foolish it is capable of being?
2
How is it that he “summarized” a 400 page report in 1-2 days, but it’s taking him a month to “deliver” the report to congress? What does that say about the summary he submitted, and how he handled the unsettled charge of obstruction? Hmmm...
7
@LI Res Not hard to understand if you think about it. You read War and Peace, you can summarize the plot in short order (Napoleon invades Russia --was there collusion somewhere-- big battles, he loses, guys get drunk with a bear, a few parties, blah blah. But to produce an annotated version, with footnotes, etc., might take a little more time don't you think?
1
@Ralphie He’s only going to leave the portions that make it appear he is innocent in everything. IMO, I personally don’t care if the public sees the entire, unredacted report. I DO care that Congress, the people that NEED to see it are not getting the opportunity to exactly what was found in the investigation. Let them decide what should be included in what the public gets. That report affects all of us, not just the chosen few.
1
Barr's grandiosity and willing abandomemt of the American people in service to protect the power of the Executive is on full display. His responses are condescending and show complete disregard for the authority of Congress as an equal to the Executive. He will be remembered as a willing contributor to the weakening our Democrocy in service to power and greed.
19
Let's review:
- Almost 3 years ago, the FBI initiates a secret investigation into the remote possibility that the Trump campaign was working the Russians to impact our election.
- After HRC loses, Obama finally acts although he's known that Russians were up to something for some time.
- O orders a hastily put together report on Russian interference that states (based on publicly released evidence) that Russia interfered to help Trump. No dems demand a public release of the entire report.
- The Steele dossier is leaked. Dems and MSM push the Russian collusion narrative as the only possible way HRC could have lost.
- Comey's fired for good cause, Mueller is appointed to continue the investigation.
- Two years of nothing, but the MSM and dems -- based on no evidence -- pound the collusion narrative.
- After 22 months the report is issued and alas, no collusion.
- Dems and MSM hyperventilate, rail at the injustice of it all.
- They then seize on demanding to see the entire unredacted report -- knowing that the report will not offer any of collusion (Mueller would have been heard from by now if Barr had lied). Thus, when they go through the report and of course find nothing, as they know they will, they can claim the evidence is in the redacted parts.
- Then knowing that if a few of them get to see the redacted parts they won't find anything, so they pivot to demanding tax returns, claiming that these will show evidence of Trump being in Russia's control.
Good grief.
5
Why hasn't Trump released his tax returns? He has something to hide. Fact.
5
@Jim Oh come on. He doesn't have to release his tax returns. And the tax returns won't necessarily show anything. Do you think he declared a 10 million dollar gift from "Vladdie." There may be things Trump doesn't want made public, but it's doubtful it's because of wrongdoing. It could be because he and his team know that releasing the tax returns will mean every MSM outlet pouring through them and claiming irregularities. Sins. Whatever.
What exactly is the intended purpose of not releasing Grand Jury testimony? Does that intended purpose apply in this case? I don't think so. This is a different situation; a very unique situation; a situation where the function of democracy depends on unfettered transmission of information. In the end, the purpose of any rule is to support the function of democracy. If blocking Grand Jury testimony does not support that function in this case, then clearly an exception should be made.
Barr definitely has an obligation to ask the court to allow the release of the testimony in this case. That's what was done during Watergate. Of course Barr hasn't made the request because he's sacrificing his reputation on the altar of Trump.
I'm all for transparency and I think Trump's businesses are heavily financed by Russian interests. However, I am disappointed with all the comments that allege that Barr is somehow making a political calculation and holding back what's really going on. There are restrictions on what can be released. The rules around grand jury testimony and common sense with respect to national security may prevent some of the details from being displayed in public. We are a nation of laws, and any truly anti-Trump citizens should hold the rule of law in high esteem. It's not always about politics. In the long run, rule of law and decency will win.
7
@TC I agree, in part. The issue with Barr’s summary letters is that they foreshadowed the actual report itself and was used as political ammunition/fodder by both parties. If Barr had been more transparent about the findings/summarization, and other more unbiased groups could have weighed in on the results, it would have been better for the justice department and this country.
5
@TC
-Mr. Barr can and should release the Mueller Report Summary Report (this is the summary of the full report written for public consumption; its existence has now been confirmed).
-Mr. Barr can and should release the full, unredacted report to the bi-partisan “Gang of 8”.
-As you likely know, the “Gang of 8” are members of both chambers and both parties that review “all the ‘secrets’ and intelligence reports” in secure settings.
-If the Gang of 8 can see the most sensitive of worldwide/US intelligence, there is no reason whatsoever that they full report can’t be provided to this group.
-Mr. Barr can then release the redacted version to the public at large.
While there are precedents for full release, these two avenues allow for complete and full report/ information to be disseminated.
It is inappropriate for Mr. Barr to keep the full report closed and concealed from Congress; it is not his call to redact or conceal this information from all of Congress.
As stated, there are certain Members to whom the report should be fully available; anything less is highly suspect and potentially points to a conspiracy to obstruct justice by Mr. Barr.
5
Release the summaries unredacted- as they were prepared specifically for that purpose. However, Barr will redact even those- you watch. We all know if the report "totally exonerated" Trump, he would print it on the front page of every major newspaper. It's clear that Barr will obfuscate and release only more cherrypicked details, Trump will again claim victory and we're back where we started.
The lax laws, the impossible criminal standard and failure of politicians to set up rules to police themselves have snowballed into a nightmare scenario where Trump comes in and just refuses to follow the already comically sparse laws for elections, disclosures and presidential profiteering. Someone needs to be a patriot and leak the full unredacted report.
13
@RickyApparently Barr can't get another job. He is determined to hold onto this one. Yes, we need a patriot.
Mueller, did NOT exonerate Trump, nor anyone of the 100 contacts with Russia. In fact, most, if not all of the 100 contacts have been and will be investigated, as they should be. There also has been other reasons to further investigate them, in matters that affect national security. Justice must be served. The day of reckoning will come. Eventually, we will Dump the Trump!
5
It's nice to see the collusion delusion has morphed into a new phase of cognitive dissonance, whereby those that simply can't deal with the reality that the last two years of emotional investment was a fruitless fantasy. Suggesting that Barr is "hiding something", when the actual report itself is imminent, redactions haven't even been seen yet, Barr is following normal DoJ procedure, Mueller is alive, well, and would surely speak out against any misrepresentation-- all reeks of delusional partisanship. Also, clinging to the obstruction fantasy-- essentially that Trump obstructed a false smear against him, is a desperate hail mary of the highest order. Keep this up and good luck in 2020 guise.
6
@JasonR
I would like to see the unredacted Mueller report sent to Congress so they can evaluate whether it is a "fruitless fantasy" or a mother lode of fruit. Certainly you would support that, right? If not, why not? Afraid of fruit?
4
@Deborah
See, here is a perfect example of delusion that hinges on the unrealistic fantasy that Barr is covering something up and Mueller is remaining silent. The only reason why one would double down and insist that the full report be given, without any lawful redactions, is if one believes Barr is either hiding something, or misrepresenting the contents.
When the full report is handed over, and it reflects Barr's statements, where then shall you move the goal posts next?
I have no issue with the full report being given to partisan hacks like Schiff and Nadler. Too bad they've already demonstrated that they can't help but leak, leak, and leak..
Since there has been no problem with him staying the WH hasn't seen it before, the refusal to state it now is a pretty solid indication that this is no longer the case.
6
I am willing to bet a lot of money that the unredacted report will be made available to congressional committees asking for it. You cannot defame, insult, and undermine the intelligence community for years without eventually paying the price for it. Most of the intelligence people are patriotic, and that means they are in it for the US and the Constitutions and NOT for a president who obviously has a lot to hide.
406
@PhoebeSUnfortunately the intelligence community are made up of non-partisan professionals who do not have the power to bypass Congress or the President. It's not their call. If Democrats don't unify and turn out to vote we're all going to be toast.
33
@PhoebeS I disagree.
If these are truly the type of duty-bound, honorable, apolitical people I believe they are, then it is against their DNA to skirt the law just to publish something out of spite.
The caveat is that if they see clear evidence of a cover up. Then perhaps it is their duty to ensure justice is served.
But out of spite? No. Not for an honorable person.
12
@PhoebeS
What, pray tell, do the 'intelligence people' have to do in this case? Think you have the wrong body in your sights. It is the judicial, political (all Democrats), and investigative communities that are deservedly under the microscope here. They all appear to be in it to save their own hides rather than the nation and the Constitution.
Starr's 463-page report, which featured graphic details of alleged sexual encounters between Clinton and Lewinsky, was published online in full.----Democrats Own Debauchery---Unbelievable!-----Release Mueller to Public
14
Yes, this report must be utterly chock full of "exoneration" what with the meticulousness being used to black out anything non-exonerating. What a joke.
To sum up: the report doesn't exonerate at all. If it did, they would have released the full text within hours of Mueller releasing it to them.
28
Be thankful those who were hoping and praying for a conviction of our president that the disappointing news that there was no collusion is delayed by just one week. Attorney General William P. Barr has stood up very well to the lynch mob hanging by a thread to weaken the president.
5
@Girish Kotwal
That doesn't change the fact that Trump's former campaign manager, national security adviser, and personal lawyer were among several convicted of felonious acts while in service to him -- And as we all know, the apple never falls from from the tree.
Besides, there are still several ongoing investigations.
It's not over yet.
1
@N. Smith. Keep hoping until eternity that the fallen apples infected the tree. All the president's men who have been convicted were done so for matters unrelated to their service to Trump. Only those with continuing Trump derangement syndrome keep hoping that several ongoing investigations will provide fodder to his opposition. So far zilch, Zero, Nada.
2
How disappointing it must be to Democrats that Barr is going to be as transparent as he possible can, and will explain all redactions.
7
@them If he were being transparent, he would have released the summaries, that the special counsel included with the report, to Congress without delay. Instead, he chose to put those aside and make his own.
Please don't take us for having the same low intelligence level as Trump supporters.
16
The American public financed the Mueller Report and is therefore entitled to see it, in it's entirety, without off all of the truly incriminating information redacted out of it.
It was recently put that allowing Barr to redact this report is akin to a male divorce defendant allowing his mistress to set the terms of his wife's divorce settlement.
I smell a fish, a rat, rotten garbage, and a dead body.
28
@WGM You we were wrong about Mueller issuing indictments of Trump, Jr, etc. You should consider whether you might be wrong again.
3
Maybe Barr just showed it to his son who is a White House counsel. Hmmm.
17
I'm seeing Wyle E Coyote, after he's run of the edge of the cliff. The legs are still running, then stop. And it occurs to him to look down.
He looks back up, suspended for a moment, and he gets that look on his face. That confused smirk. Watch out below.
9
"William Barr Testimony Updates: He Says Mueller Report Will Be Public ‘Within a Week’"
The pages will be a black as Trump's soul.
29
I'm surprised that Barr's comment that the government will lose the ACA case hasn't gotten more attention. Did he really say that?
10
@Jsailor
You might have a judge overturn it but the appellate & probably the supremes will keep it in place. Its one of those things the judiciary really, really don't want to touch and get blamed for it.
2
Congress should put an end to this farce. One hour of public testimony before any Congressional committee would surely be enough to bring this president's many flaws into the light.
18
AG Barr continues to reiterate that the Mueller Report will be sent to Congress, by mid April,, as already promised. What is unclear is whether the Report will be in its entirety, or whether it will be a redacted version.
The Democrats in the House are expecting to see an unredacted Report. AG Barr is fully aware of this. Is this not a waste of time? If the Report is redacted, will AG Barr be explaining to Congress, the areas that have been deleted in the Report? Areas that is at the crux of the Mueller investigation, and people have been waiting to learn, for the last two years?
5
He does not inspire my confidence.
17
Bill Barr is clearly betraying his client aka the American people and their primary law aka the American Constitution.
When the Special Counsel was unable to find sufficient evidence to charge and convict anyone else beyond a reasonable doubt with conspiring and coordinating with the Russians in order to get Trump elected President that was the end of that portion of the investigation.
Other criminal inquiries any financial crimes conspiring and coordinating with the Russians are still open to investigation.
When the Special Counsel was unable to reach a conclusion on obstruction of justice neither the highly conflicted and corrupt Bill Barr nor the obstruction witness / participant Rod Rosenstein should have opined on the matter. The Mueller Report should have been left to Congress and the American people.
Bill and Rod running and blocking for Donald was despicably unethical. Trump as an individual has his personal lawyers representing his interests. Trump as President has the White House Counsel on his side.
The fact that the Nixon and Clinton impeachment era Justice Department's concluded that a sitting President cannot be indicted was self- serving legal mumbo jumbo with no basis in the Constitution
Donald Trump is not too busy to answer for his crimes before and after he became President of the United States. Bill Clinton was forced to testify in a civil deposition regarding stuff that happened before and during his Presidency.
11
The charade with AG Barr continues with his promise to release the Mueller Report with "explanations" of his reasons to redact certain parts. Oh sure, we should rely on Barr's explanations after his obvious attempt to shield Trump with his 4 page absurd "summary."
Democrats must pursue their call to see the entire un-redacted report now as Congress is correct in wanting to see it without Barr's partisan maneuvering. Barr has already seriously damaged his credibility and reputation, and it is astonishing that he is willing to let his current actions end up as his legacy.
Enough of this obfuscation that is going on in what some might still call an American government. If there really was nothing to indict Trump in the report, or any issues that would constitute tax fraud on his past tax returns, then why is Trump continuing to hide the facts? The piper is calling, big time, and in time all will be revealed.
19
Teachers like me have been a punching bag for politicians. Along with the blistering criticism, they demand accountability and want to measure my efforts in the classroom.
Fair enough.
I demand accountability from the politicians whose salary I pay. However, starting with Trump along with all those in administration and those politicians the House and Senate, there is no accountability.
The full report belongs to all Americans, not the self-interested "leaders" in Washington.
Washington is dysfunctional and it appears there is no accountability to 327 million citizens. I'm sick of it.
738
@Ralph brash I agree the situation is terrifying, but it is the American electorate that is responsible for this dysfunctional Congress. I hope more people become "sick of it" and vote. I'm afraid a lot of "sick-of-its" just give up and don't vote.
37
@Ralph braseth Again, you can argue this point to death but there is zero, nada, nyet, no legal requirement to do so. Maybe morally and ethically it would be appropriate to provide it unredacted to members of Congress with the clearance but even then there is much, by law, they could not reveal to others in Congress and certainly not to the general public. You can be unhappy with the laws but they are the laws. We cannot as a society decide which laws we want to follow and which ones we want to ignore, at least not without consequences. Do not like the law, go through the process as defined to change it.
3
@DC When I joined the Army, a long time ago, I was told many times that we did not have to follow illegal orders. Trump does what he wants until courts make him stop. Is Barr required to redact the report, NO! Can Barr reveal the report as given to him, YES! The problem is whose attorney is he the nation's or Trump's, I suggest the latter. Is he hiding a scoundrel behind the law?
36
I believe the leaders in Congress, both sides, have the full report. Neither is going to leak it because the Dems may want to use it as leverage and the Republicans are afraid to.
But the idea that this hasn’t been delivered on a thumb drive to them is hard to believe.
3
We now need a patriot to leak this as Ellesberg. Manning, Snowden and others have....our Gov't lies to us...Viet Nam and other conflicts' death reports, assassination reports,9/11 on and on...Please leak this document..
In memory of Howard Zinn
57
We need a Go Fund Me for the first true Patriot.
4
@Dennis McSorley
You lost us with the 9/11 reference.
1
Why will it take a week, is he rewriting it.
31
Well, it’s taking trump 2 years to rewrite the Constitution...
7
@Steve> YES!!
Barr knows what is in the Mueller report is extremely damaging to the criminals in this administration. He is frantically trying to limit the damage. It won't work, Bill.
The swamp is overflowing.
7
Saddening to read such denials of reality among these comments. Your hatred for Trump has poisoned your minds to the extent that you are unwilling to accept documented facts. Face it: Trump did not do it. He will not go to jail. He will not be impeached. That’s reality.
Here’s some more reality for you: You know what swing voters care more about than Trump’s morality? Being lied to. If Democrats want any chance at winning 2020 they need to drop this collusion narrative immediately.
7
@Jon K you don’t see the irony in your statement that swing voters care more about being lied to than Trump’s morality? Do you need to see an enumerated lists of lies President Trump has told since taking office?
21
@Jon K
Documented facts? What documented facts?
Without the report no one knows the facts and they are most certainly, and very obviously, not documented.
That IS the reality.
19
@Jon K
I guess you have received and advance copy of the Mueller report?
13
Yeah. We'll get what's left of it after he's cleaned it of everything even remotely connected to his lord and master Mr. Trump.
18
Mueller should be allowed to do his own redactions, both for the version congress gets and for public release.
Mueller is trustworthy.
Barr isn't.
44
I think that Appropriations should "demur" from funding the AG until such time that the report is issued in full.
48
TDS is running pretty high here.
5
@Lazlo K. Hud
The supporters and enablers of Trump suffer from TDS. Apparently Barr suffers from it too.
11
@Lazlo K. Hud. I know! I see so many Trump supporters deeply infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome. I have no idea what they will do when he has left the White House. Can they even be cured when they see right before their eyes how often he lies!
1
@Deborah hope you're not too disappointed.
Barr is telling the truth but not the whole truth. Well, that is the reason he was nominated by Trump.
312
Which is the answer to how our administration got so messed up. He doesn’t “nominate” these people. He hires them. That’s why he gets to fire them if they don’t agree 100% and declare their loyalty to him and ONLY him. They’re not permitted to be loyal to their country or the people. They show any sign of loyalty to the country and the constitution, they’re forced out.
46
@Kodali
Actually, any truth told by anyone in this administration is accidental. Truth is the flower that remains only if the weeds of lies haven't crowded it out. And with this administration, the lies are kudzu.
9
@Kodali
Barr is part of the Silent State who is protecting Trump.
The GOP is part of the Silent State that has an invisible
agenda to prevent democracy from working and denying the people of America the truth about facts that they should know as citizens and tax payers.
The Silent State is all about the rich controlling the message and the media.
Who owns the media@
The rich.
The liberal/main media may express concerns about facts and democracy, but consider how the media
concentrates on what Trump says and how he controls the media cycles, and how the main media follow his
deflections.
#Discuss and expose the Silent State
1
Good grief. So many conspiracy theorists who subscribe to and post comments to the NYT. Let's wait to see what the report says and how significant the redactions are before we start shouting conspiracy from the rooftops. I'd suggest finding a hobby other than obsessing over Trump 24/7.
8
@Ryan If you were watching this, you'd see how careless/disinterested he's taking the hearing.....Further, let's not forget how "honest" this administration has been w/ the people.
5
@Ryan Ah, if only we could. Who cares about the Mueller report? It is Trump's actions against our democracy, humanity and our very planet that any thinking and moral American must obsess about and actively oppose, and the fact that you seem oblivious to this reality tells me everything about you that I need to know.
9
@Ryan
Agreed. Just think how nice it will be when he's not "running" the government anymore. He can just retreat to reality TV, making changing the channel a viable option. I'll never land on the Trump show again! The NYT won't be full of his nonsense. We can get our culture back on track. It makes my head spin with giddy hope. That glorious day can't come soon enough for me.
6
The Attorney General believes a President cannot be indited; worse, he is apparently of the belief that a President cannot, by definition, commit a crime. It is Congress, through its members with national security clearance, that is the proper arbiter, both of what is actionable in Mueller's report and what may be released to the public, not Barr. Barr's entire performance to date is a presumptive autocratic farce, which unfortunately will take the Courts to clear off the stage. Meanwhile, there's little point in listening to whatever he has to say.
29
AG is a member of President Trump's Cabinet. The AG is hired and fired by the President. So, why is there so much fuss about whether he showed the report to Mr. Trump and his attorneys or whether he was part of strategy sessions to minimize the effect of potential damaging remarks.
Mr. Barr must and would have consulted the WH about all of this. That's the way it is and that's the way it should be.
2
@Appu Nair
You express that opinion very eloquently, so what kept Barr from saying exactly that?
He didn't. He's dodging the question in a blatantly evasive, if not positively deceptive, manner. Why do you think that is?
7
The AG is not simply "hired and fired" by the President, he must be confirmed by the Senate. And he is not the President's personal attorney, nor even the attorney for the White House or the Administration. His duties do not lie with the Presidency. they lie with the Constitution.
1
Barr told the committee that he's "not going to say anything more about it until the report is out"? Does he understand how a hearing works? The committee asks questions, he answers.
Of course Trump and his attorneys have the report. That's why there's the sudden talk about redacting "information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interest of peripheral third parties". Ivanka and Jared are senior White House advisers, so it's two years too late for them to worry about their reputations. Don Jr. is so publicly involved in the election chicanery that he is in the same boat as they are.
We deserve the truth. It isn't the truth anymore if it has been scrubbed clean.
34
They only want the public (and Congress) to know THEIR truth, not the REAL truth.
5
@Susan
It's a budget hearing. He is a member of a co-equal branch of government. He is saying I will not comment until i release in a week. Where is the harm?
2
I understand why Barr, for both legal and national security reasons, cannot immediately release the unredacted Mueller report to the general public.
I even understand why Barr might arguably be justified in his refusal to immediately release a less heavily redacted version of the report to the House and Senate as a whole.
However, I do not understand why Barr refuses to immediately release the complete and unredacted Mueller report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The Judiciary Committees regularly handle classified and highly confidential material — and indeed, access to such materials is required for them to fulfill their investigatory and oversight duties.
Barr must immediately release to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees the full and unredacted Mueller report and all related summary reports produced by the Mueller team. Furthermore, Barr should at the very least immediately release those summary reports to the House and Senate as a whole. Finally, the public should be allowed to immediately see as many and as much of the summary reports as possible. Barr’s four-page summary does not suffice here.
28
@Scott Fordin
The House and Senate Judiciary Committees leak like sieves, and would especially do so in this instance.
1
The right’s ‘win at all cost’ modus operandi has destroyed our democracy. Without the rule of law, America has fallen. I’ll never forget, nor forgive.
23
Barr not answering about whether he discussed the report with the White House means that he certainly has. He is showing his true colors as a politically-appointed AG and true Trump ally.
Mueller simply must testify.
25
@ClydeMallory" Point taken, sir, but I hope the Q&A between Charlie Christ and the AG is parsed closely. I found it to be a nuanced tell that addresses your comment directly. More will be revealed...
4
I wish I own an office supply store, close to the White House, that stocked black, non-removable magic markers.
After one month of sales...I could retire!
4
Release MUELLER's SUMMARY - redacted according to his criteria. That is the least that the committees can require!
17
@Leonard Wood
Nope. Give the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees the entire report and background materials immediately. There's no reason to withhold it from those committees. They must have the full report to do their oversight job. Nothing less is acceptable.
2
This is another sham that is based on pure politics, and nothing to do with reality. It's getting time to drop the charade! Show us your hand, or withdraw from the game.
14
After listening to AG Barr's testimony my concerns that he is just Trump's lackey have been alleviated, and that he just wants the truth about the Mueller investigation and his report to come out as quickly as possible.
Not.
And another potential island of integrity in the Trump administration bites the dust.
28
@Jay Orchard anybody with the potential to be honorable is disqualified for a job in the Trump administration.
2
Hand it over without redactions, now.
33
I do not trust AG Barr.
Slick lawyer that he is, his evasive answers are not reassuring for democracy. Release the FULL report to Congress.
32
Throughout this episode, I'm reminded of Hillary Clinton.
Remember how Republicans said "She'll be under investigation on Day 1"?
Remember how the "deep state" FBI acted towards her? Commenting on her "extreme carelessness" even though they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute, days before a national election?
Remember how many investigations she came through, even personally testifying under oath before Congress--for 11 hours?
Remember how hated she was?
Now look at Donald Trump.
He was under Federal investigation all along, for far more serious crimes than an email server in the basement
Now Republicans care about slandering a person's reputation that hasn't committed crimes deemed prosecutable. I'll pause for you to catch your breath, and remember all the Republicans who slammed Comey for his transgression at the time. At. The. Time.
...
Donald J Trump still hasn't gone before Congress, still hasn't even been interviewed in person under oath, and couldn't do so for even 1 hour, let alone 11.
Did you get a tax cut?
How expensive is your healthcare?
Is that Swamp still there?
94
@Pence
1) NO! / 2) VERY! / 3) YES & getting deeper ..... as we watch the gradual death of our democracy by a 1000 cuts!
2
Barr volunteered to become AG and his offer was accepted on the condition that he protect Trump as Roy Cohn would have done. Barr's spin and delay activities, demonstrated most recently at the Congressional hearing, show that he is doing exactly what Trump wants him to do. Yes, Trump did say he welcomed the release of the report, but he had his fingers crossed.
This said, already there is some daylight between Trump and Barr. Barr referred to Trump's EO banning separation of families as well as to Mueller's statement that he did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. A few months down the pike, Trump will become annoyed with Barr and cut him loose. Barr will then enjoy the pariah ranks of those who chose to serve Trump.
17
An opinion piece in today's NYTs by Vicki Divoll points out that provisions of both the Patriot Act and the National Security Act require the Attorney General to share information regarding national security investigations with the Director of National Intelligence as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Will Barr slow walk these legally required disclosures or require Democrats to sue the Justice Departmrnt to obtain them? Put another way, does Individual No. 1 finally have his Roy Cohen?
46
Personally, I don't believe that anything in the Mueller report will rise to the level of Trump's indictment or impeachment. But, if Barr issues a redacted report, suspicions and accusations will swirl forever.
5
@RPS, How do you know? Have you seen it? I doubt that suspicions and accusations will swirl forever. If he stonewalls, some patriotic soul on Mueller's team or elsewhere will leak the whole thing. Unfortunately that will include some things that should not be made public, such as security issues and grand jury testimony. If so, it will be on Barr's head!
4
@RPS - I do believe that the Mueller Report is very damaging to Trump. I base that on Trump's Paranoid tweetis, firings, and other behaviors that suggest fear.
But our disagreement aside - I agree 100% that releasing only a redacted report assures that this issue will never be put to rest. And that being said - Barr is going to blow this and try to shield the gangster in chief. See ya in the history books Bill.
3
I don't know." The most likely thing is that Barr's report will stand. No coming impeachment or indictments. Any "damaging information" will be ambiguous and subject to partisan interpretation.
Could someone explain the difference between a summary of the Mueller report, which AG Barr says his four-page letter was not, and the restatement of Mueller’s bottom line conclusion which Barr says his letter was? Restatement of the Mueller report’s bottom line conclusion is just another way of saying a woefully incomplete summary of the Mueller report. Also why do we need a four-page letter to just regurgitate the bottom line conclusion of Mr. Mueller? And why does Mr. Moeller include in his letter a statement of the Justice Department own conclusions about about obstruction?
Finally, could Mr. Barr state publicly that Mr. Trump and all others should refrain from referring to his letter as a summary?
3
Looks like it's time for purloined letters - where and when might a Daniel Ellsberg or Deep Throat emerge?
21
Will William Barr simply redact Robert Mueller's report or is it being rewritten into what the current administration considers an acceptable narrative?
15
Another subterfuge by the democrats. This is a budget hearing, or don't they get that?
3
@DEWaldron, This is not a subterfuge; it is a Constitutional Crisis, such as we never have had in the history of our country. Don't you Trump protectors get that?
16
@DEWaldron Subterfuge is an opaque Justice Department. Subterfuge is an Attorney General who apparently has released the Mueller Report findings to the White House. Of all federal departments, Justice requires absolute transparency.
If Congress must use a budget hearing to manage its executive branch oversight responsibilities then all is not yet lost.
9
Two words. Benghazi. Clinton. Be a patriot. Humor our side now.
For those asserting that the four page memo is enough to clear the President, would you also suggest that a four page summary of the Bible is the same as the whole book?
15
He’s a Trumpist. That was clear from the moment he released his summary. This guy isn’t going to give us anything Trump doesn’t want us to see, which is any words of more than 3 letters and aren’t conjunctions or prepositions. I’ve followed the news from Trump’s candidacy through the present moment and I still don’t understand how we, the American people, have shot ourselves in the foot so badly and still refuse to see a doctor.
16
@Will
It's the death of our precious democracy by a 1000 cuts! It will be slow and agonizingly painful! as we silently watch weeping with averted eyes!
2
Why Barr is dragging his feet?
Because he is protecting, in a way or another, Trump.
His impartiality is already damaged and, with it, his reputation.
His job is to serve the country not Trump.
25
After his soft peddling the Mueller Report with his gloss-overed synopsis, Barr has no credibility on the issue. He is proving to be every bit as partisan as his (and his wife's) $720,000.00 contribution to the Republican Party would suggest he be.
28
"[H]e demurred when asked whether he has briefed the White House on it."
Translation: he was hired to protect Trump after sending an unsolicited letter explaining his excuses for protecting the all-powerful Trump, and he is in fact protecting Trump now.
29
Well, if the White House has seen the report, it explains putting the Cabinet in upheaval. There’s never been a greater Distractor In Chief.
I am furious Congress isn’t doing more to check this President, whose actions best resemble a tweaker on a run.
24
Barr isn’t saying whether or not he shared the report with Trump?
That answers that question.
The public does not need to see the parts of this report that would compromise ongoing work but the Constitution is very clear about the role of Congressional oversight of the Executive branch. That oversight requires full uncensored access to relevant information.
It seems the DOJ had no trouble turning over unredacted material from ongoing investigations when Republicans were in charge, so pretending that’s an issue now is just dishonest deflection.
Barr is actively obstructing justice.
31
If Barr is agreeing to release the report within a week, it's possible he will have obscured whatever information it contains that has the administration so frightened.
Hopefully, Mueller and team will be willing/able to testify as to what the report actually contains. Copy laying around somewhere we presume.
This is all so incredibly tiresome and useless. Barr and Trump must understand that no one will rest until the full report is seen, as well as Trump's taxes. Just give it all up, now - it's not like his base is going to hold him responsible for it anyway.
16
Regardless of the other points where I am not happy with AG Barr, I do welcome the addition of another hundred immigration judges to help deal with the backlog. However, given the character of our current president, I cannot help but wonder if the new judges will be anything more than rubberstamps of an inhumane and illegal immigration agenda.
2
Mr. Barr's March 29 letter to Congress stated, "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." Reading about his odd coyness today on the question of an Oval Office sneak peek, I first thought it suggested that the March 29 statement was a lie. Now I'm noticing that the language of that statement was artfully crafted. There were no plans to provide a "privilege review" but perhaps every intention to give the president's personal lawyers an opportunity to see the full report. Then, even absent an "assertion of privilege," they might opine on "redaction-worthy" content (and start developing their defense to the report's findings). I don't trust Mr. Barr. We know he went into this exercise with a marked bias toward a privilege-heavy president. As a consequence he might consider certain unique advantages over equal justice to be basic to the presidency.
293
@Jonathan barr is a crook; he has shown the same from day one..and in his prior hyper political roles...and, thus, of course he is w/ trump...
3
In watching the AG testify, Barr seems more willing to answer Mueller report questions to republicans than democrats. I feel we may never know the truth. Trump hires either the "unqualified" to fill seats or the blindly and openly faithful to fill positions. Barr was unqualified because of his 19-page hire-me letter proving his devotion to protecting the president.
America is not America to me anymore.
387
@Nancie Unfortunately the truth will not matter. We are divided into tribes and one will always protect its members regardless of what they may have done. Its a war against the other tribe and all is fair.
7
@Nancie
Mostly because the Repubs are asking questions. The Dems are just giving speeches and don't care what Barr has to say.
I don't think America was ever America to you.
3
@Rocket J Squrriel . Say what you will, but sometime during my 68 years, America was America to me. I'd say about 66 years of my life has been the America I used to know.
Squirrel...interesting.
26
What's released to us better be more than pronouns, prepositions, punctuation and black rectangles.
10
Are the bookies taking over-under bets on how much of Mueller's report is redacted? I'll bet we can read what's left of it on a coffee break.
I'll also bet that Barr will borrow Trump's strategy of bombarding us with extraneous information in an attempt to keep us from reading between the (blackened) lines. Expect lots of screaming about immigration.
5
The problem here, for all you bio and chemistry people, is that this report is going to have a dilution factor of 100. That is a 1:99 ratio. 1 part stock (the actual report) : 99 parts diluent (the 99% that Barr omitted from the report). This diluted version of the report will tell us absolutely nothing.
Would you sign a contract Barr put in front of you if he said, "This isn't the full contract, I just summed it up in my own way and deleted a bunch of things in order to protect the company you are doing business with. Here just sign it. i assure you it's all true and on the level"? I sure wouldn't, and in my eyes that's exactly what this amounts to. Him saying, here, just take my word that everything is just fine and as I say it is. Take the word of the man that Trump appointed to protect him from just this exact situation? I think not.
14
@Eddie Kargen Yes. He's got his "Roy Cohen" at last.
1
Barr is now vowing NOT to give the Judiciary Committee the full report. This is a total outrage, because in every other investigative matter, Congress got the full report with no redactions.
What's different this time, other than the fact that Barr is in the middle of a cover-up? He's making it up as he goes along, and not following precedent.
I also wonder what Donald Trump promised Barr in return for his "loyalty." Given the corruption surrounding this president, I wouldn't put it past him to offer some sort of financial quid pro quo.
Other than that, I don't know what drives Barr other than hyper-partisanship. He seems to be bending the law to suit his purposes, and I fully expect the Judiciary Committee to take this to the Supreme Court.
Barr implies the Judiciary Committee has no legitimate interest in seeing the full report. How he can claim that, is beyond me. It's the most consequential investigation in my lifetime, and why shouldn't they see the entire thing? They are conducting oversight, which is being obstructed by Barr and the president.
41
Barr is nothing more than another morally corrupt Trump hand puppet. Someone in DOJ needs to leak the entire thing. Enough is enough.
279
Why not just ask Mueller if he has a spare copy of the final document and release that? He and his staffers wrote the report with the public in mind, with the assumption that it would be released directly to the public right after it got a perfunctory okay from the AG. Then Trump got his sticky little fingers all over it, making the entire document untrustworthy.
Ways and Means did not ask Trump for his income tax returns, they asked the IRS. Getting the Mueller report directly from its creators should be perfectly legal. After all, it was delivered in good faith by Mueller, and then held up, molested by Trump and his minions and illegally ruled on by Trump’s AG. Muller’s real report should be distributed to its intended readers (us) exactly as he intended it to be read.
9
@Jackson
You're correct; he worked on now infamous IRAN-CONTRA arrangements! FYI the Dems DO care
6
@Jackson -- So nice to hear about your concern that "Dems don't care about that (i.e. DOJ leaks). How conveniently we forget extremely serious Republican leaks. I'm wondering how you would characterize Senior White House Repubs - Vice/Cheney, Deputy Vice/Armitage, Scooter Libby etc. outing (to the press) covert CIA operative Valierie Plame? That leak was a vicious and unlawful act of revenge involving a hornets' nest of corrupt Repubs. Fall guy, Scooter, later pardoned by Bush, was the only member of that cabal to be found guilty at trial. Oh but that's so long ago, and Repubs are different now, right?
"No collusion with the Russians and no obstruction of justice"
"Oswald, acting alone, killed President Kennedy"
The Mueller Report is the Warren Commission Report for the 21st Century.
30
@Van Owen Muller who was above reproach now is covering up?
3
"I'll release my tax returns soon" --Trump
"The Mueller report exonerates Trump" --Barr
"The check in in the mail"...
93
Listening to the live testimony only brings frustration. House Demo reps do not push for specific answers as in, “Stop right there. Did you or your office furnish a complete copy of the report to the president or his advisors since its release”. It is one thing to not publish a copy of the report for public viewing. Quite another to not furnish a complete unredacted copy to certain committees of Congress but yet give a copy to the president’s office.
94
Timing is everything.
Barr will drop the report right before Easter / Passover, while Congress is in recess.
When they get back, it will be "old news."
25
Crimes against the country do not have an expiration date.
11
Barr, as in Barring access to the truth.
59
Congress must have the full, non-redacted Mueller report. Not a copy that Barr has taken his hatchet to. The people deserve a full and complete accounting of Mueller's findings, not the cliff notes of a right-wing smokescreen artist.
73
I want to know how much of the Mueller report the president has seen and how many redactions his “lawyers” suggested.
64
The good weather is returning to Washington DC, cherry trees, daffodils - Time for some protests.
Now is the time for the democrats to rally their supporters to make hundreds of thousands of calls to their representatives daily?
Now is the time to generate the events that allow Americans to protest with their feet and march on Capital Hill.
Now is the time to energize, organize in force, for 2019 and 2020.
46
@friend for life It takes a lot of time and money to organize in this country. Want to take the lead?
1
@Lifelong New Yorker - Now that would be a honor, I would love to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my heroes and help to enlighten and inspire others. I'm working on it, believe me.
The Democrats need to press Barr without venturing into melodrama, hyperbole, and bombastic hand wringing. Stick to the FACTS, not your interpretation of them.
We need to know the contents of the report and we need to not look like victims while doing so - just clear, concise, law and order folks, intent on establishing fact and not opinion.
19
@Alex amen sir! Every one please take a deep breath find your center the report is coming
1
Barr stated that he's not going to discuss any further questions about his 4 page memo because the report will be made available to the public next week. Not one Republican is interested in the AG's handling of the Mueller report, only budget concerns with have nothing to do with the criminal investigation of the president.
7
Why can’t we read the Mueller report for ourselves? Why can’t we see trump’s tax returns? Why is everyone lying about their contacts with Russia when there doesn’t seem to be a reason to lie? Why is everyone covering for trump? Why is Barr covering for trump? What is everyone so afraid of?
1214
@Kathleen
The answer to your question about the Mueller report is in the article: the law was changed by the Clinton administration. With regard to taxes, even if the House gets the returns, it would be a federal crime to disclose them to the public.
19
@Kathleen
Why did Hillary delete 33,000 emails? Why didn't she campaign in Wisconsin? Why did she lose to Trump (of all people)?
18
@Kathleen Trump Administration has lost all trust with America. Lies. More lies. We need the Truth; we will never get it from Trump admin. Trump commits crimes in plain sight daily. Trump uses immigration as a shiny object to distract. Just look at what stories lead the top here at NYT;Immigration and Trump. Not his taxes and Mueller report. Vote the GOP out. Remember; they WILL take your healthcare.
142
I’m curious whether Putin used a black marker or red marker to do the redacting.
37
Barr's words and demeanor suggest someone overly careful and secretive. I firmly believe he's involved in a cover-up. He also refused to answer Nita Lowy's question about whether or not he's discussed the Mueller Report with Donald Trump.
Barr had better realize he's throwing his reputation down the drain, and for someone who simply doesn't deserve or appreciate such calculated "loyalty."
66
@ChristineMcM
Barr doesn't have much of a reputation to salvage after his Iran-Contra cover-up. And Barr will join the rest of the former Trump Team under the bus eventually. He has nothing to lose at this point, so he will follow his ideological heart and lie and redact as much as he wants to.
12
You don't get to be the AG is you're not extremely careful with words. It's the nature of the beast in having the law consume your life. Not unusual.
1
Barr saw an opportunity. A great job with benefits and pension, he wrote his 19 page love letter to the president and secured the position of AG. He soon secured a position for his son in law as legal council to individual one. Not long after, his daughter secured a position in the Treasury. His son, involved in the now under investigation of money laundering Deutsche Bank, might breathe easier now that Daddy can get him out of trouble. Barr will hide whatever he has to in order to keep his cushy job. As I drive begrudgingly to the Post Office, a local one with hard working employees, I have to imagine the extra thousands I am paying under the new tax law as a kind of donation to the greedy occupants of this administration. I wonder if I am paying for a lavish dinner at the individual one Hotel in Washington for this heinous group of people.
84
I can practically guarantee you are not paying more in Federal income tax than you did last year on the same level of income. Your refund might have been smaller but that is not a reflection of your tax liability. Compare "total tax" on each of your 2017 and 2018 tax returns if you don't believe me.
1
@Ryan
Wrong Ryan - I am paying a lot more this year - 2K more - thanks to Trump and his administrations tax changes.
5
@Ryan
Wrong. My income was less in 2018 and my tax nearly doubled!
4
Eventually this entire report will be released along with Trumps tax return data and full Twitter post. Should be an interesting read.
6
Mueller wrote summaries that he wanted the public to see. Why is Barr not allowing that? Could it be that those summaries proved that Trump is not exonerated?
If Trump truly was correct and this has been a worthless 'witch hunt', Trump would be handing out the Mueller report to every news organization and Tweeting hourly that he was right all along.
Since that isn't happening, there is something dark happening. Barr was specifically chosen to protect Trump. This isn't how justice works when the criminal is the president of the United States.
743
@Carol Ring I still say, somebody got to Mueller!! Either before, during or after his report. Take your pick!! It may take another Civil War to bring Trump down. I say, "whatever it takes!" One way or the other. Legal or Illegal.
5
@Lois Lettini: Nobody got to Mueller. But for some reason, Barr really wanted to be in this position of AG when the report came out. So why does he want to protect Trump? Does he really think it's good for our democracy to have an AG protect the president instead of the people of the United States? Trump got his low-key but, so far, successful, Roy Cohn.
But why?
5
@sophia
Agreed. Mueller did what he was supposed to do. This is on Barr, and we already know that some members of Mueller's team reject Barr's spin.
7
Unless and until the full report is released to Congress, the American people have every right to be skeptical about its contents. Reportedly several members of Mueller’s team have expressed frustration and disappointment over Barr’s brief summary. Furthermore, it wasn’t up to Barr to rule on the obstruction issue; that’s the purview of Congress. Barr has previously written at length in support of virtually limitless executive privilege and he’s questioned the validity of the Mueller investigation itself. He’s hardly the one to be making these critical calls. Of course, that’s exactly why Trump chose him. One way or another the full report must come to Congress. If not from Barr, then in the old fashioned way - over the transom or under the door.
338
@Avatar Mueller was the one who should have made a recommendation on obstruction. Maybe there is more to his punt in the actual report, but seems like Mueller left an opening for Barr to act, which of course he was going to take given who he is
9
@Pete it is also possible that Mr. Mueller left open the door for others to take action outside of the control of the feds, just to prevent presidential pardons
8
With Trump switching from praising the Mueller report 10 days ago to ridiculing Mueller's team and the report all day yesterday, I think the answer to the question about the White House seeing or being briefed on it is pretty clear.
44
Unless Barr had said “Trump did it and there is proof” Democrats would criticize the report. But I cannot understand why the full report is not being released. Trump said several times that the whole report should be released including supporting documents. Who is afraid of what the report contains?
121
@Richard Warner... Barr said redactions are required for certain national security and grand jury testimony reasons. These are legal constraints on the ability to release a full report. We may not like that fact but I assume it's a proper application of the law. Also, I'm sure that if Barr releases a report with major sections redacted that Mueller's team thinks should not be redacted on legal grounds and were only redacted to protect Trump, we'll read about it within a few days in the pages of the NYT.
17
@Ryan We'll read about that even if nothing was done to protect Trump.
10
@Richard Warner - Trump is afraid of the truth.
45
Legally, there are parts of the report that must be redacted. The Democrats will not accept a redacted report, or the results of a Mueller investigation that does not show collusion. This is a waste of time, money, and effort. People, on both sides, have become blinded by hate, and are unwilling to look at things objectively. Until we get past this, the country will remain divided - and maybe that is what is wanted...
46
@G G There is no reason Congress cannot have a full, unredacted report. That, to me, is the crux of the issue at the moment.
103
@G G
Seriously? You do not trust our members of Congress to be able to see the entire, unredacted report? You actually think there are only a very few people in the entire country who are allowed to see an unredacted report? And one of those people is the very person the report is about? Believe it or not, the elected Democrats. as well as the elected Republicans, have every right to see the entire report...otherwise how are they to govern properly?
133
@G G
It's hard to "look at things objectively" when I don't have anything to look at.
91
William Barr’s personal and professional histories are such that it’s not surprising that he brings no honor with him to the Justice Department. He is just another political stooge with no moral compass. And, one who has attached himself to the coattails of men who are contemptuous of the very notion of democracy!
37
I say we give this report the same treatment as the Republicans have the Benghazi report, and the Bill Clinton report by Ken Starr. They established the precedent, let's follow it exactly.
78
@ART
That attitude is why nothing ever gets done in DC.
@KevinB
Oh things get done. Witness the nuclear option in the Senate.
Tax cuts for companies to purchase "buy backs".
Undercutting ACA.
A return to Pre-existing conditions as a viable excuse to not insure someone.
And now we all can pronounce the word, emoluments.
Things get done! Sheesh.
8
Barr would not answer if the Trump Administration has seen any additional information about the report above what has been released to the Public.
Barr also indicated it was premature for anyone to make any conclusion to any level of wrongdoing, but gave the POTUS a pass on claiming the report totally exonerated him, by not addressing assumptions from the other side.
13
@Bob
Exactly. Barr would not say that Trump hasn't seen the report, which means that he has, which means that his lawyers are the ones redacting and editing.
25
A heavily redacted report is not "the full report".
While I understand the reasons the general public would not be able to see the un-redacted version, I see no reason why members of congress could not. Let Congress see the full report, let the public see the redacted version, and let people make their own conclusions.
259
@S B
Yes, particularly when Mueller's team has already redacted it. Now Barr needs extra time for more redactions presumably to protect the innocent? It's more likely to cover-up..
43
@Mark
No, Barr needs the extra time to protect the guilty. It is why he was hired, after all.
31
Only time will tell just how, or even if, Barr was imprudent in his handling of the Mueller report.
Democrats risk (more) overreaction and misguided focus by putting him in the hot seat. Instead, they should be aiming for limited access (e.g. limited committees) to the full unredacted report, and continuing their own investigation with the Mueller report as a road map. Or perhaps more appropriately: road maps.
3
@Pence - Democrats wouldn't have to keep pushing if Trump's lackey's actually produced the freiken report, unredacted, to specific Congressional committees with security clearance. Instead, they come up with their convenient cliff notes, and stall. How hard is it to just put the report in front of Congress? It all stinks - Barr is doing exactly what he was hired to do - further Trump's obstruction.
25
How many lawyers will Barr bring to the hearing to protect his rear? And was he given all the questions days ago so he and the legal team can draft written responses for him to read. Not so much a grilling if one simply needs to read the power point presentation and wave their hands emphatically.
Making America Gag Again
50
How many people would rather see the Mueller report rather than the Justice Department proposed budget?The scheduling is awkward-the budget happens during the last week before Congress leaves before Easter break.The redacted Mueller Report will appear when Congress is out of town but budget talks conveniently can be squeezed in at the last minute.The Justice Department has much mor time to wield their black redaction pen.They are naive if they think they can whitewash the Mueller report.
24
The House majority needs to learn to play Trump ball. No answers = no increases for your budget...
119
@Ethan Anthony Brilliant suggestion. Less funding for the Office of Violence Against Women, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Antitrust Division, Office of Professional Responsibility...
1
@Ethan Anthony
They need to learn to play Trump ball? Thank you for the great laugh! The Dems aren't innocents in the wild. They invented Trump ball.
Although highly provocative, these House Appropriation Committees should serve notice to Barr, at the very start of these hearings, that they intend to also question him regarding the Mueller Report and that if he refuses to answer their inquiries they shall not move forward regarding any Justice Department budgetary matters. Democrats now have majority power in the House and should use it appropriately, forcefully for the interests of the American people. It is time to play "hardball".
40
If Barr wants "more money to . . . protect the country against national security threats," he needs to explain why he has not already released the Mueller report--or at least every last bit of it relating to intelligence matters (whether or not classified)--to both congressional intelligence committees. Elsewhere in the Times today, Vicki Divoli, former general counsel to the Senate intelligence committee, lays out in chapter and verse the legal provisions requiring him to do so.
69
@Steel Magnolia
Exactly. Both House and Senate Intelligence Committees have rights to see the full report as a matter of statute (post-9/11).
The House Judiciary Committee likely also has rightful access to it based on historical precedence.
But there is no legal requirement of Barr to disclose the whole unredacted report to all of Congress, let alone the American public.
5
Plaintiffs’ attorneys often expect jewels to come in discovery, but the defense redacts so heavily as to make it all incomprehensible and worthless. You need a judge to intervene, and here there is none. The defense is controlling the release of the information, so I expect to see nothing meaningful from this report as long as this regime holds power. In this regard, this is a gutted country. There is little democratic or representative about what is happening here. A minority is lording itself over the majority and thumbing its noses at us daily, and shifting the topic to things – in this case immigration – that have nothing to do with the matter at hand, unless the question is whether in this electronic era Putin is some form of immigrant. The country is increasingly ruled by a cabal that wants to entrench itself. When people let that happen, it becomes almost impossible to uproot. We have seen that for decades, all over Africa, for example.
149
@Joe
Well put Joe.
The trump administration is like a toxic weed that continues to spread as people just shrug their shoulders. Time to start pulling some weeds !
23
@Joe Entrench itself and enrich itself
6
True. Well said.
4
Barr isn't going to answer any questions about the Mueller report in an unrelated testimony. Nothing material anyway. Why bother asking? Democrats are the only ones risking a bad public appearance. I don't see the benefit.
6
@Andy Why not? Instead of using the summaries prepared by the Mueller's team, Barr the Complicit was quick to write a so-called summary within 48 hours with an attempt to mislead the American people. His strategy is to prolong the process from releasing the truth. This is an opportunity to ask him questions and expose his hypocrisy in public. I trusted DOJ until Barr the Complicit became the AG -- his intent was clearly stated in his unsolicited AG audition letter to trump.
40
@jnl
Why not?
...Because Barr won't answer. That's what I just said. We would like answers from Barr but there's nothing Congress can do to force him to answer. Democrats simply give Fox News a soundbite for bringing up Mueller in a budget hearing on border security.
This can only backfire for Democrats.
1
William Barr assumed his Attorney General position on February 14, 2019, Valentine’s Day.
There sure isn’t anything loving about his position, his reign so far, and he can’t be feeling the love with Congress.
Oh well.....another Trump chump.
23
@Mima: February 14 was also the day of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
Politically speaking, I'd love to see the Democrats do their version to Barr.
18
Here is an opportunity for Democrats... "if," and it's a big "if," they can skillfully and boldly ask Barr the questions that will prompt answers. And "if" they keep at it until he answers the questions. There is no room for letting him off the hook. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated to this nation she knows how to ask the tough questions. The Democrats who are on these committees had better be as tough and skilled as Ocasio-Cortez is.
185
Completely agree. She’s clear, concise, and above all, uncompromisingly sticks to the FACTS without adding her own melodramatic interpretation of them. I just wrote my own post about this.
28
@Tom AOC knows how to ask the tough questions, seriously?
3
@G G Reread the transcripts of the Cohen hearing. She was direct and succinct.
10
"Mr. Barr is likely to try to keep the conversation focused on the department’s proposed $29.2 billion budget"
Perhaps he will do that by submitting a three and a half page letter containing no figures and asserting the budget is approved?
379
Barr has disqualified the Mueller report in several ways with the help of the independent press. First he gave Trump an early and rushed pass on the obstruction count, which was echoed very decisively by the "liberal" press. This was very believable. This position has congealed as he slowly and carefully considers the evidence against Trump and Russia for a month. In doing this he has also given himself the legal means to blacken out any evidence of obstruction.
Republicans have outmaneuvered the people. We will never know what made Mueller decide that he could NOT exonerate Trump. The wheels of our fascist government has already been oiled.
109
They can try to tweak Barr publicly, but as a Trump stooge/fallguy put into office specifically to stonewall the report it's largely a waste of time.
Focus on the IRS and NY State tax authority. They have the returns, and it is to them that the requests are being made.
45
When the top law man in the country is clearly partition, how can anyone be expected to trust the rule of law?
82
@ad
Same could be said of the SCOTUS, a co-equal branch of government.
7
@ad
Eric Holder said publicly that he was Obama's 'wingman' so its not uncommon at all for the AG to partisan. He does work for the executive branch.
What we should have is a Sec of Justice to be the admin for the department and separate AG.
Bill Barr was the Republican appointee for Attorney General under George Herbert Walker Bush. Bill Barr was the advisor on the issue of pardoning those men that were convicted of felonies, crimes against the people of the United States, as a part of the Iran/Contra weapons sales and subversion of Congress. Eliot Abrams was one of those convicted felons that was pardoned by Bush I and the pardon was, in part, an effort to ensure that Bush I was not impeached for his participation in those crimes.
Abrams is now a part of the Trump administration and is in charge of US Venezuela policy.
The only place where a convicted felon could be a part of a current administration is the Republican party and Barr is one of the key pieces of the revolving door of criminality in that particular party.
Barr is a Republican fixer and a crook. That should be clear.
580
@Justin Chipman
Back in 1992, the last time Bill Barr was U.S. attorney general, iconic New York Times writer William Safire referred to him as “Coverup-General Barr” because of his role in burying evidence of then-President George H.W. Bush’s involvement in “Iraqgate” and “Iron-Contra.”
General Barr has struck again — this time, in similar fashion, burying Mueller’s report and cherry-picking fragments of sentences from it to justify Trump’s behavior. In his letter, he notes that Robert Mueller “leaves it to the attorney general to decide whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime.”
43
@Justin Chipman, for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would put their party ahead of their country.
14
@Justin Chipman
I find it interesting that you bring up Venezuela.
Russia has been an active player in Venezuela for TWO DECADES. They infiltrated such via Cuba but the chaos they unleashed was right out of the Kremlin playbook—the same sort of playbook that Trump has echoed with his moves and rhetoric.
6
It is about time that Democrats start to think like Republicans if they ever want to see the Mueller Report and dislodge this President.
How do they do this, you may ask? Just pretend that the roles are reversed, and imagine what the Republicans would be up to, if it were a Democrat in the White House: Subpoenas, public hearings, impeachment and everything else in the law that would allow Democrats to engage in asymmetric warfare against this President.
And while you are at it, subpoena Steven Miller and question him. It should not be that difficult to get his Lord Sidious alter Ego to pop.
Why? Because this is exactly what Republicans would be doing to a Democrat in the White House who committed as many crimes in broad daylight as Trump has.
401
@Truth Is True
Exactly correct. Except that they do it to ANY Democrat in the WH, just like they did for 8 years during the Obama Administration. No need for actual crimes or misdeeds, just pure political theater.
116
Seems the best time to interview Barr will be after the report is made public, or at least seen by Congress. At that point his interpretation of the report can be called into question, if need be.
22
Curious why William Barr, a trained lawyer, would fight so hard to protect a felonious president who's a known liar with so little respect for the law? Is it to pack the courts with conservative judges?
He'll be forever known as Trump's man at Justice, who protected a liar from justice (and from Justice). How is this a good use of his talents and training?
History will look back on this dark time for democracy with a special glare on those who hid the truth.
574
Trained lawyer? Avenatti. Cohen. Giuliani. And so on.
25
@mm Precisely because he is a trained lawyer. In 1998, Ken Starr worked for Congress. He delivered his report directly to that body — “a grand jury within a grand jury,” as case law states. But the independent counsel law changed the following year, and Mueller, pursuant to that law, worked for the Department of Justice. Therefore, his report was delivered directly to the DOJ. Whether secret grand jury testimony can be disclosed will have to be determined by the courts. Legally, it is not Barr’s call.
8
@mm
Perhaps the carrot that dangles for Mr. Barr is to be Trump's next nomination for the Supreme Court?
19
Let's give Barr the benefit of the doubt for a moment... perhaps it is appropriate for him to redact specific sections of the report. Is is possible to question Mueller (or anyone who was on his team) as to whether the redactions are appropriate?
7
@Tom
i agree---how about---barr releases mueller written summaries---let everyone 'see' for themselves :)
28
If they do not grill him there is something wrong. It will be a missed opportunity. I just do not understand why Mueller is not releasing his findings (or one of his assistants) after so much time & effort, when it is already known that Barr did this as a whitewash for Trump.
87
@JHM
Because he has to release them in a report. He can't just hurl them out at a press conference.