Democrats expected to grill Barr on the Mueller report at appropriations hearing

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published 9 April 2019

Attorney General William Barr is likely to face some tough questions about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Barr is set to testify before the House Appropriations Committee, with the scheduled hearing meant to focus on the Justice Department's budget, not the Mueller report. Still, Democrats are expected to grill Barr during the hearing on his handling of the report, per Politico, with Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) planning to tear into Barr's handling of the investigation as "unacceptable" in her opening statement. Democratic aides told CNN no topics will be off limits during the hearing.

Barr last month released a four-page summary of the Mueller report, which said that Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, and did not make a determination on obstruction of justice. Several recent news reports have suggested some members of the Mueller team are unhappy with Barr's summary, feeling their findings were more damaging than he made them sound.

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Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have provided members of the House Appropriations Committee a list of suggested questions to ask Barr, per The Washington Post. It's not clear whether Barr will actually answer these questions, and his opening statement does not mention the Mueller report at all, CNN notes. Barr previously told Congress that a version of the report, which he is in the process of redacting, would be released by mid-April, but Democrats have demanded the full, unredacted version.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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