A color-coded Mueller report will be ready for the public 'within a week,' Attorney General Barr says

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report is arriving soon, and it might look like a very organized high schooler's Trapper Keeper.

Mueller wrapped up his investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian election interference in late March, and Attorney General William Barr has since released his preliminary findings from the report, stating there was insufficient evidence to charge President Trump with any crimes. Democrats have since called for the report to be released in full, yet Barr again told Congress on Tuesday that he would only reveal as much of it as possible.

Barr appeared before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday for a hearing ostensibly focused on the Justice Department's proposed budget, but which veered quickly into questions about the special counsel. When asked by Appropriations Committee Chair José Serrano (D-N.Y.) about the status of the report, Barr said his "original time table of being able to release this by mid-April stands." Barr then said he'd consult with both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to see if they had questions about his release.

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When pressed further, Barr again doubled down on his refusal to release an unredacted Mueller report to Congress. Instead, he promised redactions in the report will be "color coded" to explain just why they were withheld. Barr also said he gave Mueller an opportunity to review his initial letter to Congress indicating the report had been submitted, but Mueller refused. If Barr gives Congress the report "within a week," as he indicated Tuesday, legislators will be on recess, Politico's Burgess Everett pointed out.