House committee chairs demand Barr cancel Mueller report press conference

Five Democratic House committee chairs are calling on Attorney General William Barr to cancel his press conference scheduled for Thursday morning to discuss Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, saying it will be "unnecessary and inappropriate."

In a joint statement released Wednesday night, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said the presentation, announced by Barr on Wednesday afternoon, "appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it."

The press conference is set to start at 9:30 a.m., hours before the report is released to the public or sent to Congress. It will not involve Mueller or any members of his team. Barr's press conference, as well as a New York Times report that the Justice Department has been speaking with White House lawyers about Mueller's findings, "reinforce our concern that [Barr] is acting to protect President Trump," the chairs said, adding that Barr should "let the full report speak for itself. The attorney general should cancel the press conference and provide the full report to Congress, as we have requested."

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