Barr offered 6 Democrats a less redacted Mueller report. They didn't look at it.
Ahead of his Wednesday Senate and Thursday House testimonies about the report, Attorney General William Barr offered to let six Democrats and six Republicans see parts of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report the general public didn't, Politico reports. Yet despite Democrats' constant demands for Barr to release more of the report to the public, only two Republicans took advantage of that.
The top four members of both the House and Senate Judiciary committees were offered the less redacted report, as were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Only Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and House Judiciary Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) actually looked at it, with both telling Politico it didn't "change" any of their feelings from the first report.
Barr offered up the less redacted report at Justice Department headquarters last week, and also would let lawmakers choose one staffer to see it too, per Politico. The report moved to a secure room on Capitol Hill this week. McConnell has said he'd likely go look on Thursday and McCarthy said he was "satisfied' with the redacted report, but no Democrats gave Politico explanations for holding out.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In Barr's Wednesday testimony, Graham acknowledged again that he'd seen the confidential version of the report, though he said he hadn't "read it all." Given that grand jury information still remains redacted even in the confidential version that top lawmakers could've seen, no one really has.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Will Trump’s 10% credit card rate limit actually help consumers?Today's Big Question Banks say they would pull back on credit
-
3 smart financial habits to incorporate in 2026the explainer Make your money work for you, instead of the other way around
-
‘The surest way to shorten our lives even more is to scare us about sleep’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
