Attorney General Barr says Mueller testimony is meant to be a 'public spectacle'

Attorney General William Barr still doesn't see the point of Robert Mueller's congressional testimony.

Ahead of the former special counsel's hearing before Congress next week, Barr told The Associated Press he is "not sure what purpose is served by dragging [Mueller] up there and trying to grill him." And if Mueller decides he "doesn't want to subject himself" to that testimony, he'll have the full support of the Department of Justice, Barr continued.

Barr became President Trump's attorney general during Mueller's two-year-long investigation into the Trump 2016 campaign, which ended with Mueller not concluding whether Trump had obstructed justice during the investigation and Barr declining to press charges for obstruction. Barr later appeared for a Senate hearing regarding the probe but skipped out on his House hearing, while Mueller previously declined to give a congressional hearing. Yet in response to a Democratic subpoena, Mueller agreed late last month to one joint hearing.

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Democrats pushing for Mueller's testimony despite his reluctance is just their attempt to create a "public spectacle," Barr told AP in a Monday interview. "I don't think Mueller should be treated that way or subject himself to that, if he doesn't want to," Barr continued. He also said that his separate probe into the origins of the Mueller probe is "essential" and ongoing, while he characterized his 30-year friendship with Mueller as "fine."

When asked previously about the possibility of Mueller testifying, Barr repeatedly said he was not opposed to it. Trump, meanwhile, has flipped from railing against a potential Mueller testimony to saying he'd let Barr "make a decision on that." Read more from Barr's interview at The Associated Press.