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Congressional Democrats attacked Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday night, before the Justice Department released a redacted version of Special Adviser Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in terrorism. Presidential election of 2016 and allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian authorities.
Barr will hold a press conference Thursday at 9:30 am, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the investigation into the Mueller case after the appointment of the special advocate in May 2017. Neither Mueller nor the other members of his team will be present, according to the special advocate. Spokesman Peter Carr. Democrats criticized the press conference schedule, saying Barr would present his interpretation of the Mueller report before Congress and the public saw it.
At a press conference on Wednesday evening, the House Judiciary Committee Chair, Jerrold Nadler, DN.Y., said the panel was to receive a copy of the report between 11 am and noon, "long after the 9:30 am Attorney General's press conference. "It's wrong."
"The Attorney General seems to be conducting a media campaign on behalf of President Trump, the very subject of the investigation at the heart of the Mueller report," Nadler told reporters. "Rather than letting the facts of the report speak for themselves, the Attorney General took unprecedented steps to conduct Mueller's nearly two-year investigation."
Hakeem Jeffries, another member of the Judiciary Committee and Speaker of the House Democratic Caucus, accused Barr – that Jeffries called the "Attorney General" to "preside over an exhibition of dogs and ponies.
"Here's a thought," added Jeffries. "Publish Mueller's report tomorrow morning and close your mouth, you have no credibility."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Tweeted that Barr "has rejected his credibility and the independence of the GM with his determined effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else. the truth, not a man cleansed version of the Mueller report approved by administrator Trump. "
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Said: "The process is poisoned even before the report is released."
"Barr should not launch the report at all, but it is doubly scandalous to do so before the United States gets a chance to read it," said Schumer.
Democrats were also angered by a New York Times report Wednesday that Justice officials had "many conversations with White House lawyers" about Mueller's findings, which helped Legal team of the president to prepare a rebuttal of the report of the special council. The Times report has not been independently confirmed by Fox News.
Late on Wednesday, Nadler and four other Democratic committee presidents issued a joint statement calling on Barr to cancel the Thursday morning press conference, calling it "unnecessary and inappropriate".
"He [Barr] Let the full report speak for itself, read Nadler's statement, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Maxine Waters, D-Calif. and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. "The Attorney General must cancel the press conference and provide the full report to Congress, as requested, and once the special advocate's work is completed, it is up to Congress to evaluate the findings and the evidence and to proceed accordingly. "
In filing the lawsuit against Roger Stone on Wednesday, the Justice Ministry also announced its intention to provide a "limited number" of members of Congress and their staff with access to a copy of the Mueller report featuring less of redactions than the public version. Nadler said Wednesday evening that the Judiciary Committee "is not aware of this and that this should not be interpreted as an agreement, knowledge or consent on our part".
Nadler added that he "would probably find it useful" to call Mueller and his team members to testify after reading the version of the report published by Barr.
The report should reveal what Mueller discovered about the links between the Trump campaign and Russia, which did not engage in criminal behavior. And, he will likely outline the findings of the special council on the training episodes in the Trump presidency, including the dismissal of FBI director James Comey; its Comey request to end an investigation into Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn; his relentless harassment of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his challenge after the investigation in Russia; and his role in writing an explanation about a meeting that his eldest son had at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-related attorney.
The report should not put the president in legal jeopardy because Barr himself has decided that Trump should not be prosecuted for obstruction. But it is likely to contain unflattering details about the president's efforts to control the investigation of Russia.
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Overall, Mueller laid charges against 34 people – including six Trump assistants and advisers – and revealed a sophisticated and elaborate effort on the part of Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. – Five accused persons were Russians, accused of hacking democrat mail accounts or of having deployed powerful and covert efforts in social media to spread misinformation online.
Five former Trump advisers or advisers pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Stone expects to be tried for charges of false statement and obstruction.
Jake Gibson, Chad Pergram, and Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
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