Under fire from Democrats, Attorney General William P. Barr has prepared for public questioning. Experts say he has wide discretion to determine what is revealed, meaning the fight over blacked-out boxes is likely to spawn months of legal fights.
By Devlin Barrett Devlin Barrett Reporter focusing on national security and law enforcement Email Bio Follow April 7 at 7:00 AM The escalating political battle over special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report centers on redactions — a lawyerly editing process that has angered distrustful Democrats eager to see the all evidence and conclusions from his 22-month investigation of President Trump’s conduct and Russia’s elaborate interference operation during the 2016 election.
The president’s critics questioned whether Barr soft-pedaled Mueller’s findings, concerns that intensified after recent reports indicating some on Mueller’s team are unhappy with the brevity of Barr’s initial report to Congress and believe more could and should be said about the seriousness of what they found.Barr is working with Rosenstein, Mueller and their key aides to produce an edited version of the report.
Mueller’s investigators issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and executed nearly 500 search warrants, so the potential grand jury material is voluminous. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler has been pushing the attorney general to ask a judge to approve the release of grand jury material, but Barr has made no move to do so. Nadler is authorized to subpoena Mueller’s full report, with the committee voting along party lines Wednesday to grant him that ability, though to date, none has been issued.
While Barr’s public letters to lawmakers since Mueller submitted his report sought to assuage any concerns that the attorney general is providing political cover for the president, with every day that passes, the pressure intensifies on Barr to show that he is not playing politics with a high-profile criminal investigation into Trump and his advisers.
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