WASHINGTON, DC — Attorney General William Barr took questions Tuesday on everything from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation to Obamacare. Barr’s meeting with the House appropriations subcommittee was his first public appearance since he released his conclusions of Mueller’s findings.
Barr tried to keep the hearing focused on the Justice Department’s proposed $29.2 billion budget, The New York Times reported, but the gravity of the Mueller report left Democrats pushing for answers. Democrats previously demanded to see the full report, as well as its underlying evidence, while Trump and his Republican allies have pushed back.
Here are eight things we learned from Barr’s answers.
1. Barr said he will deliver the Mueller report to Congress “within a week,” but lawmakers will not see the report unredacted, as Democrats had hoped. Lawmakers and the public will see the same report.
“I don’t intend at this stage to send the full unredacted report to the committee,” Barr said, according to CNN.
2. Those redactions will be color-coded and notes will explain why the material was redacted.
3. It’s unclear whether the White House was briefed on what’s in the Mueller report in addition to Barr’s summary.
When asked by Democratic U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, Barr replied “I’ve said what I’m going to say about the report today. I’ve issued three letters about it. I was willing to discuss the historic information of how the report came to me and my decision on Sunday.”
4. Barr seemed to be open to the idea of allowing the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to see the unredacted version.
5. The Justice Department’s inspector general expects to complete its examination on certain aspects of the Russia probe by May or June.
6. Barr believes he handled the Mueller report correctly and warned about the consequences of hasty summarizing.
“I was not interested in putting out summaries or trying to summarize because I think any summary, regardless of who prepares it, not only runs the risk of being under-inclusive or over-inclusive, but also would trigger a lot of discussion and analysis that really should await everything coming out at once,” said Barr.
7. Barr does not plan to ask a federal judge to allow secret grand jury information.
“The chairman of the Judiciary Committee is free to go to court if he feels one of those exceptions is applicable,” said Barr.
He added: “My intention is not to ask for it at this stage. I mean, if the chairman has a good explanation of why 6(e) does not apply and his need for the information, I’m willing to listen.”
8. Barr doesn’t appear confident that the Trump administration will be able to declare the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, according to Vox. When asked by Democratic lawmakers to defend the administration’s new position, Barr gave a confusing answer that seemed to indicate he didn’t think the government could win the case.
In response to a question by Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, Barr asked, “Do you think it’s likely we are going to prevail?”
“Well, you’re devoting scarce resources of your department toward that effort, are you not, Attorney General?” Cartwright replied.
“We’re in litigation. We have to take a position,” Barr said.
I’m just saying that if you think it’s such an outrageous position, you have nothing to worry about. Let the courts do their job.”
Cartwright tweeted that he interpreted the answer to say: “‘Relax. We’re not really expecting to win this case!'”