Tomorrow's release of the Mueller report has quickly spiraled into political gamesmanship, with Democrats accusing AG Barr of using his post to protect President Trump
The Justice Department on Thursday is expected to release a redacted version of the special counsel's report on Russian election interference and Trump's campaign, opening up months, if not years, of fights over what the document means in a deeply divided country.
The news conference, which was first announced by Trump during a radio interview, provoked immediate criticism from congressional Democrats, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York. Trump spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to comment on an ABC News report that the White House had been briefed on the contents of Mueller's report beyond what was relayed by Barr in a public letter last month.
The report is not expected to place the president in legal jeopardy, as Barr made his own decision that Trump shouldn't be prosecuted for obstruction. But it is likely to contain unflattering details about the president's efforts to control the Russia investigation that will cloud his ability to credibly claim total exoneration.
Barr has said he is withholding grand jury and classified information as well as portions relating to ongoing investigation and the privacy or reputation of uncharged"peripheral" people. But how liberally he interprets those categories is yet to be seen. In addition to Comey's firing, Mueller scrutinized the president's request of Comey to end an investigation into Trump's first national security adviser; his relentless badgering of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his recusal from the Russia investigation; and his role in drafting an incomplete explanation about a meeting his oldest son took at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer.
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