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| Major Moments From Barr’s Testimony to Congress | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Attorney General William P. Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not misrepresent the report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, despite Mr. Mueller’s complaint that the attorney general’s initial public letter describing the investigation’s findings did not capture its full context. | Attorney General William P. Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not misrepresent the report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, despite Mr. Mueller’s complaint that the attorney general’s initial public letter describing the investigation’s findings did not capture its full context. |
| In a letter from the special counsel to the attorney general, released on Wednesday, Mr. Mueller wrote that Mr. Barr’s summary of his office’s work failed to capture “the context, nature and substance” of his report and had left the public confused about “critical aspects of the results.” | In a letter from the special counsel to the attorney general, released on Wednesday, Mr. Mueller wrote that Mr. Barr’s summary of his office’s work failed to capture “the context, nature and substance” of his report and had left the public confused about “critical aspects of the results.” |
| Democrats pressed Mr. Barr on why he had not publicly acknowledged concerns about his original summary when asked about them and why he asserted that President Trump had cooperated fully with the investigation when he tried to thwart it. Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused him of being an advocate for the president. | |
| Republicans focused their questions not on Mr. Trump or Mr. Mueller’s report but on Hillary Clinton’s emails and the former F.B.I. officials who opened the Russia investigation. | Republicans focused their questions not on Mr. Trump or Mr. Mueller’s report but on Hillary Clinton’s emails and the former F.B.I. officials who opened the Russia investigation. |
| The House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to allow staff lawyers to question Mr. Barr at a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Mr. Barr has said he will not appear under that format. | The House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to allow staff lawyers to question Mr. Barr at a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Mr. Barr has said he will not appear under that format. |
| Mr. Barr told senators that he decided to release his initial four-page March 24 letter characterizing Mr. Mueller’s bottom-line conclusions because of intense public interest, pushing back against criticism that he distorted the broader findings of the special counsel investigation. | Mr. Barr told senators that he decided to release his initial four-page March 24 letter characterizing Mr. Mueller’s bottom-line conclusions because of intense public interest, pushing back against criticism that he distorted the broader findings of the special counsel investigation. |
| “The body politic was in a high state of agitation,” Mr. Barr said, explaining why he decided to release the letter. Some analysts, he said, were suggesting that any delay in releasing Mr. Mueller’s report would indicate that the president faced legal jeopardy. “I didn’t feel that it was in the public interest to allow this to go on for several weeks,” Mr. Barr said. | “The body politic was in a high state of agitation,” Mr. Barr said, explaining why he decided to release the letter. Some analysts, he said, were suggesting that any delay in releasing Mr. Mueller’s report would indicate that the president faced legal jeopardy. “I didn’t feel that it was in the public interest to allow this to go on for several weeks,” Mr. Barr said. |
| The attorney general acknowledged that Mr. Mueller was not happy about the impression left by Mr. Barr’s original letter. After receiving a March 27 letter from the special counsel urging him to release executive summaries, Mr. Barr said he called Mr. Mueller to discuss the matter. | The attorney general acknowledged that Mr. Mueller was not happy about the impression left by Mr. Barr’s original letter. After receiving a March 27 letter from the special counsel urging him to release executive summaries, Mr. Barr said he called Mr. Mueller to discuss the matter. |
| “He said that this concern focused on his explanation of why he did not reach a conclusion on obstruction and he wanted more put out on that issue,” Mr. Barr said. But the attorney general added that Mr. Mueller was not complaining about the letter itself, only how it was being read. “He was very clear with me that he was not suggesting that we had misrepresented his report,” Mr. Barr said. | “He said that this concern focused on his explanation of why he did not reach a conclusion on obstruction and he wanted more put out on that issue,” Mr. Barr said. But the attorney general added that Mr. Mueller was not complaining about the letter itself, only how it was being read. “He was very clear with me that he was not suggesting that we had misrepresented his report,” Mr. Barr said. |
| Mr. Barr said Mr. Mueller told him that “the press reporting had been inaccurate and that the press was reading too much into it.” But Mr. Mueller’s letter made no mention of news media accounts, attributing his concern to the attorney general’s letter. | Mr. Barr said Mr. Mueller told him that “the press reporting had been inaccurate and that the press was reading too much into it.” But Mr. Mueller’s letter made no mention of news media accounts, attributing his concern to the attorney general’s letter. |
| Mr. Mueller asked Mr. Barr twice to release more of his investigative findings in late March after Mr. Barr outlined the inquiry’s main conclusions in a letter to Congress, citing a gap between Mr. Barr’s interpretation and Mr. Mueller’s report, according to a letter released on Wednesday. | Mr. Mueller asked Mr. Barr twice to release more of his investigative findings in late March after Mr. Barr outlined the inquiry’s main conclusions in a letter to Congress, citing a gap between Mr. Barr’s interpretation and Mr. Mueller’s report, according to a letter released on Wednesday. |
| [Read the letter here.] | [Read the letter here.] |
| Mr. Mueller’s office first informed the Justice Department of its concerns on March 25, a day after Mr. Barr released his letter clearing Mr. Trump. At the time, Mr. Barr declined to release the special counsel’s findings themselves. | Mr. Mueller’s office first informed the Justice Department of its concerns on March 25, a day after Mr. Barr released his letter clearing Mr. Trump. At the time, Mr. Barr declined to release the special counsel’s findings themselves. |
| “We communicated that concern to the department on the morning of March 25,” Mr. Mueller said in a second letter to Mr. Barr two days later. “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation.” | “We communicated that concern to the department on the morning of March 25,” Mr. Mueller said in a second letter to Mr. Barr two days later. “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation.” |
| Mr. Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the summaries of his findings. Mr. Barr declined, explaining to the senators that he did not want to put out the report in piecemeal fashion. “I wanted to get the whole report out,” he said, which required a review period first to redact sensitive information. | Mr. Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the summaries of his findings. Mr. Barr declined, explaining to the senators that he did not want to put out the report in piecemeal fashion. “I wanted to get the whole report out,” he said, which required a review period first to redact sensitive information. |
| [Read the complete story here.] | [Read the complete story here.] |
| — Michael S. Schmidt | — Michael S. Schmidt |
| Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would withhold final judgment on Mr. Barr’s fitness to lead the Justice Department until after he testified before the House — still up in the air as of Wednesday afternoon. But she suggested that Mr. Barr’s fierce defense of the president in the Senate had led her to believe that Mr. Barr had compromised his constitutional obligations and instead had taken on the role of Mr. Trump’s personal advocate. | |
| “His behavior up till now, and some of the news that has come out of this morning, demonstrates that Attorney General Barr does not even live up to his own standards for an attorney general,” Ms. Pelosi said in an interview Wednesday, after several of her allies demanded Mr. Barr’s resignation. | |
| “I would hope to withhold my judgment on him until after tomorrow when he comes to testify — if he comes to testify to the House,” she added. “The attorney general should be the attorney general of the United States of America and not the attorney of the president of the United States.” | |
| — Glenn Thrush | |
| Mr. Barr took on one of the most sensational elements of the special counsel’s report, arguing that the president was not actually trying to eliminate the investigation against him by seeking to remove Mr. Mueller. | Mr. Barr took on one of the most sensational elements of the special counsel’s report, arguing that the president was not actually trying to eliminate the investigation against him by seeking to remove Mr. Mueller. |
| Donald F. McGahn II, then the White House counsel, told the special counsel’s team that the president called him twice in the summer of 2017 and told him to tell the Justice Department to remove Mr. Mueller on the grounds of supposed conflicts of interests. “Mueller has to go,” he quoted the president as telling him. Mr. McGahn, who considered the conflicts cited by the president to be “silly” and “not real,” refused to go along. | Donald F. McGahn II, then the White House counsel, told the special counsel’s team that the president called him twice in the summer of 2017 and told him to tell the Justice Department to remove Mr. Mueller on the grounds of supposed conflicts of interests. “Mueller has to go,” he quoted the president as telling him. Mr. McGahn, who considered the conflicts cited by the president to be “silly” and “not real,” refused to go along. |
| Mr. Barr told senators that the president’s request did not constitute an illegal effort to impede the investigation. “There is a distinction between saying to someone, ‘Go fire him, go fire Mueller,’ and saying, ‘Have him removed based on conflict,’” Mr. Barr said. | Mr. Barr told senators that the president’s request did not constitute an illegal effort to impede the investigation. “There is a distinction between saying to someone, ‘Go fire him, go fire Mueller,’ and saying, ‘Have him removed based on conflict,’” Mr. Barr said. |
| Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, asked what the difference would be. | Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, asked what the difference would be. |
| “If you remove someone for a conflict of interest there would presumably be another person” appointed as special counsel, Mr. Barr said. | “If you remove someone for a conflict of interest there would presumably be another person” appointed as special counsel, Mr. Barr said. |
| Democrats pressed Mr. Barr on conflicts between his assertions and information that has come to light through Mr. Mueller’s report or the letters he sent the attorney general. | Democrats pressed Mr. Barr on conflicts between his assertions and information that has come to light through Mr. Mueller’s report or the letters he sent the attorney general. |
| Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, challenged Mr. Barr on why he did not acknowledge the concerns expressed in Mr. Mueller’s letters at an earlier hearing. When Mr. Barr was asked at a House hearing in early April if he knew what was behind news reports that members of Mr. Mueller’s team were frustrated by his summary of their conclusions, the attorney general said, “I don’t know.” | Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, challenged Mr. Barr on why he did not acknowledge the concerns expressed in Mr. Mueller’s letters at an earlier hearing. When Mr. Barr was asked at a House hearing in early April if he knew what was behind news reports that members of Mr. Mueller’s team were frustrated by his summary of their conclusions, the attorney general said, “I don’t know.” |
| Mr. Leahy suggested that was misleading. “Why did you say you were not aware of concerns when weeks before your testimony Mr. Mueller had expressed concerns to you?” Mr. Leahy asked. | Mr. Leahy suggested that was misleading. “Why did you say you were not aware of concerns when weeks before your testimony Mr. Mueller had expressed concerns to you?” Mr. Leahy asked. |
| “The question was relating to unidentified members who were expressing frustration over the accuracy” of the letter, Mr. Barr said. “I talked directly with Bob Mueller, not members of his team” and “Mueller had never told me that the expression of the findings was inaccurate.” | “The question was relating to unidentified members who were expressing frustration over the accuracy” of the letter, Mr. Barr said. “I talked directly with Bob Mueller, not members of his team” and “Mueller had never told me that the expression of the findings was inaccurate.” |
| Other Democrats have been more pointed. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Mr. Barr misled Congress and should resign. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, all but followed suit: “If Mr. Barr didn’t tell Congress the truth, and it appears he didn’t, then he can’t continue to serve as attorney general.” | |
| Mr. Leahy also took on Mr. Barr over his assertions that Mr. Trump had “cooperated fully” with the investigation, asking him about several of the president’s actions to thwart the inquiry, including his refusal to be personally interviewed by prosecutors. | Mr. Leahy also took on Mr. Barr over his assertions that Mr. Trump had “cooperated fully” with the investigation, asking him about several of the president’s actions to thwart the inquiry, including his refusal to be personally interviewed by prosecutors. |
| Mr. Leahy cited an instance when Mr. Trump directed Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, to tell Jeff Sessions, who was then the attorney general and had recused himself from the investigation, to unrecuse himself and impose limits on the special counsel that would effectively take its focus off the president. | Mr. Leahy cited an instance when Mr. Trump directed Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, to tell Jeff Sessions, who was then the attorney general and had recused himself from the investigation, to unrecuse himself and impose limits on the special counsel that would effectively take its focus off the president. |
| “Is that fully cooperating?” Mr. Leahy asked. | “Is that fully cooperating?” Mr. Leahy asked. |
| “Well,” Mr. Barr said, pausing, “I don’t see any conflict between that and fully cooperating with the investigation.” | “Well,” Mr. Barr said, pausing, “I don’t see any conflict between that and fully cooperating with the investigation.” |
| While Democrats confronted Mr. Barr over the president and special counsel, Republican senators used their time to shift attention to what Mr. Trump has called the real scandal, the fact that he was investigated in the first place. | While Democrats confronted Mr. Barr over the president and special counsel, Republican senators used their time to shift attention to what Mr. Trump has called the real scandal, the fact that he was investigated in the first place. |
| Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the committee chairman, pointed to “the other campaign” and Hillary Clinton’s email server as well as the origins of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election on Mr. Trump’s behalf, picking up themes that have animated the president’s public appearances. | Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the committee chairman, pointed to “the other campaign” and Hillary Clinton’s email server as well as the origins of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election on Mr. Trump’s behalf, picking up themes that have animated the president’s public appearances. |
| As he opened the hearing, Mr. Graham read from much-circulated text messages between former F.B.I. officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page in 2016 to prove that the people investigating the president “hated Trump’s guts,” as he put it. He also returned to the Democrat-financed dossier on Mr. Trump assembled by Christopher Steele and an eavesdropping warrant issued against Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. | |
| “This committee is going to look long and hard in how this all started,” Mr. Graham said. “We're going to look at the FISA warrant process. Did Russia provide Christopher Steele the information about Trump that turned out to be garbage, that was used to get a warrant on an American citizen? And if so, how did the system fail?” | “This committee is going to look long and hard in how this all started,” Mr. Graham said. “We're going to look at the FISA warrant process. Did Russia provide Christopher Steele the information about Trump that turned out to be garbage, that was used to get a warrant on an American citizen? And if so, how did the system fail?” |
| Citing the same text messages, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said the investigation into Mr. Trump was an attempt by unelected F.B.I. officials “to overturn a democratic election. And to my mind, that’s the real crisis here.” | |
| Other Republican senators accused Democrats of a double standard for advocating that James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director who led the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s private email server, be fired because of his handling of that and then complaining when Mr. Trump eventually did dismiss him. And Republicans pressed the argument that President Barack Obama should have done more to counter Russian interference in the 2016 election when he was in office — mirroring a video released during the hearing by Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign. | Other Republican senators accused Democrats of a double standard for advocating that James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director who led the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s private email server, be fired because of his handling of that and then complaining when Mr. Trump eventually did dismiss him. And Republicans pressed the argument that President Barack Obama should have done more to counter Russian interference in the 2016 election when he was in office — mirroring a video released during the hearing by Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign. |
| One exception was Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, who said the hearing should not just be pro- and anti-Trump. He highlighted the role of Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch whom he called “a bottom-feeding scum sucker” who had on his payroll Paul Manafort, who went on to serve as Mr. Trump’s campaign manager. | |
| “Is it permissible for someone to be paid by someone who’s basically an enemy of the United States and then can that person just volunteer” for a campaign, Mr. Sasse asked Mr. Barr. | “Is it permissible for someone to be paid by someone who’s basically an enemy of the United States and then can that person just volunteer” for a campaign, Mr. Sasse asked Mr. Barr. |
| Mr. Barr said it depended on the details. “It’s a slippery area,” he said. | |
| Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, mocked his Republican counterparts for fixating on Mrs. Clinton more than two years after she lost the election. “I've been listening carefully to my Republican colleagues on the other side, and it appears that they are going to go work together and coordinate the so-called ‘lock-her-up’ defense,” he said. | |
| While attention was trained on the Senate, the House moved forward with its own confrontations. The Democrat-led Judiciary Committee voted to allow staff lawyers from both parties to question Mr. Barr during testimony scheduled for Thursday. Mr. Barr and committee Republicans have objected to that arrangement, and the attorney general has threatened not to show up for questioning. | |
| With Democrats not backing down, it remains to be seen if he will. | With Democrats not backing down, it remains to be seen if he will. |
| “Attorney General Barr publicly committed to being transparent regarding the special counsel’s investigation,” said the committee’s chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York. “He should welcome the opportunity to speak candidly and at length before the House Judiciary Committee and the American people.” | |
| At the same time, House Democrats are waiting to see if the Justice Department meets a Wednesday deadline set by the Judiciary Committee to turn over a copy of the Mueller report without redactions and all the evidence collected by Mr. Mueller. They already issued a subpoena for the material, and could escalate a conflict with the Justice Department if it is not handed over. | At the same time, House Democrats are waiting to see if the Justice Department meets a Wednesday deadline set by the Judiciary Committee to turn over a copy of the Mueller report without redactions and all the evidence collected by Mr. Mueller. They already issued a subpoena for the material, and could escalate a conflict with the Justice Department if it is not handed over. |
| — Nicholas Fandos | — Nicholas Fandos |
| Several moments of Mr. Barr’s testimony highlighted tensions over the role of the attorney general: whether as the chief law enforcement officer, an attorney general is supposed to render independent judgments based solely on the facts and the law without taking politics into account, or whether, as a political appointee in an administration, he or she is supposed to function as part of the president’s team. | Several moments of Mr. Barr’s testimony highlighted tensions over the role of the attorney general: whether as the chief law enforcement officer, an attorney general is supposed to render independent judgments based solely on the facts and the law without taking politics into account, or whether, as a political appointee in an administration, he or she is supposed to function as part of the president’s team. |
| In explaining his handling of the investigation, including his decision to pronounce Mr. Trump cleared of obstruction of justice, Mr. Barr repeatedly put forward the best interpretation of events from the president’s point of view, playing down episodes that Mr. Mueller had spotlighted as potential obstruction of justice. He likewise stuck by his claim that the president fully cooperated under challenge by Democrats. | |
| Toward the end of the morning’s session, Mr. Barr also dismissed the now-revealed unhappiness expressed by Mr. Mueller with Mr. Barr’s original letter, describing the special counsel as essentially just a subordinate United States attorney and saying “his work concluded when he sent his report to the attorney general. At that point, it was my baby.” | Toward the end of the morning’s session, Mr. Barr also dismissed the now-revealed unhappiness expressed by Mr. Mueller with Mr. Barr’s original letter, describing the special counsel as essentially just a subordinate United States attorney and saying “his work concluded when he sent his report to the attorney general. At that point, it was my baby.” |
| Mr. Barr added: “It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Mueller’s.” | Mr. Barr added: “It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Mueller’s.” |
| — Charlie Savage | — Charlie Savage |