Attorney General Bill Barr told Congress Tuesday that he offered special counsel Robert Mueller the opportunity to review his letter outlining the “principal conclusions” of Mueller’s report on Russian collusion.
Mueller allegedly declined the opportunity to review Barr’s conclusions.
“The letter of the 24th [of March], Mr. Mueller’s team did not play a role in drafting that document, although we offered him the opportunity to review it before we sent it out, and he declined that,” Barr said in testimony to a House Appropriations Committee.
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Democrats and members of the media have accused Barr of inaccurately summarizing Mueller’s report when he said that there was no evidence from the investigation that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and not enough evidence to show President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice. (RELATED: Dems, Media Prepare Conspiracy Theories To Discredit Mueller Report)
A thinly sourced report from The New York Times similarly claimed that members of the special counsel team were upset with Barr’s letter to Congress because they believe the actual report is much more damaging to the president.
Barr’s indication that he offered Mueller the opportunity to review the letter — and that the special counsel’s team is working with Barr on the release of the report — seemed to undercut that theory.