William Barr has announced he will release Special CounselRobert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election by mid-April — and possibly even sooner.
The attorney general — appointed by Donald Trump earlier this year — previously released a four-page summary of the special counsel’s findings in a letter to congressional committees still probing the president’s financial dealings and Russian connections.
It was not immediately clear whether the full report would be released or if certain components would face major redactions from the Justice Department or White House.
However, in his statement announcing the imminent release of the special counsel’s report, Mr Barr said the Department of Justice was identifying and redacting “information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties."
Mr Barr also said he would not be providing the report to the White House prior to its release.
Mr Barr said the Justice Department will also redact any relevant information pertaining to ongoing investigations, so as not to jeopardise those probes.
“As we have discussed, I share your desire to ensure that Congress and the public have the opportunity to read the Special Counsel’s report,” Mr Barr wrote in his letter to the chairman of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. “We are preparing the report for release, making the redactions that are required.”
“The Special Counsel is assisting us in this process,” the attorney general added. “Our progress is such that I anticipate we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner.”
Mr Barr also denounced media reports calling his four-page letter to lawmakers a “summary,” though he notes what he sent was — in his words — “a summary of its ‘principal conclusions’ — that is, its bottom line.”
“Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own,” he continued. “I do not believe it would be in the public’s interest for me to attempt to summarise the full report or to release it in serial or piecemeal fashion.”
Mr Barr's summary of the report said it didn’t find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Mr Trump’s campaign to swing the 2016 presidential election.
The special counsel reached no conclusion about whether Mr Trump sought to obstruct the investigation. But Mr Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined there was insufficient evidence to conclude the president obstructed justice.
Additional reporting by AP
