Trump says he hasn’t spoken to Barr about Mueller report

President Trump told reporters on Friday that he has not discussed the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report with new Attorney General William Barr.

“No, I have not,” Trump said when questioned about whether the two had discussed the release, but said they might discuss it in the future. 

{mosads}”At some point, I guess I’ll be talking about it,” he said, according to pool reports. “But you know the nice part? There was no collusion. There was no obstruction. There was no anything. So, that’s the nice part. There was no phone calls, no nothing.” 

Trump said the idea that his campaign colluded with Russia amid its 2016 election interference was “a hoax.”

“I look forward to seeing the report. If it’s an honest report, it will say that,” he said. 

Trump has insisted throughout the special counsel’s investigation that he did not collude with Russia and has repeatedly called the probe a “witch hunt.”

Democrats have raised concerns over whether Barr, who now oversees Mueller’s investigation, will publicly release any report of its determinations.  

“The defining question for me was his declining to commit to release the special counsel’s report fully and completely,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said before Barr’s confirmation. “He chose not to make the commitment to release that report completely and directly to Congress and the American people.”

Since Barr’s confirmation, there has been much speculation about when Mueller would finish his probe or when a report of his findings would be released. A Justice Department official told The Hill on Friday that it will not be released next week. 

Barr was confirmed as attorney general last week. He is the president’s official replacement for Jeff Sessions, who resigned last year after enduring months of criticism from the president over his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.