Dems attack Barr’s credibility after report of White House briefings on Mueller findings

Democrats are attacking Attorney General William Barr’s credibility after The New York Times reported Wednesday that the Department of Justice has briefed the White House about special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings.

The report, which states that the DOJ has had “numerous conversations” with the White House about Mueller’s report, sparked a wave of outrage from Democrats.

“This is outrageous. The AG is supposed to be an independent beacon of truth and justice,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chair of the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee, tweeted in response to the report.{mosads}

“Instead, Barr is debasing the rule of law, degrading our democratic institutions, and decimating any trust the American people have left in this Administration.”

This is outrageous. The AG is supposed to be an independent beacon of truth and justice. Instead, Barr is debasing the rule of law, degrading our democratic institutions, and decimating any trust the American people have left in this Administration. #ReleaseTheReport https://t.co/8ncMVVBPKx

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) April 17, 2019

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said he was “deeply troubled” by the report.

I’m deeply troubled by reports that the WH is being briefed on the Mueller report AHEAD of its release. Now, DOJ is informing us we will not receive the report until around 11/12 tomorrow afternoon — AFTER Barr’s press conference. This is wrong. #ReleaseTheReport https://t.co/bR50HhGJ0i

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) April 17, 2019

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also blasted the Times report, along with DOJ’s decision to not hand over the report to Congress until after Barr holds a press conference on Thursday morning.

“This is not justice. This is PR,” Schiff tweeted.

Just been informed by DOJ that we’ll receive Mueller’s report only after Barr gives a press conference.

Once again, Barr wants to shape the public’s perception of the report.

This is on top of reports DOJ secretly briefed the White House.

This is not justice. Just PR.

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) April 17, 2019

And Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Barr has “thrown out his credibility & the DOJ’s independence with his single-minded effort to protect [Trump] above all else.”

AG Barr has thrown out his credibility & the DOJ’s independence with his single-minded effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else. The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin. https://t.co/fgXwiLuQfr

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 17, 2019

This isn’t the first time that Democrats have questioned Barr’s credibility. Some opposed his nomination as attorney general after it was revealed that he had sent an unsolicited memo to DOJ criticizing Mueller’s obstruction of justice probe.

And Democrats were up in arms last week after Barr said during congressional testimony that he believed there was “spying” on the Trump campaign in 2016. He later said that he wanted to review if there was any improper surveillance on the campaign.

Other congressional Democrats have been quick to join in the criticism of Barr. 

News reports suggesting that the White House was briefed on the #MuellerReport ahead of its release and that the DOJ intends to brief the press before receipt of the report are troubling. It’s time to #ReleaseTheReport for the American people.

— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) April 17, 2019 

So-called Attorney General is presiding over a dog and pony show.

Here is a thought.

Release the Mueller report tomorrow morning and keep your mouth shut.

You have ZERO credibility.https://t.co/fKFeexUKkX

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) April 17, 2019

The DOJ briefed the WH on the #MuellerReport before the American public has seen it. AG Barr now refuses to release the report until after his press conference.

Enough is enough. This is not a PR campaign. Americans deserve the chance to make a judgment call for themselves.

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) April 17, 2019 

Zero! #JustAnotherLapDog in the White House https://t.co/uVvRNt5pdo

— Rep. Norma Torres (@NormaJTorres) April 17, 2019

This a reverse Saturday night massacre.Then noble public officials stood up to a corrupt President to protect justice, now they are standing for a corrupt President to obstruct justice.

— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) April 17, 2019

This is really outrageous. Barr is briefing the White House at the same time he’s refusing to give Congress a copy of the report. @realDonaldTrump got the Attorney General he always wanted. https://t.co/XT3ohnmFk4

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) April 17, 2019

Barr will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday on the release of the Mueller report.

The document is expected to be heavily redacted, after Barr said he would not include certain information like grand jury material in the public version of the document.

But federal prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday that DOJ intends to make a version of the report without certain redactions available to select members of Congress.