Barr says Trump won’t be allowed to ‘correct’ Mueller report

Attorney general nominee William Barr told lawmakers Tuesday that President Trump would not be allowed to “correct” special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on his Russia investigation. 

“That will not happen,” Barr said during his confirmation hearing.

{mosads}Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Barr, who Trump nominated in December to serve at the helm of the Justice Department, to respond to Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani’s claim that the president’s legal team should be permitted to correct the final report Mueller is expected to submit to the Justice Department at the conclusion of his investigation.

“As a matter of fairness, they should show it to you — so we can correct it if they’re wrong,” Giuliani told The Hill in an exclusive interview last week. “They’re not God, after all. They could be wrong.”

Should Barr be confirmed, he would assume oversight of Mueller’s investigation, which is exploring whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow to interfere in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice by Trump.

The president has repeatedly derided the investigation as a “witch hunt” and a “hoax” driven by partisan aims.

Barr faced a barrage of questions from Democrats on the Mueller investigation, particularly in regards to a memo he wrote to the Justice Department describing the obstruction probe as based on a “fatally misconceived” theory. Barr insisted Tuesday he would allow Mueller to complete his investigation and would work to make the findings public in accordance with the law.

Barr also emphasized that he believes the Mueller probe to be in the public interest.

“I believe the Russians interfered, or attempted to interfere, in the election, and I believe we have to get to the bottom of it,” Barr said.

Mueller is widely expected to be in the later stages of his investigation. It will be up to the attorney general to decide whether his final report is released or partially released to Congress and the public.