What to Expect When the Mueller Report Drops

Democrats are already seething that document will be 'lightly redacted'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 18, 2019 4:04 AM CDT
Updated Apr 18, 2019 6:53 AM CDT
Report: Mueller Report Will Be 'Lightly Redacted'
Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Wednesday morning, April 17, 2019.   (AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz)

Lawmakers will finally get their hands on Robert Mueller's report Thursday—and the battle lines have already been drawn. Sources tell the Washington Post that the 400-page report will be only lightly redacted, allowing readers to see a "blow by blow" account of why President Trump was suspected of obstructing justice, but even light redactions are expected to infuriate Democrats, who have demanded to see the full report. "The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version ... approved by the Trump Administration," tweeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Post's sources say the report, which will be provided to lawmakers around 11am, will reveal that Mueller left the question of whether Trump obstructed justice open because it was "difficult to determine" his intent.

Barr says the redactions will include "information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties," the Hill reports. Democrats have been angered by reports that the Justice Department has already discussed the report with White House lawyers and by Attorney General William Barr's decision to hold a press conference at 9:30am to discuss the report before its release, reports Reuters. At a press conference Wednesday night, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler urged Barr to cancel the briefing, accusing him of trying to spin the report. "The attorney general appears to be waging a media campaign on behalf of President Trump," he said. Nadler said that if the report turns out to be heavily redacted, subpoenas will be issued "in very short order." (More Mueller report stories.)

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