Democratic lawmakers have questioned U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s independence from President Donald Trump, saying his support for Trump’s remarks about “spying” during the 2016 presidential election campaign undermine his position.
In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 10, Barr said he thought U.S. intelligence agencies conducted “spying” operations against Trump’s 2016 election campaign team. In later testimony, Barr appeared to backtrack — saying he wasn’t certain that any wrongdoing occurred and was only interested in ensuring proper procedures were followed.
Barr’s appearance before the committee was his second in Congress since Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his report on March 22 about Russian interference in the U.S. election. Barr has not yet released the nearly 400-page report, but he has summarized the findings in a four-page letter to Congress that was made public on March 24.
Democrats have said his summary is not enough. They have expressed concerns that Barr, recently appointed by Trump, is attempting to cover up negative findings about the president. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Associated Press after Barr’s testimony she was “very concerned” about his handling of Mueller’s report. She also accused Barr of doing Trump’s political bidding in his testimony at the April 10 Senate hearing.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Barr to either produce evidence to back up his “spying” claim or retract his testimony. Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Fox News that Barr’s loyalties had been compromised.
Trump, who has previously raised the spying allegation without presenting any evidence, said on April 10 that the investigation into possible links between his campaign team and Russia was an “attempted coup,” and “an attempted takedown of a president.”
Barr has said that Mueller’s full report on his investigation, minus some redactions, will be presented to Congress next week.
Pressure is now mounting on the attorney general ahead of his release of a version of Mueller’s report. In her remarks to the Associated Press, Pelosi amplified demands from lawmakers to see the full document, adding that it was only a “matter of time” before the full report is made public.