William Barr: Attorney general says Mueller report will be released ‘within a week’ – here’s what it will look like

The report will be colour-coded and contain four types of redactions, attorney general said

US attorney general William Barr has told legislators they could expect a redacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report “within a week”.

Mr Barr was speaking about the report – the findings of an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links collusion with Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign – during a tense hearing on Capitol Hill that yielded more questions than answers.

The attorney general abruptly declined to answer further questions about the investigation halfway through the hearing, saying: “I’ve said what I was going to say about the report today.” He then refused to answer whether the White House had been briefed on any aspect of the special counsel’s report.

“I’m not going to say anything more about it until the report is out,” he added.

Democrats expressed frustration and concern with Mr Barr’s handling of the report. Nita Lowey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee grilled him over how he managed to reduce the massive document into four pages just days after he had received it.

“Even for someone who has done this job before, I would argue it’s more suspicious than impressive,” she said.

Mr Barr acknowledged his quick work, claiming: “The thinking of the special counsel was not a mystery to the department of dustice prior to the submission of the report.” He added that Mr Mueller’s team was redacting the report before providing it to Congress.

The attorney general said he plans to produce a report during “this first go” with four types of redactions – relating to grand jury information, classified information that could reveal agency sources or methods, information pertaining to ongoing prosecutions, and information that may implicate “privacy or reputational interests” of peripheral players.

The report will be colour-coded, according to Mr Barr, and will feature explanatory notes for all of his redactions. It remains unclear what legal grounds the attorney general has to place redactions for all four of his listed components, however.

Mr Barr added he would convene with Republican and Democratic leadership from the House judiciary committee after the report is released to determine whether they required any further information. Legislators may also request grand jury information from the courts, he said – a move he noted the justice department would not be making under his leadership.

The attorney general was brought to the house committee to discuss Mr Trump's budget request for the justice department for 2020. This was the central focus of Mr Barr’s opening statement and he did not at any point mention the Mueller report.

At times, there appeared to be two testimonies taking place. As Democrats grilled the attorney general over the special counsel’s conclusions, Republican lawmakers asked Mr Barr about his department’s plans surrounding issues including human and sex trafficking, and immigration along the US-Mexico border.

The Mueller report wasn’t the only thing Democrats flagged up, however. The hearing provided some tense moments when they grilled Mr Barr over the justice department’s opposition to the Affordable Care Act in federal courts under Mr Trump.

Asked whether he had considered the consequences of his department opposing the healthcare bill for Americans at risk of losing their coverage, Mr Barr shot back at one Democratic lawmaker: “If you think it’s such an outrageous position, you have nothing to worry about.”