Watch U.S. Attorney General William Barr's news conference on the Mueller report on the public release of special counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump prior to it to Congress. Read the transcript of Barr's remarks here.
On Wednesday night just after the announcement of Barr's scheduled news conference Democrats responded with outrage, and on Thursday morning following the Barr news conference Representative Jerry Nadler, head of the House Judiciary Committee, issued a letter asking special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before that committee.
California's congressional delegation also quickly reacted to the Barr news conference.
U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), who is also a member of the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, released a statement Thursday.
"The Attorney General’s press conference today should concern us all, filled with political spin and propaganda. He acted more like the president’s defense attorney than our nation’s Attorney General. Congress must receive this report in full along with all underlying investigative materials," Harris wrote. "As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know a selectively redacted version of the report is not sufficient for Congress to fulfill its responsibility to conduct meaningful oversight over this investigation and decisions made by Trump administration officials surrounding its conclusion. Barr’s actions have made it impossible for the American people to have faith that the Justice Department’s handling of this process was anything but partisan. Americans deserve the unvarnished truth. We need Special Counsel Mueller to testify in Congress before the public can even begin to trust this process or have confidence in the rule of law."
Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Majority Leader, weighed on the attorney general's remarks via Twitter.