Barr’s view called ‘confusing’ Senator vows ‘no’ vote unless promise made to air report
WASHINGTON — The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that she would not vote for attorney general nominee William Barr unless he were to commit to releasing the report generated by special counsel investigation — something Barr has declined to do.
On the second day of Barr’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., praised the nominee’s answers to questions about how he would approach Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the possibility the Kremlin had ties to President Donald Trump’s campaign.
Feinstein said Barr “clearly understands the need for independence and the importance of protecting the department, as well as Mr. Mueller, from interference.” But she said Barr’s description of what he would do with Mueller’s final report was “confusing,” adding she could not vote for him unless he committed to releasing it.
“This is a big report, and the public needs to see it, and with exception of very real national security concerns, I don’t even believe there should be very much redaction,” Feinstein said, addressing Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
“So I am hopeful that that report will be made public, and my vote depends on that, Mr. Chairman, because an attorney general must understand the importance of this to the nation as a whole, to us as a Congress, as well as to every American,” she said.
Because Republicans control the Senate, Barr does not need any Democratic votes to win confirmation — meaning Feinstein’s support would be a mere feather in his cap. But the senator had seemed supportive of Barr during his nine hours of answering questions Tuesday, even noting during the proceeding that it was “going very well” and that she expected Barr to be confirmed.
“My decision is all around the report coming out.” She said in an interview Wednesday. “It can’t be stopped, interfered with, defunded — it’s got to finish, and there has to be a commitment by this attorney general that that report will be released publicly.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, lawmakers questioned advocates, legal experts and colleagues of Barr about his record, his character and how he might handle the Mueller investigation. Barr testified Tuesday, and much of that discussion focused on Mueller’s investigation and whether Barr would seek to influence the outcome.
Barr, who previously served as attorney general to President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s, pledged to let Mueller finish his work and to release as much information about his findings as possible, but he cautioned that Justice Department regulations may prevent any report written by Mueller from being made public.
“The rules, I think, say the special counsel will prepare a summary report on any prosecutive or declination decisions, and that shall be confidential and be treated as any other declination or prosecutive material within the department,” Barr said Tuesday.
The Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., echoed Feinstein’s concerns, saying Barr’s broad goal of transparency was “not good enough.”
“To merit a vote on nomination, you would have to make unequivocal and public that you would not interfere with the issuance, you would issue the full report, except if intelligence sources said certain portions should be redacted,” Schumer told reporters Wednesday.
Schumer had pledged to vote against the nomination even before a Wednesday afternoon meeting with Barr, though he had said he hoped that the nominee might “undo my opposition” by being more forthcoming than he was in Tuesday’s hearing. He wasn’t, Schumer said Wednesday.
Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., said Barr was “experienced and seasoned and in some ways is the sort of Department of Justice institutionalist one might hope for in a very rocky period.” But he said Barr “evaded several of my direct questions in terms of making a clear and simple commitment to the full release of the Mueller report, to seeking and following the advice of Department of Justice career ethics counsel, and to allowing Mueller … to make his own decisions about seeking testimony from the president.”
Coons said he was going to give Barr a chance to address his concerns and make a firmer commitment to allow Mueller to do his work and release the special counsel’s report free from interference.