House Dems give Barr deadline for report access

WASHINGTON» The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has given Attorney General William Barr one last shot to accommodate lawmakers seeking access to a more complete version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report before beginning contempt proceedings.

In a letter Friday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., gave Barr until Monday to respond to his request that the Justice Department allow more lawmakers the chance to read the full report as well as turn over underlying investigative material. Barr released a redacted version of the report April 18.

This week, citing a “compelling need to protect the autonomy and effectiveness of its investigations,” the department said it was “unable to provide” Mueller’s investigative files in response to a committee subpoena.

“The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department,” Nadler wrote. “But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.”

The Department of Justice declined to comment on Nadler’s letter.

The letter is the latest salvo in a widening war between the White House and congressional Democrats, who are seeking to have Mueller and former White House counsel Donald McGahn testify. On Thursday, Barr snubbed Nadler’s committee, failing to show for a scheduled hearing after he disagreed with the panel’s format.

In his report, Mueller did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian officials seeking to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel identified 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

In a March 27 letter that surfaced this week, Mueller complained to Barr that his memo summarizing the report “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of the special counsel’s work.