Mueller Report Cover-up Watch

Barr Wants Carte Blanche To Keep It All Secret

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 09: U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies about the Justice Department's FY2020 budget request before the House Appropriations Committee's Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies... WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 09: U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies about the Justice Department's FY2020 budget request before the House Appropriations Committee's Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 09, 2019 in Washington, DC. This was the first time Barr had testified before Congress since releasing a summary report of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS

April 9, 2019 12:21 p.m.

The testimony so far this morning has basically confirmed what we’ve suspected about Bill Barr’s plan to release as little of the Mueller Report as possible. He said he has no plans to seek the public release of secret grand jury materials, despite the fact that there’s ample precedent for doing so. Indeed, he specifically invoked that DC Circuit Court ruling from last week which appeared to give him cover to refuse the release of any grand jury material.

What’s important to note here is that there are very narrow and very expansive ways to interpret what counts as grand jury testimony. Is it just specific quotations from witnesses? Or is it portions of the Report that significantly rely on or stem from grand jury testimony? There’s a history to both approaches.

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