Robert Mueller confronts AG Barr about his interpretation of the Mueller Report, Barr's credibility to be questioned before Judiciary Committee today

AG William Barr poses with WH guest at First Steps Act ceremony. Photo by Mona Austin

By Mona Austin

Special Counsel Robert Mueller called AG William Barr and wrote a letter to the Judiciary Department indicating he was uncomfortable with Barr's summary of the Mueller report.  He said the memo the AG compiled about his Russia Investigation "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance," of his work opening up the flood gate for new questions about the March 24, 4-page summary Barr released to the public.  Some analysts say Mueller pressing the issue gives the impression that Barr willingly misled Congress on April 9, leading to mistrust of his future testimony under oath. Casting doubt on the accuracy of Barr's summary further, Muller wrote in the letter that was shared in the Washington Post, "there is now public confusion about critical conclusions" that interfered with public confidence in his investigation. Barr surmised in a news conference on April 18 before releasing his redacted report, that no Americans, including the president were at fault in the in the and there was no collusion on the part of the president. He was accused of acting in defense of the president at that time. Many Democrats saw Barr's performance in the press conference as misleading and that is lacked objectivity. When reporters began to question him about treating the investigation as if it was invalid, he left the podium. The fact that usually reserved Mueller complained in writing shows just how agitated he was that his crony minimized and dismissed the findings of the report in President Trump's favor. Given the depth of this Mueller may be summoned to defend his findings. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler tweeted following Barr's press conference: "It is clear Congress and the American people must hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in person to better understand his findings. We are now requesting Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary as soon as possible."

Barr will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. On Tuesday Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Inspector General calling for an investigation of Barr. There is now talk of his possible resignation or impeachment. Democrats are expected to have a flurry of direct, hard questions for Barr. In a CNN interview Wednesday morning, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and member of the Judiciary Committee said Barr "twisted his findings to the benefit of the president." President Trump is tweeting about Russian election meddling feverishly this morning. He tweeted that the Russia Investigation was the "biggest con job in history." Talking Point Memo has more on this story and advance text of Barr's opening statement.