House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called for special counsel Robert Mueller to testify publicly before Congress, ripping Attorney General William Barr for his “partisan handling” of the release of Mueller’s findings over the last month.
“Attorney General Barr’s regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report, including his slanted March 24th summary letter, his irresponsible testimony before Congress last week, and his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference later this morning — hours before he allows the public or Congress to see it — have resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality,” they said in a statement hours before the Justice Department planned to release the report.
Pelosi and Schumer argued that public testimony was “the only way to begin restoring public trust,” demanding Mueller appear before both the House and Senate “as soon as possible.”
“The American people deserve to hear the truth,” they said.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller's team, declined to comment on the Democratic leaders' demand.
Darren Samuelsohn contributed to this report.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine