Mueller report to be made public next month: Barr

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The public will have access to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's exhaustive 400-page report by mid-April, albeit in redacted form, Attorney General William Barr told Congress on Friday.

Barr said in a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees that his office is working in conjunction with Mueller's team to make the necessary redactions ahead of the report's release.

Barr said he expects the process to be completed by the middle of next month "if not sooner."

"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," the attorney general wrote.

Barr said he is available to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee May 1 and before the House Judiciary Committee May 2.

Mueller's report will not be submitted to the White House for a privileged review prior to its public release, Barr said.

In a four-page letter to Congress on Sunday, Barr said Mueller did not find any evidence Trump's presidential campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Regarding specifically questions of obstruction of justice fueled by the president's action, particularly his firing of former FBI Director James Comey, Barr said the report "does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

But in his Friday letter to the judiciary chairmen, Barr said the letter sent over the weekend "was not, and did not purport to be, an exhaustive recounting of the Special Counsel's investigation or report."

Trump has repeatedly denied collusion with a Russian effort that U.S. intelligence agencies determined set out to undercut 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's chances of winning the White House.

Mueller has eschewed the public spotlight throughout his investigation, which has during its course resulted in sweeping indictments being handed down to top Trump campaign officials, including former chairman Paul Manafort.

In all, five people with close ties to the campaign have pled guilty to charges brought by Mueller, including Manafort; his deputy, Rick Gates; former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn; campaign advisor George Papadopoulos and longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

Manafort is the only individual to have been convicted following trial.

But no officials tied to Trump have been indicted on charges related to Russian influence efforts.