Barr asserts ‘no evidence’ of Trump collusion ahead of Mueller report release

SHARE Barr asserts ‘no evidence’ of Trump collusion ahead of Mueller report release
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A White House official turned whistleblower says dozens of people in President Donald Trump’s administration were granted access to classified information despite “disqualifying issues” in their backgrounds including concerns about foreign influence, drug use and criminal conduct. | AP Photo

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr says he will give Congress a redacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative report at 10 a.m. CST.

He told reporters at the Justice Department that he would transmit to Congress copies of the public version of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election and President Donald Trump’s campaign.

Barr said the Mueller report “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its interference” in the presidential election.

The report released to the public Thursday will be redacted. Barr said those redactions correspond to four categories of information: “grand jury material, information that the [intelligence community] believes would disclose sources and methods, information that would impair the investigation and prosecution of other cases that are underway, and finally information that implicates the privacy and reputational interest of … third parties.”

Barr says special counsel Robert Mueller’s report recounts 10 episodes involving President Donald Trump that were investigated as potential acts of criminal obstruction of justice.

RELATED: Read the Mueller report here

He said Mueller did not reach a “prosecutorial judgment” and that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded the evidence was not sufficient to establish the president committed an offense.

Democrats complained that Barr’s news conference was an effort to influence reaction to the report ahead of its release.

Minutes after the press conference ended, Trump tweeted this Game of Thrones-inspired graphic:

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RELATED: Justice Department expects to release Mueller report Thursday

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