President Trump declined to directly say Friday if he will forfeit his right to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and let Attorney General William Barr release it on his own.
“I have great confidence in the attorney general, and if that is what he would like to do, I have nothing to hide,” Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Fla., using careful language that did not directly address whether he would allow Barr to release the report before getting the White House to sign off.
He added: “This was a hoax. This was a witch hunt. I have absolutely nothing to hide and I think a lot of things are coming out with respect to the other side. But I have a lot of confidence in the attorney general.”
Earlier in the day, Barr said in a letter to lawmakers that he intended to release the nearly 400-page Mueller report by mid-April, after the Justice Department and Mueller’s office complete a review for redactions. Mueller provided his report to Barr last week.
In his letter, Barr said that Trump would have no role in the redaction process.
“Although the president would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me and, accordingly, there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review,” Barr wrote.
