While attorney general nominee William Barr said it is vital that the results of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election be released to Congress and the public, some are concerned that the qualifier “consistent with the law” provides him with an out. But law professor John F. Banzhaf, ValueWalk, January 14, says that there are valid reasons for withholding grand jury testimony and classified information.
Barr said in written testimony, “My goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law.” He also said his memo from last summer questioning the legal basis for the Mueller inquiry did not question the investigation of Russian interference and in writing the memo he was not acting as a “sock puppet” of the Trump administration. (NPR, January 14, 2019, by Philip Ewing)
Barr reaffirmed his intention to allow Mueller to finish his investigation and to inform the country of the results, stating he would not be “bullied” into doing anything he believed was wrong. (CNN, January 15, 2019, by Alex Rogers)