A host of congressional Democrats reacted to Attorney General William Barr’s press conference Thursday by accusing him of political “spin” when defending the findings in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
“AG Barr has confirmed the staggering partisan effort by the Trump Admin to spin public’s view of the #MuellerReport — complete with acknowledgment that the Trump team received a sneak preview,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted after the press conference. “It’s more urgent than ever that Special Counsel Mueller testify before Congress.”
AG Barr has confirmed the staggering partisan effort by the Trump Admin to spin public’s view of the #MuellerReport – complete with acknowledgment that the Trump team received a sneak preview. It’s more urgent than ever that Special Counsel Mueller testify before Congress. https://t.co/waoGzLntlt
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 18, 2019
Democrats in the Senate also seemed to heavily rely on the word “spin” when opining on Barr’s summary of the two-year investigation that resulted in no evidence to establish that President Donald Trump or members of his campaign colluded with Russians to influence the 2016 election.
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey called it “a sad day for our country” that Barr “acts as a spin doctor,” and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley said the press conference was “an embarrassment for our nation,” further contending it was “more political spin than legal briefing.”
“The American people have heard enough spin from the Attorney General and the administration,” said New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall on Twitter. “It’s time for AG Barr to release the full Mueller report and for Robert Mueller to testify publicly.”
Attorney General William Barr takes questions about the release of the redacted version of the Mueller Report at the Department of Justice. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin reiterated Udall’s call to release the full report, saying “we don’t need more spin from AG Barr,” and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy referred to the press conference as “a blatant attempt to spin a report.”
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez accused Barr of “acting as an agent for Trump and spinning the report in the President’s favor,” and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen accused him of caring “more about defending Trump than the United States” after calling the press conference “quite a spin job.”
Many of the Senate Democrats running for president in 2020 also seemed fond of using the word “spin” when describing the press conference.
“Congress should get the full, unredacted Mueller report,” New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted. “The American people have the right to know the facts — without the spin.”
Congress should get the full, unredacted Mueller report. The American people have the right to know the facts—without the spin.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) April 18, 2019
California Sen. Kamala Harris called the press conference “a stunt, filled with political spin and propaganda” and said Barr is “acting more like Trump’s defense attorney than the nation’s Attorney General.” (RELATED: AG Barr: ‘Bottom Line’ From Muelle Report Is ‘No Collusion’)
“The American people deserve the truth. Not spin from a Trump appointee,” New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said. “Release Mueller’s full report now.”
The American people deserve the truth.
Not spin from a Trump appointee.
Release Mueller’s full report now.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) April 18, 2019
Less than two hours after the press conference, Barr released the report.
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