Top Congressional Democrats call for Mueller to testify publicly

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U.S. Attorney General William Barr Thursday vowed that the U.S. Congress will receive a less redacted version of the report than the one released to the public, following top Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate demanding that Mueller testify publicly about his investigation, ahead of the release a redacted version of Mueller's report.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized Attorney General William Barr for writing what they called a "slanted" summary letter and for planning a press conference before the expected release of the report detailing the probe's findings on Thursday.

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"We believe the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling of the Special Counsel's investigation is for Special Counsel Mueller himself to provide public testimony in the House and Senate as soon as possible," Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr's four-page letter to U.S. congressional leaders on the conclusions of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election is seen after being released by the House Judiciary Committee in Washington,‍ March 25, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Trump: 'Greatest political hoax of all time'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday complained of the "greatest political hoax of all time" hours before the special counsel's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election was due to be made public.

"The Greatest Political Hoax of all time! Crimes were committed by Crooked, Dirty Cops and DNC/The Democrats," the president tweeted. "Crooked" is Trump's nickname for election rival Hillary Clinton while he uses the phrase "dirty cops" to smear the members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team who conducted the probe.

The details of the redacted 400-page report – which is expected to go to Congress mid-morning before being made publicly available – could determine whether Democrats pursue impeachment of the president.

(Cover: Robert Mueller, as FBI director, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 12, 2013. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters