Trump news: Attorney General interrogated by Congress over 'unanswered questions' in Mueller report, as Republicans round on president over 'mess'
William Barr says a redacted version of the Mueller report could be released 'within a week'
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William Barr appeared before Congress to answer questions on the Justice Department's budget, but the hearing instead turned into a barrage of questions about the much-delayed release of the Mueller report.
The attorney general told members of Congress at his first public appearance since receiving the special counsel’s report that his earlier projection of releasing a version by mid-April still stood.
The nearly 400-page report is being scoured now to remove grand jury information and details relating to pending investigations.
The redactions will be colour-coded and accompanied by notes explaining the decision to withhold information, he said.
Democrats scolded Mr Barr over his handling of the report, telling him they were concerned that a summary of its main conclusions he released last month portrayed the investigation’s findings in an overly favorable way of the president.
Mueller investigation: The key figures
Show all 12Mr Barr was summoned to Congress to talk about his department’s budget request, but lawmakers still asked about the Mueller report as they waited to see it.
His opening remarks focused on funding requests for immigration enforcement and the fights against violent crime and opioid addiction, not mentioning the special counsel’s report at all.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is under fire from senior Republicans after he forced out Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, with the likes of Texas Senator John Cornyn breaking ranks to denounce the “mess” left behind at the department tasked with ending illegal immigration from Central America.
Veteran senator Chuck Grassley warned further sackings could follow while others have expressed disquiet about the ever-growing influence of White House aide Stephen Miller, a “zero-tolerance” hard-liner.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
The outspoken Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been at it again, branding the aforementioned Trump policy hawk Stephen Miller a "white nationalist".
Strong words you might say but Miller is known to have befriended neo-Nazi thug Richard Spencer at Duke University in North Carolina, with Spencer even claiming to have "mentored" Miller (though the latter disputes this).
He's also as embedded in hard-right culture as it gets, retaining ties to Fox and Breitbart News and once naming his favourite book as Guns, Crime and Freedom by Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA.
How own uncle has even called out Miller's hypocrisy over immigration, given his own family history.
These sum it up nicely.
With a more sober take, here's Chris Baynes.
Democrats warned yesterday that the exit of Kirstjen Nielsen was no cause for celebration.
As Pete Buttigieg said on the campaign trail, the real problem is the policies, not the personnel callous enough to enact them.
Speculation on her replacement has nevertheless begun, with The Late Show's Stephen Colbert offering one suggestion.
“So, he just needs someone who can be crueler to children then Kirstjen Nielsen. Get ready for secretary of Homeland Security Pennywise!”
This is at least the second time a member of the Trump camp has been compared to Stephen King's evil clown demon from It (1986).
Saturday Night Live previously likened White House counsel Kellyanne Conway to the sewer-dwelling child-snatcher.
William Barr is not the only Trump-appointee appearing before the House Appropriations Committee today.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner Charles Rettig is also turning up to talk budget but, like Barr, is expected to be pressed on more interesting matters. Specifically, whether or not we'll ever see Trump's tax returns.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says "never" but perhaps the IRS boss will be more reasonable about it.
How likely is that? Not very.
New York Democrats are the latest to try and secure the release of those near-mythic Trump tax returns via a fresh bill.
The efforts of Big Apple politicians follows a request to the IRS submitted last week by Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
As we heard earlier, President Trump demanded the closure of the border at El Paso, Texas, at his White House meeting with outgoing secretary Nielsen last month.
When she warned that implementing the plan would be dangerous, Trump replied "I don't care", according to CNN.
The House Homeland Security Committee yesterday posted this on the reality on the ground in El Paso.
Chairwoman Kathleen Rice also called out the unelected Stephen Miller on CNN yesterday to account for himself and the policies he supports.
"How about Stephen Miller ask the president to appoint him the president of DHS?... Let him explain to the American people why he wants to go back to ripping babies out of their mother's arms. Own it!" she said.
Here's Jay Caruso for Indy Voices on what the Nielsen resignation tells us about Donald Trump.
Trump is up and tweeting with this aggressive message for the EU, inspired by a Bloomberg piece this morning.
This is impressively early for a man who was up late last night watching sport.
Upcoming today for Mr T is a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt.
The familiar grip-and-grin will provide reporters with a brief opportunity to ask Trump about Nielson and what on earth is going on at Homeland Security.
Yet another Democratic candidate came forward to announce a 2020 tilt last night - California congressman Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell, 34, will run on a gun control platform and has the backing of Cameron Kasky, one of the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Here's Andrew Buncombe's report on a candidacy announced on The Late Show.
Even the Mooch - a man hardly known for caution - advises against separating migrant families at the border.
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