| | | | Bill Barr said WHAT? Takeaways from the hearing |  | | In the wake of a bombshell revelation that special counsel Robert Mueller took issue with the way William Barr described his Russia probe's findings, the attorney general came to Capitol Hill to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about his handling of the 448-page Mueller report. Here's what you need to know:
1. Barr tried to (re)explain his four-page letter
Barr compared his letter to offering a verdict in a trial, with the full transcript (the Mueller report) to come out later. Barr said public interest was such -- and the stakes were so high -- that he felt the need to offer the summary, or verdict, immediately after receiving the report.
To hear Barr tell it, what happened with his letter was all a misunderstanding. ("We were not trying to summarize the report," Barr told the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.) It was never meant to fully categorize the nature of Mueller's investigations, according to Barr; that misunderstanding is why Mueller wasn't thrilled with Barr's letter.
2. Barr blamed the media for Mueller's reaction
Asked what, specifically, Mueller took issue with in his four-page summary letter, Barr said the special counsel was unhappy with the description of obstruction as it relates to the President; "The press was reading too much into it," Barr said of what he took from the phone conversation with Mueller on March 28.
But that's not at all what Mueller said in the March 27 letter to Barr, which was released Wednesday morning. There's no mention of the media in that letter. In fact, Mueller seems to directly criticize Barr's handling of the letter. Wrote Mueller:
"The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office's work and conclusions," Mueller wrote. "There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation."
3. Barr has "questions" about the origins of the FBI counterintelligence probe
If you blinked, you might've missed this exchange with Sen. Lindsey Graham:
GRAHAM: "Do you share my concerns about the counterintelligence probe and how it was started?"
BARR: "Yes."
Big deal. Barr's agreement with Graham means the attorney general is now at odds with both the FBI and the Mueller report, which made clear that the counterintelligence probe began after the Australians approached the United States -- following the release on WikiLeaks of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee -- to tell them that a one-time Trump aide named George Papadopoulos had told an Australian diplomat that the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Barr's statement on Wednesday puts him -- or at least potentially puts him -- in line with Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that the counterintelligence investigation was based on an opposition research document put together by former British spy Christopher Steele. (Steele's work was paid for, at times, by the DNC and the Clinton campaign.)
4. Barr equivocated on White House influence
California Sen. Kamala Harris asked Barr a simple question: Did anyone in the White House ask or suggest that he open an investigation into a person or people?
Barr was taken aback, asking Harris to repeat the question. He then said he wasn't entirely sure what she meant by the word "suggest." All that potentially suggests -- ahem -- that someone in the White House has either asked or suggested that Barr and the DOJ look into a matter. Which is interesting, to say the least.
The Point: Barr didn't change a lot of minds on Wednesday. He shed some light on his decision-making process, but his testimony really only proved how differently the two parties see the Russia probe.
Read my full list of nine key Barr hearing takeaways here! | | 📈 WHERE DOES TRUMP STAND 📈 | | | Now that the Mueller report is finished and (mostly) public, we can have a better sense of President Trump's standing with the American public. But there's even better news for Trump: 35% strongly approve of the job Trump's doing, the highest level of strong support shown in CNN's polling during Trump's presidency. | | | Eluvium makes beautiful music with no words. Here are his two latest tracks: "Entendre" and "Underwater Dream." | | We'll likely have ANOTHER Democrat jumping into the presidential race soon.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is planning to announce a bid for the White House in two weeks, according to Montana's MTN News.
The 53 year-old, two-term governor of the Treasure State has been boosted by a PAC that has raised nearly $1.8 million in the last year. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Elizabeth Warren: Is calling on AG Bill Barr to resign over his "efforts to suppress parts of the Mueller report" and for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Kamala Harris: Is also calling on Barr to resign.
Julián Castro: Also wants Barr to resign or for Congress to remove Barr from his AG post.
Eric Swalwell: Reached 1% in national polling (which he will need to help make the debate stage next month) and he is JAZZED.
Pete Buttigieg: Says he now opposes religious and personal exemptions to vaccines. He also recently met with Hillary Clinton.
Kirsten Gillibrand: Has proposed a public campaign financing plan that would create a voter-driven public option for campaign donations. She has also called on AG Bill Barr to resign. | |  | | From Brenna: "GLASSES GIF ALERT. (Hi, I'm Brenna.) What's better than someone putting on or taking off their glasses during a hearing? Someone adjusting them! Truly spectacular work, AG Barr. Share The Point with your optometrist!" | | | | | | |
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