The Justice Department has informed the House Judiciary Committee that Attorney General William Barr may not attend a Thursday hearing to review special counsel Robert Mueller's report due to objections over the panel's format, according to a Democratic senior committee aide. The department has balked at the panel's plans to allow the committee's counsels from both sides to question Barr after the traditional round of questioning by members, the AP reports. Justice officials also told the committee that they are opposed to the panel's plan to go into a closed session if members want to discuss redacted portions of Mueller's report, according to the aide, who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential communications with the Justice Department.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the dispute. Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and the House panel on Thursday. The GOP-led Senate committee is expected to have normal rounds of member questioning. It is unusual for committee counsels to question a witness. But committees can generally make their own rules, and other panels have made similar exceptions. The dispute comes as tensions have escalated sharply between House Democrats and the Trump administration over full access Mueller's report and government witnesses who have defied congressional subpoenas to testify. Democrats have been eagerly anticipating the hearing with Barr as they try to build on Mueller's findings with their own investigations into the president.
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