By Todd Ruger

CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney General William Barr told senators Wednesday that Robert S. Mueller III has a fuller explanation of why he did not reach a conclusion about whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice in the special counsel report that will be publicly released “hopefully next week.”

That’s slightly different than “within a week” as he told House appropriators Tuesday about his plans for releasing a redacted version of Robert S. Mueller III’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Barr was testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Justice Department’s fiscal 2020 budget request, but much of the questioning centered on the Mueller investigation.

The attorney general has indicated that he would withhold certain information, including material related to grand juries and “information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, Barr said his redactions will not include the reputational interests of the president.