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.Mr 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
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