Defying Congress, US Attorney General To Skip Robert Mueller Hearing

Washington: Defying the U.S. Congress, Attorney General William Barr will not attend a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday on his handling of the Mueller report, said committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, accusing Barr of being afraid to testify.

"Barr has just informed us that he will not attend tomorrow's hearing," Nadler, a Democrat, told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday after a contentious Senate hearing earlier in the day where Barr defended his handling of the report.

Committee Democrats have vowed to issue a subpoena in an effort to force Barr to testify. "We plan on subpoenaing him if he decides not to show up. He can run but he can't hide," Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.

Nadler said he believed Barr was afraid to testify given "how dishonest he has been."

Attorney General William Barr defended his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report Wednesday amid new revelations that Mueller expressed frustration about how the attorney general was portraying the investigation's findings.

A committee subpoena deadline for Barr's department to hand over an unredacted version of Mueller's report on his investigation also expired on Wednesday.

"The Department of Justice has also told us that they will not comply with our subpoena for the full unredacted Mueller report," Nadler said.