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While Barr has insisted that any redactions to the report have been carried out to protect classified information, Democrats have accused the attorney general of protecting Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted Barr for his "single minded effort to protect" the president, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said "the process is poisoned before the report is even released."

© Reuters/H/LP

The pair called on Mueller himself to testify on Capitol Hill, following Barr's "regrettably partisan" handling of the release. Mueller's team, however, did assist the Justice Department with making redactions.

Testifying before Congress last week, Barr said that he believed "spying" had taken place against Trump's team, and would be investigated.

Democrats were unhappy with the summary of the report delivered by Barr at the end of March. They have also criticized the decision to roll out the 400-page report with a press conference first as an attempt to control the narrative. The Department of Justice usually holds a media conference before releasing the results of major investigations. But this time, several House Democratic committee chairs demanded that Barr cancel the "unnecessary and inappropriate" presser planned for 9:30am on Thursday.

On the matter of obstruction of justice, Barr said he and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, reviewed Mueller's evidence and "legal theories," and found that there is no evidence to show Trump tried to disrupt the investigation. He said Trump never used his powers to interfere with Mueller, and thus had no "corrupt intent" in the matter.

Barr said that no one outside the Justice Department took part in the redacting process or saw the unredacted version, except for the intelligence community, which was given access to parts of it to protect sources.

"So that's the bottom line," Barr concluded. "After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas, hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the Special Counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere in the 2016 presidential election, but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those efforts."

Minutes after Barr wrapped up his press conference, Nadler published a letter asking Mueller to testify no later than May 23.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi attacked Barr and the "staggering partisan effort" by the Trump administration to "spin" the public's view of the Mueller report. It is unclear whether Pelosi believes Barr is lying about the report's contents or mischaracterizing Mueller's findings, but with the report to be released in a matter of hours, the public will be able to assess the situation for themselves.

Democrats, however, have been speculating that Barr has spun the report in Trump's favor and want to hear directly from Mueller. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler tweeted on Thursday that Congress must hear from Mueller "in person" to "better understand" the findings of the report.

Minutes after Barr wrapped up his press conference, Nadler published a letter asking Mueller to testify no later than May 23.