Attorney General William Barr – Good morning, Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Members of the Committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today to discuss the conclusion of the investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, and the confidential report he submitted to me, which I recently released to the public after applying necessary redactions.
When I appeared before this Committee just a few months ago for my confirmation hearing, Senators asked for two commitments concerning the Special Counsel’s investigation: first, that I would allow the Special Counsel to finish his investigation without interference; and second, that I would release his report to Congress and to the American public.
On January 10th of this year I finished writing the script to a feature film that I felt not only passionate about but excited to share with the world. A script that as I wrote it, I felt that I was definitely going to bring into production almost immediately. I have the necessary tools, connections and resources to make it possible (at least at the independent level) yet here I am well over a week into June and I’m still yet to bring it out of the pre-production stage. The passion for the story still exists, as does the desire to share it with the world, it’s the motivation that seems to be missing, and that’s the part I’d like to focus on.