James Comey says AG Barr deserves benefit of the doubt from skeptics on Mueller report redactions

Former FBI Director James Comey told CNN he believes Attorney General William Barr deserves the benefit of the doubt from those who are concerned about how he will handle the Mueller report in the days and weeks leading up to its expected release to Congress.

What are people worried about? Some believe that Barr, President Donald Trump's hand-picked attorney general who has expressed opposition to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in the past, will try to hinder release of the report or obscure key information with redactions.

What did Comey say about it? "Bill Barr, our attorney general, deserves the benefit of the doubt. Give him a chance to show us what he feels like he can't show us. I have to imagine that former director Mueller wrote the report with an eye towards it being public some day, so I can't imagine a lot needs to be cut out of it. But let's wait and see. The attorney general deserves that chance."

Regardless of what Comey says, it's not likely to happen. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told CNN on Tuesday, "I'm not prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm prepared to hold him to his commitment during the confirmation that he would be as transparent as law and policy would allow. He's not doing that."

Impatience over the Mueller report: Even though Barr has committed to releasing Mueller's report to Congress by the middle of April, liberals are planning widespread protests if Barr doesn't release it by an arbitrary April 2 deadline.

The organization TrumpIsNotAbovetheLaw.org has organized nationwide protests with a coalition of activist groups billed the "National Day of Action" scheduled for April 4 if the Mueller report is not to Congress by the end of April 2.

"We are calling for a National Day of Action on Thursday, April 4, to demand that Attorney General William Barr #ReleaseTheReport if he fails to meet the deadline set by Congressional leaders of Tuesday, April 2," a statement on the site read. "Barr has offered an alternate timeline for a redacted version of the report—but we deserve the full report and Congressional leaders and the American people expect it now."