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Democrats have accused Barr of \"[shaping] the public's perception of the report,\" Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, by penning a four-page letter describing the report's \"principal conclusions\" within 48 hours of receiving the special counsel's findings.

\"My concern is that gave President Trump and his folks more than three weeks to say I was completely exonerated,\" Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Wednesday.

Democrats call Barr's credibility into question as Republicans turn attention back to Hillary Clinton

Democrats and Republicans viewed Wednesday's hearing through a deeply partisan lens.

Democrats on the panel sought to condemn Barr for his handling of Mueller's report, criticizing his \"willingness to seem to brush over this,\" as presidential hopeful Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said. Another Democrat, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, called on Barr to resign during her questioning, and another prospective 2020 contender, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said the same to reporters outside the committee room.

In one of the testier exchanges of the hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., accused Barr of \"masterful hair-splitting.\"

\"PHOTO:
Andrew Harnik/AP
PHOTO: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse listens as Attorney General William Barr testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 1, 2019.
>

Republicans had a different focus: Hillary Clinton.

Several Republicans invoked the former Democratic nominee, including the committee's chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who spent a considerable portion of his opening statement slamming her campaign and the Justice Department investigation into email server controversy.

Others heaped praise on the attorney general, including a former 2016 presidential hopeful, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who commended Barr for \"leading the department of justice both with integrity and fidelity to law.\"

Graham punts to the House, won't call Mueller to testify: \"Enough already!\"

\"For me, it is over,\" the committee chairman said -- not at the end of Wednesday's hearing, but at the beginning -- capturing a sentiment shared by many of his Republican colleagues.

By the end of the hearing, as he departed the committee room, Graham said he would give the special counsel the opportunity to respond to Barr's testimony in writing, but pressed for an answer as to why he would not invite Mueller to testify in person, Graham exclaimed, \"enough already!\"

\"PHOTO:
Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters
PHOTO: Sen. Lindsay Graham speaks with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Attorney General William Barr testified on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 1, 2019.
>

With the Republican-controlled Senate panel ostensibly finished handling fallout from the special counsel's report, attention moves to the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee.

The Justice Department on Wednesday informed the House Judiciary Committee that Barr would decline to testify before the panel on Thursday, amid disagreements over the hearing's format, according to committee aides.

\"When push comes to shove, the administration cannot dictate the terms of our hearing and our hearing room,\" House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler told reporters. He added that his committee is seeking the full unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and that compliance with the committee's request is \"not optional.\"

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