Judge Says William Barr Is Inspiring Public Distrust In Justice Department For Its Handling Of Mueller Report

According to a federal judge on Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr‘s handling of Robert Mueller‘s report has caused public distrust to grow regarding the integrity of the Justice Department.

Judge Reggie Walton, a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia, spoke poorly of Barr’s conduct on Tuesday during a hearing about the Freedom of Information Act. BuzzFeed filed a lawsuit demanding the full Mueller Report by April 18. The Justice Department had independently announced earlier this week that a version of the special counsel’s findings with redactions would be presented to Congress that same day.

SLIDESHOW: TOP DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020

Barr has received criticism over the summary he had given of Mueller’s report, which downplayed how damaging its findings were to Trump.

“Obviously there is a real concern about whether there will be transparency… I hope that the government will be as transparent as it can be,” Walton said. “The attorney general has created an environment that has caused a significant part of the American public to be concerned about whether there will be full transparency.”

Walton, a George W. Bush appointee, denied BuzzFeed’s request to issue a preliminary injunction mandating the release of the unredacted Mueller report by Thursday. However, he does plan to expedite the issue of the report and the information in it that’s suitable to be released before looking into other records from Mueller’s investigation.

Walton may consider forcing the Justice Department to grant him a redaction-free copy of Mueller’s report so he can determine which redactions are justified. “That’s something we will have to work through. I’ll have to think about it,” the judge said.