(CNN) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats in a private meeting Tuesday that Attorney General William Barr's words cannot be taken at face value, according to multiple sources in the meeting, arguing Barr got the job in the first place by authoring a memo criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller's obstruction probe as "fatally misconceived."

Pelosi told her caucus that said Barr's job is to defend the President, and Democrats should wait to see what's in the full report.

"We have to see the report," Pelosi said, according to an aide in the room. "We cannot make a judgment on the basis of an interpretation by a man who was hired for his job because he believes the President is above the law and he wrote a 19-page memo to demonstrate that."

Pelosi also sought to calm her nervous colleagues as Democrats are facing a torrent of criticism from congressional Republicans and the White House after Barr released his summary of Mueller's report on Sunday. The summary stated Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy between any Trump associates and the Russian government, and that Mueller did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice but left the decision to prosecute to Justice Department leaders, who did not see sufficient evidence.

"Some people are viewing it as a glass half full, glass half empty. I think half full," Pelosi said, according to the aide. "There's so many indictments that came out of what he did. People will go to jail from what his investigation is about."

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