How are Democrats reacting to the report's upcoming release?

Adam Schiff. Getty Images

House and Senate Democrats have amped up calls for the attorney general to release to Congress a full, unredacted version of Mueller's report.

Democratic lawmakers were apoplectic about Barr's decision to hold a press conference over an hour before making the report available and said the move was designed to craft a narrative about the report that favors the president.

The attorney general appears to be waging a media campaign on behalf of President Trump," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a hastily arranged press conference Wednesday evening.

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns about Barr's oversight of the Mueller probe from the start. Those concerns stem in large part from a controversial memo Barr sent to the Justice Department and the White House last year, in which he argued that Mueller's obstruction probe was "legally insupportable" and should not be sanctioned by the Justice Department.

Democrats contend that Barr's memo proves he is inherently biased against a key thread in Mueller's investigation, and therefore his "principal conclusion" that Trump did not obstruct justice is not an objective legal assessment.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, and other Democrats are pushing hard for an un-redacted version of the report. Democrats argue that it is necessary for Congress to have all the information to properly perform its oversight functions.

They also say Mueller's decision not to prosecute Trump does not necessarily mean he did not commit impeachable offenses.

The Wall Street Journal reported that once they get a redacted version of the report, House Judiciary Committee lawyers and aides plan to comb through the document and determine whether there is a large gap between what they requested from the Justice Department and what the redacted copy of the report provides.

Based on their findings, The Journal reported, the committee will decide whether to subpoena the department for a full version of the report, as well as its underlying evidence.