Protesters stand in front of White House to demand Mueller's report

Nadler at protest: 'We are in a battle over the rules that govern our democracy'

WASHINGTON – A group of protesters who were demanding the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation listened to Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, say he is not giving up. 

In front of the White House, Nadler said Thursday Attorney General William Barr apparently misled the American people with his four-page letter summarizing Mueller’s conclusions. Sen. Richard Blumenthal was also at the protest.

"We are in a battle over the rules that govern our democracy," Nadler said.

Barr released a statement Thursday defending his decision to release a brief summary letter two days after receiving the report on March 22. Democrats expect Barr to release the report, with redactions, by mid-April.

"Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the report’s bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately — without attempting to summarize the report — with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process," the Justice Department statement said.

The statement also said that every page of Mueller’s report was marked that it may contain grand jury material "and therefore could not immediately be released."