Attorney General Barr will hold a press conference tomorrow morning shortly before the release of the redacted Mueller report. Democrats and the media are not happy about this turn of event and are lashing out at Barr. From CNN:

The Justice Department said Barr’s press conference will be held at the department at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, and President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the possibility that he too would hold a press conference after Barr. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017, will be in attendance as well.

The details taken together show, in part, how the Trump administration will set the stage for the release of the redacted version of the report, nearly a month after the conclusion of the special counsel investigation.

The spokesperson for Mueller’s office said the special counsel and members of his prosecutorial team would not be in attendance at Barr’s press conference. Peter Carr, the spokesman, will be there, Carr said.

Democrats and media figures are once again arguing that this is an outrage. Chuck Schumer called it “pre-damage control” and said Barr was acting “like a Trump campaign spokesman.”

The American people deserve the truth.

They don’t need any more pre-damage control or spin from @realDonaldTrump’s hand-picked attorney general, William Barr.

Mr. Barr is acting more like a Trump campaign spokesman than an independent agent of the law. https://t.co/8eE7eywvw5

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 17, 2019

Nancy Pelosi is outraged that the White House has been briefed in advance:

AG Barr has thrown out his credibility & the DOJ’s independence with his single-minded effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else. The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin. https://t.co/fgXwiLuQfr

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 17, 2019

And Rep. Elijah Cummings said Barr was “debasing the rule of law.”

This is outrageous. The AG is supposed to be an independent beacon of truth and justice. Instead, Barr is debasing the rule of law, degrading our democratic institutions, and decimating any trust the American people have left in this Administration. #ReleaseTheReport https://t.co/8ncMVVBPKx

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) April 17, 2019

Rep. Jerry Nadler was also upset about the Barr press conference:

Attorney General Barr wrote to me on April 1: "I do not believe it would be in the public’s interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report." I agree. So why is the AG holding a press conference tomorrow morning to go over the Mueller report? #ReleaseTheReport https://t.co/UA9XyC55v5

— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) April 17, 2019

Adam Schiff is on the “spin” bandwagon:

Bill Barr sent a letter purporting to summarize Mueller’s conclusions.

He took it upon himself to reach a conclusion on obstruction.

He adopted the President’s “spying” smears.

Now, he will spin a report no one has read.

My advice: Wait to read Mueller’s words for yourself.

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) April 17, 2019

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said the “so-called Attorney General” should keep his mouth shut:

So-called Attorney General is presiding over a dog and pony show.

Here is a thought.

Release the Mueller report tomorrow morning and keep your mouth shut.

You have ZERO credibility.https://t.co/fKFeexUKkX

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) April 17, 2019

Curiously, many in the media are saying the same exact thing. The NY Times’ Maggie Haberman says this is going to be “spin”:

Sorry but this is not a press conference – it’s an opportunity for Barr to put a spin on the ball or defend himself. No one can ask real questions here. https://t.co/dNTLk95iPX

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 17, 2019

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes called it “a farce.”

This is transparently an attempt to frame the initial burst of coverage, including live network specials, without anyone having access to the thing they are describing. What a farce.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) April 17, 2019

Mother Jones reporter David Corn promoted a #BoycottBarr hashtag (with a question mark) and claimed in the same tweet he wasn’t recommending a boycott just suggesting a “thought exercise.”

#BoycottBarr?

Should reporters not attend a press conference about a report before they can read it?

(Not calling for a boycott. But it’s an interesting thought exercise.)

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 17, 2019

I have to give Gabriel Malor credit for his reaction to this one:

These people have lost their minds.

You wanted the report. Here it is with redactions, sure, but some of those were court-ordered and we're all used to redactions for national security and ongoing cases.

"But Barr," the big babies cried.

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) April 17, 2019

Glenn Kessler, the fact-checker for the Washington Post didn’t call for a boycott but did call it “spin”:

Barr news conference at 9:30 am, Mueller report released at 11 am: In the annals of pathetic efforts to spin apparently bad news in Washington, this ranks near the top.

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) April 17, 2019

How do we know it’s spin before we hear what Barr is actually going to say?

Tweet was based on 30+ years of covering Washington. If it’s good news, you don’t need to pre-spin. Simple as that.

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) April 17, 2019

There’s more but you get the picture. This is a full court press by the Democrats and their media allies to trash the Attorney General and get people to ignore or even boycott his statement tomorrow. It seems Democrats are still not prepared for the Mueller investigation to end.

Update: Rep. Ted Lieu is singing from the same hymnal.

Dear @TheJusticeDept & AG Barr: You took one oath and it was not to @realDonaldTrump. It was to the Constitution. Your job is not to be the PR firm for Trump and to spin the facts.

Stop acting like All The President's Men and start acting in the public's interest. https://t.co/0Fbv5No9CM

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 17, 2019