The attorney general's hotly anticipated appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee came in the shadow of news the special counsel had sent a letter to Barr expressing concerns about the attorney general's characterization of Mueller's report.
"There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation," Mueller wrote on March 27, citing Barr's lack of context or nuance when he sent a memo to lawmakers detailing some of the report's findings.
After the letter splashed into view on Tuesday evening, White House officials expressed exasperation by development, bemoaning the new questions about Mueller's findings just as the investigation seemed to be receding from public view.
Officials, who feel they have been dealing with the Russia investigation for two years, believed there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, many are coming to realize the story will not get out of the headlines quickly.
The White House did not comment on Mueller's letter. But Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani cast off the special counsel's concerns.
"Mueller should have made a decision and shouldn't be complaining or whining now that he didn't get described correctly," he told CNN's Pamela Brown on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump -- who has been praising his attorney general privately, comparing him favorably to Jeff Sessions, whom he reviled -- was also expected to keep an eye on Wednesday's testimony. The President has nothing on his public schedule until 2:15 p.m. ET, when he will meet with Republican senators to discuss maritime shipping policies.
Since a redacted version of the Mueller report was released, Trump has not moved on from his contention the investigation amounted to an illegal "witch hunt," despite the advice from some of his allies to focus his attention elsewhere.
"NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION. Besides, how can you have Obstruction when not only was there No Collusion (by Trump), but the bad actions were done by the "other" side? The greatest con-job in the history of American Politics!" he wrote on Twitter before Barr's testimony began on Wednesday morning.
Some officials, though irritated by the new questions about the Mueller report, are downplaying the significance of the special counsel's letter, saying the underlying conclusion of "no collusion" is not in question (though Mueller did not use that phrase, saying only there no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia).
Mueller's letter was instead related to Barr's assertions on obstruction and not on the questions of whether Trump associates conspired with Russia.
One official suggested the President's initial "total exoneration" response to the report, which was informed by Barr's memo to lawmakers, would not likely have been dramatically different had Barr's letter been worded differently, since the "no collusion" conclusion was more cut-and-dry.
Trump was always going to extract the most positive version of the findings to make his case, this official said, whether Barr helped him along or not.
Officials still believe the most damaging part of Mueller's report for Trump was its broad depiction of the President as unethical and dishonest -- and not any specific allegation that he worked to short-circuit the Mueller probe.
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