WASHINGTON Attorney General William Barr , appearing to play the role of President Donald Trump s defender, held a bizarre news conference Thursday morning ahead of the expected release of a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller s highly anticipated report.

President Trump faced an unprecedented situation, Barr said at the news conference held at the Justice Department. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates.

He continued: At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the presidents personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion.

The attorney general, in his remarks Thursday, said the presidents legal counsel requested and reviewed a redacted version of Muellers nearly 400-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 election ahead of its release Thursday.

Following that review, Trump decided not to assert executive privilege to redact information within the report, though he would have been well within his rights to do so, Barr said.

The president confirmed that, in the interests of transparency and full disclosure to the American people, he would not assert privilege over the special counsels report, Barr said Thursday. Accordingly, the public report I am releasing today contains redactions only for the four categories that I previously outlined, and no material has been redacted based on executive privilege.