Face The Nation

Sunday: Pompeo, Durbin, Collins, Swalwell

/ CBS News

President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone Friday for over an hour. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including special counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse," the president told reporters.

"But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever," he added.

Earlier on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., doubled down on his demand for special counsel Mueller's full unredacted report.

In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, Nadler wrote, "The Committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the Department. But if the Department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the Committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse."

Nadler threatened to also hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress for refusing to deliver the unredacted report, and requested a response from the Justice Department by Monday, May 6.

Barr faced questions for more than five hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday over his handling of special counsel Mueller's investigation. But the next day, the attorney general cancelled his appearance at the House Judiciary Committee's hearing over disagreements on congressional staff and lawyers questioning him.

The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, defended Barr's decision not to attend Thursday's hearing and blamed Chairman Nadler's "ludicrous demands" in an op-ed Thursday.

"In the 206-year history of this committee, staff has never questioned witnesses in an oversight hearing. Not once. To say the demands of Chairman Jerrold Nadler's, D-N.Y, are unprecedented would be an understatement," Collins wrote.

As House Democrats consider holding the attorney general in contempt, Barr faces additional scrutiny for testimony he gave Congress last month. At the time, Barr said he was unaware of any concerns Mueller's team had about the attorney general's summary of the report, or whether Mueller supported Barr's conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that President Trump had obstructed justice.

But ahead of his testimony on Wednesday, a letter the special counsel sent Barr was revealed, in which Mueller expressed concern that Barr's four-page summary of the report "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office's work and conclusions."

Pressed about this in Wednesday's' hearing, Barr defended his characterization of the report and stressed it was up to him to determine what information to disclose.

The president also discussed the turmoil in Venezuela with Putin on Friday. He said Putin is "not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela."  Mr. Trump's comments contradicted remarks made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a Thursday interview about Russia's involvement in Venezuela.

"The Russians have people working over there in the hundreds, if not more," Pompeo said. "These are the folks who are actually controlling the direction of travel for Venezuela."

With the latest news and analysis from Washington, don't miss Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) this Sunday on "Face the Nation" (@FaceTheNation).

We'll sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (@SecPompeo) to discuss the administration's strategy in Venezuela.

We'll talk with Democratic Whip, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, (@SenatorDurbin) who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We'll hear from Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee.

We'll talk to 2020 Democratic candidate, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, about his campaign. He also sits on the House Judiciary Committee.

And as always, we'll turn to our panel for some perspective on the week that was:

On TV, the radio, and streaming online, don't miss "Face the Nation" this Sunday! Click here for your local listings.

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