CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert poked fun at the protracted release of the Mueller report Wednesday night, ahead of the release of a redacted version Thursday.
The show premiered a spoof audiobook version of the report, read by "noted 5-time Tony Award-winning actor Leslie Brickhill." The skit featured comedian Gilbert Gottfried as a character called The Redaction.
"On June 9th 2016, Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower," began Brickhill. "Also in attendance were Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort. In exchange for Hilary Clinton's emails, the Trump team agreed to—"
Gottfried then popped into view, and blared, "Redacted. Redacted. Redacted," in his trademark, ear-splitting shout.
Brickhill continued, "In 2017, President Trump invited FBI Director James Comey into his office, where he demanded—"
"Reeeee-dacted. Redacted," interrupted Gottfried.
Brickhill began reading one more time: "In 2018—"
But Gottfried jumped in again, saying to the audience, "Gimme a 'Re,' gimme a 'dac,' gimme a 'ted.' Redacted."
Almost one month after Attorney General William Barr published a four-page summary of the 400-page report by special counsel Robert Mueller, a redacted version was set for release after a press conference Thursday morning. Mueller's report detailed his investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
In his summary, Barr said the report found no evidence of collusion between Russia and the campaign. Barr added the report did not draw a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, as some have alleged. "While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him," the summary read.
A Justice Department press conference took place at 9.30 a.m. ET Thursday. But it is unclear exactly when the report will be shared with Congress and released to the public.
On Wednesday, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who has been vocal in his calls for the full report since Barr published his summary, said on Twitter he wasn't expecting to see the redacted document until around noon. "This is wrong," he wrote.
When it is finally released, members of the public will be able to download the report on the Justice Department's website. Bookseller Barnes & Noble also plans to distribute the document as an e-book on its website.
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