ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) Defying the U.S. Congress, Attorney General William Barr will not attend a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday on his handling of the Mueller report, said committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, accusing Barr of being afraid to testify.

"Barr has just informed us that he will not attend tomorrow's hearing," Nadler, a Democrat, told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday after a contentious Senate hearing earlier in the day where Barr defended his handling of the report.

Nadler said he believed Barr was afraid to testify given "how dishonest he has been." A committee subpoena deadline for Barr's department to hand over an unredacted version of Mueller's report on his investigation also expired on Wednesday.

"The Department of Justice has also told us that they will not comply with our subpoena for the full unredacted Mueller report," Nadler said.

Nadler issued the subpoena on April 19, a day after Barr released a redacted version of the report by Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct subsequent investigations.

The subpoena also sought underlying evidence from Mueller's 22-month investigation.