CNN political commentator Angela Rye on Wednesday night claimed that Attorney General William Barr has been "bought and sold at a price."
Rye appeared on CNN's Cuomo: Prime Time, where she and fellow commentator Scott Jennings talked about a New York Times story in which some of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators disputed Barr's summary of the Russia investigation.
"When you hide something, it creates a level of expectation. I don't get it. If the president wants closure, clarity brings closure. Let it come out. He says he was exonerated," host Chris Cuomo said.
Rye agreed and said Barr needs to provide the American people with exhaustive information.
"What we should be hoping for is not a redacted report, but a full-on report, so that the American people can judge for themselves what's in it," Rye said. "I do not want to rely on Attorney General Barr's interpretation because we already know that he's been bought and sold at a price. It was clear before he was even nominated that that was going to be the case."
Jennings pushed back against Rye's claim, calling it an "outrageous allegation" and asked her whether she was accusing him of corruption or bribery. He went on to note that Barr was confirmed with a bipartisan vote, prompting Cuomo to jump in ask for Rye to clarify her accusation, calling it "very provocative."
"Bought and sold at a price—meaning he is another 'Yes' man in that same cabinet of people," Rye said.
Cuomo asked Rye to clarify again, noting that they don't have any evidence supporting the claims, prompting her to say she was using a "colloquial term."
"I'm saying this man is a 'Yes' man," Rye said. "He might not be bought and sold at a price, but there are a number of players around Donald Trump who are corrupt. It's clear they've been indicted. Some of them convicted, so let's just be very clear about what is surrounding him and why suspicion is so high. Period."
"I'm glad you qualified it. Scott, you're right to push back on that," Cuomo concluded, thanking them for a good debate by blowing kisses.
Barr is expected to release a redacted Mueller report by mid-April or sooner, according to his letter from last Friday.