The redacted 448-page Mueller report dropped last Thursday and Democratic lawmakers didn’t hesitate to take action and comment on Attorney General William Barr’s behavior and the findings that were released by the Department of Justice.
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn), the House Judiciary Chair, issued a subpoena for the full Mueller report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and underlying evidence related to the Special Counsel’s investigation. The DOJ is required to comply with that subpoena by May 1.
“I am open to working with the Department to reach a reasonable accommodation for access to these materials, however, I cannot accept any proposal which leaves most of Congress in the dark, as they grapple with their duties of legislation, oversight and constitutional accountability,” said Nadler in a statement.
“My Committee needs and is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence consistent with past practice. The redactions appear to be significant. We have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel developed to make this case. Even the redacted version of the report outlines serious instances of wrongdoing by President Trump and some of his closest associates. It now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of that alleged misconduct and to decide what steps we must take going forward.”
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn) said Attorney General Barr’s performance for the President underscores the need for Congress to receive the full unredacted report, along with all of its underlying evidence, and that Special Counsel Mueller needs to testify publicly before Congress. “The Attorney General is supposed to work for the American people, not put President Trump’s interests first,” Maloney said.
“For now, I am continuing to read through the report to understand the details of Russian interference in our election and the deeply troubling actions by the President, his Administration, and his inner circle,” she added.
U.S. Rep Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Ozone Park) also had a few choice words for Barr on Twitter.
“So-called Attorney General is presiding over a dog and pony show,” tweeted Jeffries, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and member of the Judiciary and Budget Committees.”Here is a thought. Release the Mueller report tomorrow morning and keep your mouth shut. You have ZERO credibility.”
Jeffries also tweeted that “Russia successfully interfered in the 2016 campaign” and that “they helped elect someone who doesn’t care about everyday Americans. He only cares about himself,” in reference to Trump.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a joint statement after the release of the report.
“The differences are stark between what Attorney General Barr said on obstruction and what Special Counsel Mueller said on obstruction,” said the joint statement. “As we continue to review the report, one thing is clear: Attorney General Barr presented a conclusion that the president did not obstruct justice while Mueller’s report appears to undercut that finding.”
After reading the report, Schumer and Pelosi identified four significant portions of the report that Barr allegedly tried to distort the public’s perception on.
The House Speaker and the Democratic Leader believe that the Office of Legal Counsel played a huge part in Robert Mueller’s obstruction decision, they believe to have found several instances of the president obstructing justice, they don’t feel that the president fully cooperated with the investigation, especially since he fired FBI Director James Comey and evidence in the report suggests that Trump’s campaign team knew of Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election, but chose to do nothing about it.
Throughout the report there are at least 10 instances that Trump was investigated for potential obstruction of justice, there are at least 100 mentions of his campaign team meeting with Russian officials and on Vol. II, page 157 of the report there are several incidences in which it is implied the president attempted to use his executive powers to get Mueller off the investigation and limit the scope of the probe.
“For these reasons, it is imperative that the rest of the report and the underlying documents be made available to Congress and that Special Counsel Mueller testify before both chambers as soon as possible,” said the joint statement.
