Democrats Will Subpoena the Mueller Report Wednesday

By Danielle McLean, ThinkProgress

01 April 19

Rep. Jerrold Nadler will demand the special counsel's report without redactions, as well as the underlying evidence.

ouse Democrats plan to subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller’s report Wednesday, demanding the unredacted report into Russia’s 2016 election interference, as well as all underlying evidence uncovered during the investigation.

“As I have made clear, Congress requires the full and complete Special Counsel report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said in a statement on Monday.

The Judiciary Committee also plans to subpoena key documents from five former White House aides, including former counsel Don McGahn, former strategist Steve Bannon, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, and others.

Attorney General William Barr informed the House Judiciary Committee on Friday he planned to release the report by “mid-April, if not sooner” after the Justice Department redacts sensitive portions of the report with the help of the special counsel’s office. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee asked Barr to release the full report by April 2.

“Attorney General Barr has thus far indicated he will not meet the April 2 deadline set by myself and five other Committee chairs, and refused to work with us to provide the full report, without redactions, to Congress,” Nadler added.  “The Attorney General should reconsider so that we can work together to ensure the maximum transparency of this important report to both Congress and the American people.  The full and complete report must be released to Congress without delay.”

Last week, Barr released a four-page summary of the special counsel’s report, which Barr said is almost 400 pages long. Barr wrote that Mueller had not determined that President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election and did not draw a conclusion as to whether the president had obstructed justice. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein then made the determination that Trump had not obstructed justice. Democrats have pushed for the full report and the underlying evidence.

The House Judiciary Committee has launched its own investigation into Trump’s business and financial practices, and it requested documents from 81 people and entities, including people within the president’s inner circle and several of his family members. It is one of several congressional committees that are probing the actions of the Trump White House, his campaign, and his businesses.