Arguing that a four-page summary by President Donald Trump’s handpicked Attorney General is far from sufficient transparency for a probe that lasted nearly two years, members of Congress and progressive advocacy groups Sunday night intensified their demands that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full conclusions be made public immediately.
“I don’t want a summary of the Mueller report. I want the whole damn report,” tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) after Attorney General William Barr submitted his report to Congress.
According to Barr, a frequent critic of Mueller’s Russia probe prior to his confirmation as Attorney General in February, the Special Counsel “did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”
On the question of whether Trump obstructed justice, Barr noted, Mueller was inconclusive. According to Barr’s letter, the Special Counsel wrote, “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
Based on Mueller’s findings, Barr asserted that the evidence is “not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense” – a conclusion that independent journalist Marcy Wheeler characterized as “legal sleight of hand.”
Following the public release of Barr’s summary, Democrats in Congress said the letter “raises as many questions as it answers” and called for Mueller’s full conclusions – as well as all underlying documentation – to be released to the public unredacted and without further delay.
“Congress didn’t ask for a ‘summary,’ Attorney General Barr,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote on Twitter. “Members of the House voted 420-0 to release the report. The American people deserve to see the full report.”
Congress didn’t ask for a “summary,” Attorney General Barr. Members of the House voted 420-0 to release the report. The American people deserve to see the full report. #ReleaseTheFullReport. https://t.co/mPECdazTma
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 25, 2019
Progressive advocacy groups – which are planning protests nationwide if Trump attempts to block the release of Mueller’s report – echoed congressional Democrats’ demands for the totality of the Special Counsel’s conclusions.
“An abbreviated summary of Mueller’s findings is not enough,” declared Public Citizen. “[Nine] in 10 Americans believe the complete Mueller report should be public, and the House of Representatives voted 420 to 0 for full transparency. The demand is vocal, obvious, and must be met.”
MoveOn agreed, tweeting Sunday night: “[Twenty-two] months of intensive investigation that produced a number of indictments and convictions and the AG doesn’t even consult the person who conducted those investigations before taking just 2 days to summarize his findings? We’re going to need more than that.”
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