House Democrats Vow To Subpoena Mueller Report If Necessary
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler vowed to subpoena Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report if necessary, CNN reports. Nadler’s remarks follow the recent confirmation hearing of William Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, who has expressed reservations to making the report available to the public in its entirety.
“[Barr] has made it pretty clear he would not release the Mueller report to the public, and that’s unacceptable,” Nadler said. “The public needs all the facts.”
The statement took place on Wednesday as he spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Anderson Cooper 360.
Mueller’s investigation focuses on possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as potential coordination between Russia and Trump associates. As attorney general, Barr would oversee the probe.
During a full day of confirmation testimony, he fielded a variety of questions pertaining to how he would handle the investigation and if he would bow to presidential pressure to end it.
“I am not going to do anything that I think is wrong, and I will not be bullied into doing anything I think is wrong,” Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Whether it be editorial boards, or Congress or the President. I’m going to do what I think is right.”
Despite assurances, Democratic Senators were unmoved, questioning the “carefully choreographed statements” via Twitter.
Mr. Barr cannot merely give boilerplate assurances to the @JudiciaryDems. Carefully choreographed statements that sound good won’t suffice. https://t.co/99FuQnNh1v
— Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) January 15, 2019
Despite the sometimes heated hearing centered on the potential for an attorney general to limit or end the special counsel’s investigation, Barr’s confirmation remains probable. With Republicans retaining control of the Senate and Barr having previously held the position in a previous administration, Trump is likely to succeed in his selection.
Barr was previously confirmed and served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush.
Concern about Barr’s impartiality when it comes to the Russia investigation stem from a memo that he submitted to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The memo was in response to allegations that Trump had obstructed justice by pressuring then-FBI Director James Comey to end an investigation into Trump’s former national security, adviser Michael Flynn.
In addition, Barr also expressed support for Trump’s subsequent firing of Comey.
Critics have suggested that Barr’s memo was intended to catch the President’s eye with respect to the attorney general role for which he is now being considered.
Barr denies the implication.
“If I wanted the job, and was going after the job, there are many more direct ways of me bringing myself to the President’s attention, than writing an 18-page legal memorandum,” he said.
