Donald Trump Admits He Hasn’t Read The Mueller Report, Even Though He ‘Has Every Right To Do So’
Donald Trump on Saturday admitted that he hasn’t read the Mueller report, saying that he knows all that he needs to know about it from the four-page summary that his Attorney General appointee, William Barr, released two weeks ago. Further, he claimed that he hasn’t read the report even though he has “every right to do so.”
As The Hill reports, two weeks ago Barr was given the final report of FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s months-long investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian agents. Barr has the prerogative to release as much of or as little of any report that crosses his desk to the public, and indeed, days after receiving the report, he released only a brief summary of the 400-page report.
In issuing his summary, Barr concluded that the probe found no evidence of collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign, but left open the question of whether or not there was evidence of obstruction of justice against Trump.
It was the “no collusion” part of the report that has been something of a victory chant among Trump and Republicans ever since the report was released. Indeed, on Saturday, in a series of tweets, Trump repeated the fact that the report did not reveal any evidence of collusion, per Barr’s description of the summary.
I have not read the Mueller Report yet, even though I have every right to do so. Only know the conclusions, and on the big one, No Collusion. Likewise, recommendations made to our great A.G. who found No Obstruction. 13 Angry Trump hating Dems (later brought to 18) given two…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2019
…..years and $30 million, and they found No Collusion, No Obstruction. But the Democrats, no matter what we give them, will NEVER be satisfied. A total waste of time. As @FrankLuntz has just stated, “Enough, America has had enough. What have you accomplished. Public is fed up.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2019
Meanwhile, Congress has been repeatedly stymied in its attempts to get the full report released. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has, five times so far, passed resolutions demanding that Barr release the full report. Those resolutions carry no legal weight, however. What’s more, the Senate has, five times so far, failed to vote on such a resolution, each time the vote blocked by powerful Republicans.
Members of Mueller’s team have told associates that Attorney General William Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry https://t.co/QicgQvAREK
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 3, 2019
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, has said that he will issue a subpoena to Barr in order to get the full report, although he has said he intends to wait “a few weeks” to give Barr time to think about changing his mind. Even so, such a subpoena would likely be challenged in court, potentially setting up a protracted legal battle.
The posturing comes amid reports that there may be more to the Mueller report than Barr has let on. Last week, The New York Times reported that some members of Mueller’s team have expressed “frustration” over how Barr characterized the report, saying that there is information in it that may be more damaging to Trump than Barr has let on.
