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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler released a statement with his initial reaction to the redacted version of Special Counsel Mueller’s report:
“Even in its incomplete form, the Mueller report outlines disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice and other misconduct.
“The report concluded there was ‘substantial evidence’ that President Trump attempted to prevent an investigation into his campaign and his own conduct. Contrary to the Attorney General’s statement this morning that the White House ‘fully cooperated’ with the investigation, the report makes clear that the President refused to be interviewed by the Special Counsel and refused to provide written answers to follow-up questions; and his associates destroyed evidence relevant to the Russia investigation.
“The Special Counsel determined that he would not make a traditional charging decision in part because of the Department of Justice policy that a sitting President could not be indicted. Rather, the Special Counsel’s office conducted an incredibly thorough investigation in order to preserve the evidence for future investigators. The Special Counsel made clear that he did not exonerate the President. The responsibility now falls to Congress to hold the President accountable for his actions.
“Today and during the past few weeks, Attorney General Barr appears to have shown an unsettling willingness to undermine his own Department in order to protect President Trump.The redacted report directly contradicts several statements he made during his press conference earlier today. For example, the Special Counsel concluded that a ‘thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would have risen to personal and political concerns.’ Barr excluded this critical finding from his version of events.
“The Attorney General’s decision to withhold the full report from Congress is regrettable, but no longer surprising. If he was willing to release this evidence, which is so clearly damaging to the President, just imagine what remains hidden from our view. Barr has so far refused to work with the Committee to provide us with information which has been customarily provided in the past, and to which we are entitled. These concerns and many others will be addressed when Barr testifies before the Committee on May 2nd.Additionally, I have formally requested that Special Counsel Mueller testify before our Committee by May 23rd.
“Contrary to public reports, I have not heard from the Department about receiving a less-redacted version of the report. Because Congress requires this material in order to perform our constitutionally-mandated responsibilities, I will issue a subpoena for the full report and the underlying materials.
“I have been and continue to be prepared to make every effort to work with the Attorney General to find a solution that allows Congress to review the entire record—and not merely the fragments he chose to share with us today.”
Full text of the letter requesting Special Counsel Mueller’s testimony by May 23rd is available here.
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