Democrats Dispute Barr's Evaluation, Seek Mueller Testimony
Nadler says he wants Mueller to testify as soon as possible
The Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say the conclusions drawn by U.S. Attorney General William Barr about special counsel Robert Mueller's report undercut the findings of the report itself. Schumer and Pelosi released a statement Thursday saying "the differences are stark between what Attorney General Barr said on obstruction and what special counsel Mueller said on obstruction. "As we continue to review the ," they continued, "one thing is clear: Attorney General Barr presented a conclusion that the president did not obstruct justice while Mueller's report appears to undercut that finding." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued a subpoena Friday to get Special Counsel Robert Mueller's full report on his investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. national election. Nadler released via Twitter an image of a letter he had sent to Mueller requesting the special counsel's appearance. Nadler said Attorney General William Barr's "redactions [to the report] appear to be significant," leaving "most of Congress in the dark." The Democratic lawmaker added that he and his colleagues "have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel developed to make this case." In a statement released Friday evening, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) called the subpoena "premature and unnecessary." The statement quoted a DOJ spokeswoman as saying the Mueller report was issued with "minimal redactions" and that some members of Congress would have access to a version with fewer redactions. For months, Democratic congressional leaders had been clamoring for the speedy release of the findings of Mueller's probe into whether President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Now that the redacted version of the report has been released, they are confronted with a choice: stay on the attack or move on. Nadler says he wants Mueller to testify before the committee no later than May 23. Late last month, Barr released his summary of the report's findings, and said the special counsel had concluded that Trump had not colluded with Russia, but reached no decision on whether he had obstructed justice. Trump repeatedly characterized Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt" and took to Twitter Friday to further criticize the report, saying the "Crazy Mueller Report" was prepared by "18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters" that included "total bullsh**" about him. . The 448-page report outlined the findings of the 22-month probe, which cleared Trump of criminal conspiracy but not whether he obstructed justice. The report describes 11 episodes involving Trump and of potential obstruction of justice Mueller noted, however, he adhered to Justice Department policy not to charge the president and that the evidence his team uncovered "does not exonerate" him. Meanwhile, Russia said Friday the account exonerates the European country from any meddling in the 2016 presidential election.