Congressional Democrats have taken a legal step to see all of US Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s evidence from his inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, with some members pushing for the impeachment of President Donald Trump just 18 months before the 2020 presidential election.
The redacted edition of the much-anticipated 400-page investigation, covering Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, as well as Donald Trump and his team’s wrongdoings and possible presidential obstruction of justice, was released in Mueller’s report on Thursday.
House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, issued a subpoena to the Justice Department to release the full Mueller report, and rejected the redacted version that he said “leaves most of Congress in the dark.”
“My committee needs and is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence consistent with past practice. The redactions appear to be significant. We have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel developed to make this case,” Nadler said in a statement.
Nadler said even the redacted version “outlines disturbing evidence” that Trump engaged in misconduct and possibly obstruction of justice.
“The attorney general deciding to withhold the full report from Congress is regrettable, but not surprising,” Nadler said during a press conference on Thursday. “Even in its incomplete form, the Mueller report shows disturbing evidence that President Trump obstructed justice.”
Nadler said he does not know whether or not Democrats would file articles of impeachment against the Republican president, but added that he would not rule out the impeachment option.
“Congress must get the full, unredacted report along with all the underlying materials from Special Counsel Mueller,” Nadler said. “We have to get to the bottom of this and we’ll see what happens.”
In addition, Nadler stated that US Attorney General William Barr will be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee next month and that he has also asked Mueller to appear before the committee.
“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,” Nadler said.
Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar have called for an impeachment order against Trump, following the full release of Mueller’s report.
The Congresswomen believe the findings detailed in Mueller’s report contradict Trump’s claims that he has been “totally exonerated” from any criminal wrongdoing.
“Mueller’s report is clear in pointing to Congress’ responsibility in investigating obstruction of justice by the President,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Thursday. “It is our job as outlined in Article 1, Sec 2, Clause 5 of the US Constitution.”
She then vowed to support impeachment proceedings launched by fellow Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
“While I understand the political reality of the Senate + election considerations, upon reading this DoJ report, which explicitly names Congress in determining obstruction,” she added. “I cannot see a reason for us to abdicate from our constitutionally mandated responsibility to investigate.”
Meanwhile, Omar said Congress has a “constitutional responsibility” to act.
She said that such violations include, “Obstruction of justice, violating the Emoluments Clause, collusion, [and] abuse of power.”
Speaking on Thursday at a media conference at the US Justice Department, Barr said Mueller did not discover any evidence that Trump’s election campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.
He also said the Mueller’s two-year investigation did not uncover any evidence that Trump obstructed the special counsel probe.
