Congress plunges into Mueller report, subpoena on way
Nadler
Delegates, from left, U.S. Congressman Brendan Boyle, Irish Education Minister Joe McHugh, U.S. Congressman Richard Neal and US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, cross the Irish border from Northern Ireland into the Republic of Ireland, at Bridgened in Co Donegal, Thursday April 18, 2019. Pelosi and other members of the U.S. delegation made the symbolic border crossing, that is the contentious Brexit border, between North and southern Ireland Thursday, as part of her four-day visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Niall Carson/PA via AP
WASHINGTON — It’s now up to Congress to decide what to do with special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings about President Donald Trump.
While the special counsel declined to prosecute Trump on obstruction of justice, he did not exonerate him, all but leaving the question to Congress. Mueller’s report provides fresh evidence of Trump’s interference in the Russia probe, challenging lawmakers to respond. The risks for both parties are clear if they duck the responsibility or prolong an inquiry that, rather than coming to a close, may be just beginning.
“The responsibility now falls to Congress,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has the power to launch impeachment proceedings.
Attorney General William Barr sent Congress a redacted version of the report, blacking out several types of material, including classified information, material pertaining to ongoing investigations, and grand jury evidence.
Nadler told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday that he expects to issue a subpoena within “a couple of hours” for the full report, including the normally secret grand jury evidence. That would likely spark a lengthy legal and political battle over whether that material can be released.
How far lawmakers will go, though, remains unclear. Republicans are eager to push past what Trump calls the “witch hunt” that has overshadowed the party and the presidency. And while Democrats say Mueller’s findings are far more serious than initially indicated in Barr’s four-page summary, they’ve been hesitant to pursue the ultimate step, impeachment proceedings, despite pressure from the left flank of the party to begin efforts to try to remove the president from office.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, traveling Thursday on a congressional trip to Ireland, said in a joint statement with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer only that Mueller’s report revealed more than was known about the obstruction question.
“As we continue to review the report, 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,” they said.
Later, in a letter to House Democrats, Pelosi vowed: “Congress will not be silent.”
Biding their time, Democrats are putting the focus on their next investigative steps. Nadler summoned Mueller to testify and the chairman said Thursday he will be issuing subpoenas for the full report. And next week, both the House and Senate are scheduled to hear from Barr, whom Democrats accuse of distorting the report’s contents to Trump’s benefit.
But it’s unlikely that the full Mueller report or the public testimony will untangle the dilemma that Democrats face. Mueller laid out multiple episodes in which Trump directed others to influence or curtail the Russia investigation after the special counsel’s appointment in May 2017, and Trump made clear that he viewed the probe as a potential mortal blow — “the end of my presidency.”
The special counsel wrestled with what to do with his findings, unable to charge or exonerate, and sided with the department’s guideline that indicting a sitting president would impair the ability of the executive branch to function.
“We concluded that Congress has authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice,” the report said.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said the acts described in the report “whether they are criminal or not, are deeply alarming in the president of the United States. And it’s clear that special counsel Mueller wanted the Congress to consider the repercussions and the consequences.”
Schiff, the California Democrat, said, “If the special counsel, as he made clear, had found evidence exonerating the president, he would have said so. He did not. He left that issue to the Congress of the United States.”
Republicans sought to portray Democrats as unwilling to let go of the idea that Trump colluded with Russia to swing the election. “What you’re seeing is unprecedented desperation from the left,” tweeted Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a top Trump ally. “There was no collusion. It’s over.”
Other Republicans were more measured. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is one of the few members of Congress mentioned in the report, told reporters in Kentucky, “It’s too early to start commenting on portions of it.”
McConnell was among several people the report said former White House Counsel Don McGahn had reached out to on behalf of the president when Trump was trying to stop then Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself at the start of the Russia probe.
In all, the report revealed 10 areas of potential obstruction, from Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey to his attempts to thwart Mueller’s investigation. In many cases, the additional details show a president restrained only by aides and others around him.
Comments
“By The People,” by James W. Fraser is geared for Advanced Placement high school students in grades 9-12, according to its publisher's website. The book, published by textbook giant Pearson, is an updated edition and carries a 2019 copyright mark.
The history textbook is just one example of how the liberal agenda is promoted in schools. Look folks, the left controls education, media, and most of social media, and they still loose elections.
I put my trust in Jesus, and I watch the events of these days in utter amazement. What's going on? Why must Trump go?
Trump’s supporters saw the vote as a victory for the people who, like themselves, had been forgotten in a fast-changing America–a mostly older, often rural or suburban, and overwhelmingly white group. Clinton’s supporters feared that the election had been determined by people who were afraid of a rapidly developing ethnic diversity of the country, discomfort with their candidate’s gender, and nostalgia for an earlier time in the nation’s history. They also worried about the mental instability of the president-elect and the anger that he and his supporters brought to the nation.
Do you dispute that most of trump’s support is white? Do you dispute that many Clinton supporters think trump is crazy?
Troy to answer without stealing someone else’s writing
Now,All Clinton supporters have to worry about is incarceration as the truth is exposed as the onion skin of history reveals her as a criminal, not only caught between pages of an inaccurate book, but, caught behind bars.
Sorry, maybe I'm not explaining it simply enough