Congress to subpoena full Mueller report Trump AG refuses to turn over

Congress does not intend to sit idly by and allow Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr, to engage in a cover-up.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, announced Monday morning that his committee is prepared to issue a subpoena to Barr for the full and complete Mueller report if Barr misses the Tuesday deadline to hand it over to Congress.

Congress “requires the full and complete Special Counsel report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence,” Nadler said in a Monday morning statement.

Nadler noted that Barr “has thus far indicated he will not meet the April 2 deadline,” given by the chairs of six congressional committees, and further Barr has “refused to work with us to provide the full report, without redactions, to Congress.”

The committee will meet at 9 a.m. on April 3 to vote on authorizing Nadler to issue a subpoena if Barr does not comply. If the motion passes, it will then be up to Nadler’s discretion when to formally issue the subpoena.

In late March, special counsel Robert Mueller finished his 22-month investigation into both the Trump campaign’s involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as Trump’s attempts to obstruct the investigation.

Rather than release the full report, Barr sent Congress a four-page summary described by one member of the Judiciary committee as “purged and sanitized of any facts and details.” Yet even Barr’s summary noted that Mueller did not exonerate Trump on the issue of obstruction of justice.

In response to Barr’s summary, Congress sent him a letter demanding the full report, without redactions, no later than April 2. The chairs of six investigative committees who signed the letter said Congress needs to “make an independent assessment of the evidence regarding obstruction of justice.”

Barr responded, saying he would not only miss the April 2 deadline but also redact significant portions of the report before making it available to both Congress and the public sometime later in April. His refusal to give Congress the full report — uncensored by Barr or any other Trump appointees — did not go over well.

On Friday, Nadler reiterated that Congress’s April 2 deadline “still stands.”

Nadler is also using the Wednesday meeting of his committee to consider subpoenaing individuals in Trump’s orbit who have refused to cooperate with requests for information from Nadler about “the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power,” by Trump and his associates.

In the same statement about issuing a subpoena to Barr, Nadler said his committee will look into subpoenas for Donald McGahn, Steven Bannon, Hope Hicks, Reince Priebus and Ann Donaldson too.

Several weeks ago, Nadler sent letters to 81 individuals and entities, including those five, requesting documents about Trump’s alleged crimes. Since they have not cooperated voluntarily, Nadler may have to compel their cooperation with a subpoena.

In his quest to get to the truth, Nadler is refusing to let Barr or any other Trump associate engage in a cover-up.

And if they persist in obstructing the ability of Congress to fulfill their constitutional oversight role, Nadler is prepared to compel them to comply.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.