House and Senate Democrats wrote to Attorney General William Barr Thursday, urging him to send the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election so that they can hold President Trump “accountable.”
They also criticized Barr for telling Congress he is probing whether Trump’s campaign was illegally spied upon by federal law enforcement.
Barr told Congress he would provide a report by next week, but has not promised that it will be the entire report. The law requires redactions and exclusions for classified information and grand jury testimony.
But Democrats say they want the entire thing and are entitled to get it.
“First, as a matter of law, Congress is entitled to the full report — without redactions — as well as the underlying evidence,” Democrats wrote to Barr on Thursday.
“We require that information in order to discharge our constitutional obligations… Indeed, because you have told us on several occasions that you will not indict the President for obstruction of justice and related crimes, it now falls to Congress to examine the President’s conduct and, if necessary, to hold him accountable.”
Democrats criticized Barr on Wednesday after he told lawmakers federal law enforcement spied on Trump’s campaign and that he is launching an investigation to determine whether the surveillance is legally justified.
“Your testimony raises questions about your independence, appears to perpetuate a partisan narrative designed to undermine the work of the Special Counsel, and serves to legitimize President Trump’s dangerous attacks on the Department of Justice and the FBI,” they wrote to Barr on Thursday.
Democrats passed a measure last week authorizing them to subpoena Barr for the full Mueller report.
In the letter, Democrats say despite the current law shielding some of the Mueller report from full disclosure, “recent precedent makes clear … the Department of Justice has no legitimate reason for withholding these materials from Congress.”
The letter is signed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and top Democrats on the judiciary and intelligence panels.
