Nancy Pelosi Is Calling For Mueller To Testify In Front Of Congress
When Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report on March 22, pertaining to whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election, some people might have thought this political saga was finished. Well, judging by House Democrats' response to Attorney General William Barr's summary of Mueller's report, it looks like they want more answers. So, will Robert Mueller testify to Congress? Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are making a request.
On Thursday, April 18, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement which called for Mueller to appear before Congress and publicly testify about his report's findings. The statement read,
Attorney General Barr’s regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report, including his slanted March 24 summary letter, his irresponsible testimony before Congress last week, and his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference later this morning — hours before he allows the public or Congress to see it — have resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality. We believe the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling of the Special Counsel’s investigation is for Special Counsel Mueller himself to provide public testimony in the House and Senate as soon as possible. The American people deserve to hear the truth.
As of yet, there's been no word from Pelosi, Schumer, or Mueller if he will testify, but during a press conference on April 18, Barr told reporters that he wouldn't object if the special counsel testified. "I have no objection to Bob Mueller personally testifying," Barr stated.
On April 18 at 11 a.m. ET, Barr released Mueller's full redacted report. House Democrats had particularly been pushing for the full report to be released upon reading Barr's March 24 summary of Mueller's findings, which were submitted on March 22.
In the summary, Barr found that Mueller's findings did not present sufficient evidence that indicated any collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice by the Trump campaign. However, Barr quoted Mueller's findings that though the president and his campaign didn't appear to commit a crime, Trump isn't fully exonerated quite yet. In a March 24 statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said:
The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. Attorney General Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.
The DOJ did not respond to Elite Daily's request for comment at the time regarding the letter and "complete exoneration" by the time of publication. You can read a summary of the findings here.
Before Barr released his summary, Schumer and Pelosi released a joint statement on March 22, calling for Barr to make the full report public. A part of the statement read,
The Special Counsel’s investigation focused on questions that go to the integrity of our democracy itself: whether foreign powers corruptly interfered in our elections, and whether unlawful means were used to hinder that investigation. The American people have a right to the truth. The watchword is transparency.
Well, it looks like their persistence paid off. While House Democrats and other citizens are happy to see Mueller's full report (with redactions) become public, a certain president doesn't seem to be in the best mood. Since 2017, Trump has referred to Mueller's two-year investigation as a "witch hunt" and on April 18, he took to Twitter to claim "presidential harassment."
No matter where you stand on this matter, don't deny that the drama is too good to ignore. Sit back, relax, and keep that phone close by folks. The moment we've been waiting for is finally here.
