Matthew Putney/AP
- On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr released a summary of Mueller’s findings regarding election interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice committed by President Donald Trump.
- The letter said that while Mueller did not "draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constitutes obstruction," Mueller’s report "also does not exonerate" Trump of any criminal conduct.
- 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are calling for the report to be made public.
Attorney General William Barr released a 4-page summary on Sunday of special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings regarding election interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice committed by President Donald Trump.
Barr’s letter said Mueller found no evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election, but was less clear on the question of whether Trump obstructed justice while in office with his 2017 firing of FBI Director James Comey.
The letter said that while Mueller did not "draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constitutes obstruction," Mueller’s report "also does not exonerate" Trump of any criminal conduct.
Barr continued that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the Mueller probe for most of its duration, concluded that the special counsel’s findings were "not sufficient" to determine that Trump committed obstruction of justice.
The lack of clarity over the obstruction part of Mueller’s probe caused Democratic congressional leaders to call for the full report to be made public, and for Barr to testify on Capitol Hill.
Many of the 15 Democratic candidates vying to challenge Trump in 2020 have also swiftly called for Mueller’s full report — not just Barr’s summary — to be released to Congress and to the public.
Here’s what they’re saying:
"I don’t want a summary of the Mueller report. I want the whole damn report," Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote.
John Haltiwanger/INSIDER
Source: Bernie Sanders/ Twitter
"Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report. Not a ‘summary’ from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public. Immediately," Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Source: Elizabeth Warren/Twitter
Sen. Kamala Harris wrote: "The Mueller report needs to be made public, the underlying investigative materials should be handed over to Congress, and Barr must testify. That is what transparency looks like. A short letter from Trump’s hand-picked Attorney General is not sufficient."
AP Photo/John Locher
Source: Kamala Harris/Twitter
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Mueller’s report found no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia— here are all the known contacts between the campaign and Russian government-linked people or entities
- Mueller found that there was no Trump-Russia conspiracy but did not ‘exonerate’ the president on obstruction
- Attorney General William Barr’s summary of the Mueller report has been delivered to Congress
Source: Business Insider – gpanetta@businessinsider.com (Grace Panetta)