Senator seeks full disclosure of Mueller report
Lead Summary
By
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By U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy
D-Vermont
I forcefully urge Attorney General William Barr – in the interests of the integrity of the Justice Department, in the interests of the American people, in the interest of the rule of law – to publicly release the full Mueller report.
Any attempt to hide swaths of the Mueller report from public scrutiny will only fuel suspicions that President Trump's Justice Department, which represents the United States, is playing the role of President Trump's defense team. We all deserve better.
I want to express my appreciation to Robert Mueller and his team for their service to our country, determining the facts of what happened during an unprecedented attack on our democracy. The 37 indictments, including against numerous close aides of the President, mark this special counsel's investigation as one of the most productive and consequential in our history.
The American people deserve to see his work. He apparently did not recommend that anyone within the Trump campaign be charged with conspiracy or other crimes related to the Russian attack, but based on his 37 indictments and public reporting alone, we already know there was an extraordinary amount of misconduct that reached the highest levels of the campaign.
We have also learned that the special counsel did not provide a conclusion on whether the President's constant, obsessive interference in this investigation qualifies as obstruction of justice.
Yet, after only 48 hours to review and without the benefit of an interview with the president, the attorney general believes it does not. He also believes that the only mechanism for holding a sitting president accountable is through Congress. So I hope he agrees that it is the judgment of Congress – and of the American people – that is of the utmost importance in this historic moment.
Transparency is the touchstone of our democracy. If no person, however powerful, is truly above the law, then no person should be permitted to conceal the results of such a critical national security investigation from public view.
Patrick Leahy was elected to the United States Senate in 1974 and remains the only Democrat elected to this office from Vermont. At 34, he was the youngest U.S. senator ever to be elected from the Green Mountain State.
D-Vermont
I forcefully urge Attorney General William Barr – in the interests of the integrity of the Justice Department, in the interests of the American people, in the interest of the rule of law – to publicly release the full Mueller report.
Any attempt to hide swaths of the Mueller report from public scrutiny will only fuel suspicions that President Trump's Justice Department, which represents the United States, is playing the role of President Trump's defense team. We all deserve better.
I want to express my appreciation to Robert Mueller and his team for their service to our country, determining the facts of what happened during an unprecedented attack on our democracy. The 37 indictments, including against numerous close aides of the President, mark this special counsel's investigation as one of the most productive and consequential in our history.
The American people deserve to see his work. He apparently did not recommend that anyone within the Trump campaign be charged with conspiracy or other crimes related to the Russian attack, but based on his 37 indictments and public reporting alone, we already know there was an extraordinary amount of misconduct that reached the highest levels of the campaign.
We have also learned that the special counsel did not provide a conclusion on whether the President's constant, obsessive interference in this investigation qualifies as obstruction of justice.
Yet, after only 48 hours to review and without the benefit of an interview with the president, the attorney general believes it does not. He also believes that the only mechanism for holding a sitting president accountable is through Congress. So I hope he agrees that it is the judgment of Congress – and of the American people – that is of the utmost importance in this historic moment.
Transparency is the touchstone of our democracy. If no person, however powerful, is truly above the law, then no person should be permitted to conceal the results of such a critical national security investigation from public view.
Patrick Leahy was elected to the United States Senate in 1974 and remains the only Democrat elected to this office from Vermont. At 34, he was the youngest U.S. senator ever to be elected from the Green Mountain State.