Nadler Steps Up Push for Mueller Docs After Explosive Media Reports

April 5, 2019 by Dan McCue
Nadler Steps Up Push for Mueller Docs After Explosive Media Reports

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Thursday ratcheted up the pressure on Attorney General William Barr to release the full, unredacted Robert Mueller report on his Russia investigation following a pair of explosive stories published in the New York Times and Washington Post.

Both newspapers have reported that investigators who were part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team believe Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and insist their findings were more troubling for the president than the attorney general has led the public to believe.

Mueller concluded his investigation on Friday, March 22, and Barr released a four-page letter to Congress the following Sunday summarizing the still secret 300-plus page report.

In his letter, Barr said that the special counsel did not establish a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also said that Mueller did not reach a conclusion “one way or the other” as to whether Trump’s conduct in office constituted obstruction of justice.

Absent that, Barr told the congressional leaders to whom his letter was addressed that he concluded the evidence was not sufficient to prove that the president obstructed justice.

Now, however, unidentified members of Mueller’s team have reportedly complained to close associates that the evidence they gathered on obstruction was both alarming and significant.

In a heavily-footnoted letter to Barr released Thursday afternoon, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler described the reports as “troubling” and noted they reveal Mueller prepared his own summaries of the report for public consumption “which you chose to withhold in favor of your own.”

Quoting from The New York Times’ piece, Nadler wrote “Some members of the office were particularly disappointed that Barr did not release summary information the special counsel team had … prepared for different sections of the report, with a view that they could [be] made public.”

In fact, Nadler continues, one unnamed U.S. official is quoted as saying that “Mueller’s team assumed the information was going to be made available to the public … and so they prepared their summaries to be shared in their own words—and not in the attorney general’s summary of their work, as turned out to be the case.’”

Nadler urges Barr to immediately release these purported summaries.

“This action is, of course, no substitute for providing to Congress the complete and unredacted report and underlying evidence, for all of the reasons set forth in our April 1 letter,” Nadler said. “Congress is entitled to the entire record. But we have a common obligation to share as much of that record with the public as we can.

“Additionally, if the Special Counsel’s summaries fit the summary you provided on March 24, that would alleviate substantial concerns that the House Judiciary Committee may wish to discuss when you appear to testify,” he said. “If there is significant daylight between his account and yours, the American people should know that too.”

Nadler also asked Barr to produce all communications between his office and that of the special counsel’s office regarding the full report, its disclosure to Congress and those that have anything to do with the attorney general’s March 24 letter summarizing the report.

Attorney General William Barr on Thursday continued to defend his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation, saying the document contains sensitive grand jury material that prevented it from being immediately released to the public.

“Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the report’s bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately — without attempting to summarize the report — with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process,” Barr’s statement said.

The statement also said that every page of Mueller’s report was marked that it may contain grand jury material “and therefore could not immediately be released.”

Nadler closed by referencing the Barr statement, noting that at one point the attorney general says he does “not believe the report should be released in ‘serial or piecemeal fashion.”

“Unfortunately, that selective release has in effect already occurred,” Nadler said. “You have already provided an interpretation of the Special Counsel’s conclusions in a fashion that appears to minimize the implications of the report as to the President. Releasing the summaries–without delay—would begin to allow the American people to judge the facts for themselves.”

A+
a-
  • Donald Trump
  • Jerry Nadler
  • Robert Mueller
  • William Barr
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    In The News

    June 24, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    US in ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ After Iranian Threat of Reprisal for Bombing

    WASHINGTON — Tenuous international efforts to reinstate a ceasefire between Iran and Israel continued Tuesday but did nothing to eliminate... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Tenuous international efforts to reinstate a ceasefire between Iran and Israel continued Tuesday but did nothing to eliminate the warnings of reprisal against the United States. The result is security alerts in Washington, D.C., and throughout the nation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security... Read More

    June 24, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Health Insurers Pledge to Fix ‘Broken’ Prior Authorization System

    WASHINGTON — After meeting with the nation’s top health officials, a consortium of health insurers has promised to take steps... Read More

    WASHINGTON — After meeting with the nation’s top health officials, a consortium of health insurers has promised to take steps to streamline and improve the prior authorization process for plans covering nearly eight out of 10 Americans. The announcement on Monday by Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator... Read More

    If Energy Star Goes Away, Finding Energy Efficient Appliances Will Be Harder. Here Are Some Tips

    TWINSBURG, Ohio (AP) — When Judy Sautner recently walked into Power Appliance, a story in a southeastern suburb of Cleveland,... Read More

    TWINSBURG, Ohio (AP) — When Judy Sautner recently walked into Power Appliance, a story in a southeastern suburb of Cleveland, she had one goal in mind: replace her daughter's broken dryer with something that worked and didn't break the bank. “I wasn't really worried about all... Read More

    Trump Says Israel-Iran Ceasefire Is in Effect After Deal Initially Faltered

    BEERSHEBA, Israel (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was in effect Tuesday after the deal... Read More

    BEERSHEBA, Israel (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was in effect Tuesday after the deal initially faltered and the American leader expressed deep frustration with both sides. Israel had earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce... Read More

    Cuomo Is Trying a Comeback in New York's Mayoral Primary, but Mamdani Stands in His Way

    NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Democrats will decide Tuesday whether to reboot Andrew Cuomo's political career, elevate liberal upstart Zohran Mamdani,... Read More

    NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Democrats will decide Tuesday whether to reboot Andrew Cuomo's political career, elevate liberal upstart Zohran Mamdani, or turn to a crowded field of lesser-known but maybe less-polarizing candidates in the party's mayoral primary. Their choice could say something about what kind of leader Democrats... Read More

    June 23, 2025
    by Cameron Glymph
    New York Passes Bill to Curb Gas Expansion

    NEW YORK — Utility ratepayers in New York are one step closer to not having to subsidize the gas line... Read More

    NEW YORK — Utility ratepayers in New York are one step closer to not having to subsidize the gas line hookups of newcomers to the system. Last week, the New York Legislature voted to repeal the state’s so-called “100-foot-rule,” a 40-year-old law that prohibited utility companies... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top