Three Democratic members of Congress whose districts encompass parts of the Southland have called on U.S. Attorney General William Barr to make public the special counsel’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush, Robyn Kelly and Dan Lipinski all said they believe special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report, whose key findings Barr summarized and released Sunday, should be shared with Congress and the public.
“The need for complete transparency is critically important, particularly as the American people have continued to endure constant lies, misinformation, and concealment from this Administration,” Rush, of Chicago, said in a statement. “Attorney General Barr must release the Mueller report immediately.“
Mueller’s inquiry into Russian election interference, which spanned nearly two years, found no evidence that President Donald Trump or any of his aides had colluded with the Russian government in an effort to sway the 2016 election, according to Barr’s summary of the special counsel’s key findings.
While Mueller’s team did not reach any conclusion as to whether Trump had obstructed justice, its report cautioned that the investigation “also does not exonerate him,” of obstruction, Barr said.
Rush wrote on Twitter Sunday that a full release of Mueller’s report was essential to understand why the special counsel’s investigation did not exonerate him.
“America: Let’s find out why the report does not exonerate the President. #ReleaseTheFullReport,” he tweeted.
Trump, who said Monday that he had have no issue with Barr releasing the special counsel’s full report, tweeted Sunday that Mueller’s findings were a “complete and total exoneration.”
Illinois GOP Chairman Tim Schneider echoed the president’s remarks in a statement released Monday that said Trump had been “completely and totally vindicated” by the special counsel’s investigation.
“Despite the Democrats’ best efforts to delegitimize the election of President Trump, the Special Counsel concluded there was no collusion or conspiracy,” Schneider said.
“All Americans concerned about the integrity of our country’s democratic institutions should be pleased with those findings. The Democrats, including some here in Illinois, must end their collusion delusion and get to work on the real public policy issues affecting our state and country.”
The Illinois Republican Party, like Trump, supports the full release of Mueller’s report, communications director Aaron DeGroot said.
Lipinski, of Western Springs, said on Twitter Sunday that the nation was “indebted” to Mueller for his work investigating foreign election interference, but that now Congress must be provided access to his full report and supporting documents.
In a statement calling for the special counsel’s report to be released in full, Lipinski said he considered allegations of foreign interference in the 2016 election a nonpartisan issue that required transparency.
“The foundation of American government is built on the system of checks and balances for three separate but equal branches,” he said. “Attorney General Barr must maintain the integrity of this system and release to Congress and the public the findings of Mr. Mueller’s report without any interference from the White House.”
Kelly, of Matteson, said she appreciated Barr’s letter summarizing the report’s findings, but that she also thought it was time for the full report to be made public.
“It’s one thing to have someone tell you how delicious a cake is and how great it looks; it’s quite another to taste it and find out for yourself,” said Kelly, a member of the national security oversight subcommittee.
Twitter @ZakKoeske
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March 25, 2019 at 04:19PM
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