Within minutes of the Department of Justice’s announcement that FBI special counsel Robert Mueller had sent a report on his two-year investigation to the US attorney general, politicians, civil rights groups, and ordinary citizens were clamoring for it to be made public.
In a letter to the Congress Judiciary committees, William Barr said he was “committed to as much transparency as possible,” and will brief Congress “as soon as this weekend” on the contents. But already there are petitions circulating to release it, and threats of widespread protest if that doesn’t happen. Here’s a rundown.
Democratic leaders
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer
Now that Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General, it is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress. Attorney General Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller’s findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public.
House Judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler, Oversight and Reform chairman Elijah E. Cummings, Intelligence chairman Adam B. Schiff, Financial Services chairwoman Maxine Waters, Ways and Means chairman Richard E. Neal, and Foreign Affairs chairman Eliot L. Engel:
…if the Special Counsel has reason to believe that the President has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct, then the Justice Department has an obligation not to conceal such information. The President must be subject to accountability and if the Justice Department is unable to do so, then the need to provide Congress with the relevant information is paramount. Because the Justice Department maintains that a sitting president cannot be indicted, to then withhold evidence of wrongdoing from Congress because a sitting President cannot be charged is to convert Justice Department policy into the means for a cover-up. Anything less than full transparency would raise serious questions about whether the Department of Justice policy is being used as a pretext for a cover-up of misconduct.
2020 presidential candidates
Cory Booker, the New Jersey senator:
Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York senator:
Kamala Harris, the California senator:
A declassified report must be made public immediately and Attorney General Barr must publicly testify under oath about the investigation and its findings, and provide all underlying materials to the appropriate Congressional committees.
Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman:
Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator:
As Donald Trump said, ‘Let it come out.’ I call on the Trump administration to make Special Counsel Mueller’s full report public as soon as possible. No one, including the president, is above the law.
Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator:
Watchdogs and civil rights groups
The American Civil Liberties Union:
The Project on Government Oversight:
I hope the attorney general means it when he says he remains “committed to as much transparency as possible.” While I understand that portions of a publicly released report may need to be redacted to protect sources and methods and to preserve the integrity of any ongoing legal proceedings, Congress should have access to the complete, unredacted report and underlying documents.
Common Cause:
Americans deserve to know the full truth about the Russian attacks on the 2016 presidential election. The full report and underlying documentation from Special Counsel Robert Mueller must be released to the American people. Our tax dollars paid for the investigation and we are the victims of Russia’s sweeping efforts to aid the election of Donald Trump to the White House…If the report is not released publicly, hundreds of thousands of Americans stand ready to take to the streets in cities and towns across the nation to demand the truth and to demand action by their elected officials.
The electorate and history are watching closely and neither will be kind to those who choose their party over their country. These attacks by Russia were attacks on every American not just Democrats. Our elected officials must respond accordingly and the American people must be given the full truth. The Special Counsel’s report must be made public.