Pelosi Vows To Reject Classified DOJ Briefings on Mueller Report
Even before anything has been offered, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rejecting getting the highlights of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report through a classified briefing.
The California Democrat made the comment during a call among House Democrats on Saturday, according to reports in Politico and the Washington Times, both of which quoted sources that were not named.
The reports said that Pelosi rejected any attempt to brief only the top leadership of both parties in Congress and to have the briefing be classified.
“The takeaway from this call is that the American (people) deserve the truth,” Pelosi said, according to a person on the call. “Transparency is the order of the day.”
The Politico report said that during the call, Democrats portrayed themselves as seeking the truth in the same manner as the investigation conducted by House Republicans into the email scandal of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Democrats have said they fear that the report will not be fully released as a way to protect President Donald Trump, and they want the report released in full to further their various investigations of the president.
The Mueller investigation began in May 2017 to address allegations that there had been collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016. The president has insisted from the start of the probe that there was never any collusion.
Over the course of the investigation, charges were brought against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort related to activities long before he led the Trump campaign and against former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, as well as other individuals.
On Friday, Mueller signaled that the investigation was over and that no additional indictments would be sought. Supporters of the president have hailed this as a victory for Trump. Attorney General William Barr has indicated he hopes to have the key findings of the report available to Congress soon.
The report was fodder for debate during ABC’s “This Week.”
“Do not think you can bury this report. Do not think you can bury the evidence in secret by briefing eight people in Congress and say we have discharged our responsibility. That’s not going to cut it. So, it is essential that the report be made completely public,” said California Democrat Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, offered a reminder that the investigation was launched to focus on alleged collusion.
“We’ve not seen any of that,” Jordan said.
He also said that Democrats who are now anxious about whether they can use the report for their own ends are the same ones who have praised Mueller throughout the almost two years of his investigation.
“They don’t think this Mueller report is going to be the bombshell they all anticipated it was going to be, so now they’re launching all kinds of other charges, all kinds of other investigations,” Jordan said.
“He is the best person we can pick. He’s right next to Jesus. He can almost walk on water,” Jordan said. “He will have the definitive statement on that fundamental question … but all indications are that there’s not going to be any findings of any collusion whatsoever.”
But Democrats are not likely to let it drop.
“The job of Congress is much broader than the job of special counsel. The special counsel was looking and can only look for crimes,” said New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler, speaking on “Fox News Sunday.”
“We have a much broader mandate, and we have to exercise that mandate to protect the integrity of government and protect the integrity of liberty and the country,” he said.
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