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Congressional Leaders Call for Openness on Mueller Probe Results

Congressional Leaders Call for Openness on Mueller Probe Results

(Bloomberg) -- Congressional leaders from both parties called for Attorney General William Barr to release as many details as possible about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report, with Democrats urging that the entire document be made public.

“The attorney general has said he intends to provide as much information as possible," said Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement. "As I have said previously, I sincerely hope he will do so as soon as he can, and with as much openness and transparency as possible.”

In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for the full report to be made public, warning Barr against letting the White House suppress findings after a 22-month probe of whether President Donald Trump or those around him conspired in Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"It is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress," they wrote. "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."

Informing Congress

Barr informed members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in a letter Friday that he would provide them with Mueller’s top conclusions “as soon as this weekend,” which should set a spark to the political battle over the findings. Republicans are making clear they hope the conclusions will put an end to speculation that Trump or his allies colluded with Russia, and halt a number of Democratic congressional probes of the president. Pelosi, meanwhile, is grappling with increased calls from many House Democrats to dig much deeper.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a top Judiciary panel member and the longest-serving Senate Republican, said the final report could help exonerate the president and his close allies and put the focus in Washington back on governing.

“Attorney General Barr must provide Congress and the American people with the findings to finally put an end to the speculation and innuendo that has loomed over this administration since its earliest days,” Grassley said. “Attempts to keep the collusion narrative alive, especially for political reasons, will only serve to further harm our political discourse and play into the hands of our foreign adversaries.”

No ‘Collusion’

Second-ranking House Republican Steve Scalise said reports that the special counsel has issued no new indictments confirm that "there was never any collusion with Russia."

"The only collusion was between Democrats and many in the media who peddled this lie because they continue to refuse to accept the results of the 2016 election," Scalise said in a statement.

Schumer said everyone should wait for the full report to be made public “before jumping to any conclusions.”’

Many Democrats joined their top leaders in calling for release to Congress of all documents used in the special counsel’s investigation. Some voiced concern that Barr, recently appointed by Trump, will hold information back.

“The public interest is paramount in disclosing not only conclusions, but the facts that led to them,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. “There is no excuse for concealing any part of this report along with its findings and evidence – it would be tantamount to a coverup.”

Blumenthal also said on MSNBC that he believes there’s a "strong possibility" of more indictments, including of Trump’s family, resulting from other federal prosecutors’ investigations.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, whose panel has begun multiple investigations into the administration and Trump’s business dealings, said he awaits release of the full report and its findings.

"Transparency and the public interest demand nothing less,” Nadler said on Twitter. “The need for public faith in the rule of law must be the priority.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net;Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo

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