Bill Barr Crushes Jerry Nadler’s Subpoena of Unredacted Mueller Report
Jerry Nadler’s push to obtain the unredacted Mueller report seems to have fallen short after Attorney General William Barr denied the Democrat’s subpoena.
DavidHarrisJr.com reports, “Nadler insists that his committee has the right to unfettered access to the report, but that’s a lie – and Nadler knows it. The Special Counsel Act requires that the Special Counsel must send a report to the DOJ but Barr, as the head of the DOJ, is not obligated to turn anything over to Congress.”
AG Barr has already gone far above what is required of him. He turned over a barely redacted report, exempting only grand jury testimony and evidence, which is barred by law from release, and redactions that protect ongoing investigations and prosecutions, along with national security information. He offered Democrats a less redacted version, but Democrats refused the offer.
The Department of Justice responded Friday to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler’s request for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full and unredacted report, dismissing the request as both “premature and unnecessary.”
DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement that Attorney General Bill Barr provided Mueller’s report on Thursday with only “minimal redactions” and, “in the interest of transparency,” the department had provided certain members of Congress, including Nadler, with a report that had “even fewer redactions.”
“In light of this, Congressman Nadler’s subpoena is premature and unnecessary. The Department will continue to work with Congress to accommodate its legitimate requests consistent with the law and long-recognized executive branch interests,” Kupec continued.
Nadler said in a statement early Friday that he subpoenaed the DOJ for the “full version” of the Mueller report and “underlying evidence,” requiring the department to comply by May 1.
This morning, @HouseJudiciary has issued a subpoena to the Department of Justice for the full the Mueller report and the underlying materials. DOJ is required to comply with that subpoena by May 1. pic.twitter.com/nzu9O5CC36
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) April 19, 2019
It is clear Congress and the American people must hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in person to better understand his findings. We are now requesting Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/Mmo6PA4KPt
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) April 18, 2019