House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Friday subpoenaed the Justice Department for the full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation – as well as the underlying evidence that was part of the probe.
“The Department is required to comply with that subpoena by May 1,” the New York Democrat said in a statement.
“I am open to working with the Department to reach a reasonable accommodation for access to these materials, however I cannot accept any proposal which leaves most of Congress in the dark, as they grapple with their duties of legislation, oversight and constitutional accountability,” he continued.
Nadler said the redactions included in the version publicly released Thursday by Attorney General William Barr appear to be “significant.”
“We have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel developed to make this case,” he added. “Even the redacted version of the report outlines serious instances of wrongdoing by President Trump and some of his closest associates. It now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of that alleged misconduct and to decide what steps we must take going forward.”
Nadler’s committee voted early this month to authorize the subpoena for the report ahead of its release.
On Thursday, Barr notified Nadler and his Senate counterpart, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that he would offer them and other top lawmakers the chance to review a less redacted version of the 448-page report in a “secure reading room” next week.
Nadler said the report outlines “disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice and other misconduct” and that Congress has the responsibility to hold him accountable.
Nadler also sent a letter to Mueller on Thursday requesting that he testify about his report before Congress “as soon as possible” or “in any event, no later than May 23, 2019,” tweeting that lawmakers “need to hear directly from special counsel Mueller and receive the full, unredacted report with the underlying evidence.”
Asked if holding the president accountable means impeachment, Nadler said, “That’s one possibility — there are others.”
