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It’s not yet clear how much of Robert Mueller’s final report the Trump administration will allow to be released, but House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Friday night that he wants Congress to see more than just the report. Schiff said he would use subpoena power to make sure that all of the evidence Mueller collected—which may be far more revelatory than the basic report that was turned over to the Justice Department Friday evening—is released.
The report likely focuses on Mueller’s decisions on whether to prosecute people for breaking laws, Schiff said in a statement on Twitter, but the underlying evidence may be valuable as well because it would show whether President Donald Trump, or anyone else in his administration, was compromised, even if they themselves broke no laws.
Mueller’s investigation began as a counterintelligence inquiry into whether individuals associated with the Trump campaign were compromised by a foreign power. By law, that evidence he uncovered must be shared with our Committee. And his report must also be made public. Now. pic.twitter.com/AAMsFjhZM7 — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 22, 2019
In an interview on CNN, Schiff said that during the last Congress, the Justice Department turned over 880,000 pages of evidence from the Hillary Clinton email investigation, even though no one was ever indicted. Mueller’s special counsel investigation has already led to 37 indictments, though the final report reportedly does not recommend any additional ones.
“We need to point out to the department it would be establishing a horrendous double standard,” Schiff said.
If the department does not release the report and underlying evidence, Schiff said Democrats would use their authority as the majority party in the House of Representatives to compel the release of Mueller’s findings.
“It should cooperate willingly, but if it doesn’t, we will have to subpoena the evidence, subpoena Mueller or others,” Schiff told CNN.
Knight_of_the_Lepus on March 23rd, 2019 at 14:35 UTC »
Do that, and then read it into the Congressional record.
starsky1984 on March 23rd, 2019 at 14:22 UTC »
Don't threaten, do. Be damn unequivocal in the statement, don't give these bastards one inch of wiggle room. "I expect Barr to release the full report within the coming week. If not received, I will immediately subpoena both it and Director Mueller to come and testify before our committee. No further discussion."
nixed9 on March 23rd, 2019 at 14:09 UTC »
Just do it immediately.
Why do you continue, time after time, to give these fucks the benefit of the doubt when they don't deserve it?
edit: To you guys concerned about 'process,' which is fucking laughable considering how hard the republicans have stonewalled ALL democrat requests for oversight and have done it openly and brazenly, then LET ME BE CLEAR HERE: No court has ever, not one time, EVER, held that congress must ask nicely or informally before issuing a subpoena. None. Ever. See: e.g. Eastland v. United States Servicemen's Fund 421 U.S. 491 (1975) ("[t]he scope of [Congress's] power of inquiry ... is as penetrating and far-reaching as the potential power to enact and appropriate under the Constitution."]), & also Sinclair v. United States 279 U.S. 263 (1929). See also: Nixon v. United States, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
A subpoena IS due process. This is a matter of national security & counter-intelligence. Have a subpoena ready the very fucking moment that the DoJ refuses to release it to the committee and issue it immediately.
Why is this so important to do immediately? Because clearly if there are no more indictments, and no sealed indictments as has been reported by CNN&NBC (I hope they are wrong, but assuming they're not), then there were Declinations of indictments for Trump, His family, Kushner etc. That means that the DOJ will then say they cannot discuss the evidence of who they declined to indict because it runs counter to DoJ policy. They have already stated they "don't want to repeat the mistakes that comey made about hillary, and they do not want to 'disparage' people who they chose NOT to bring an indictment against.
In other words they will use the "how badly Comey treated Hillary, we totally don't want to do that again!" excuse to cover all the other evidence against Trump and Co. in a totally unironic fuck-you to the rule of law. Once this misinformation is out there, the truth will take months to be revealed, and it will have no impact.