As Congress waits for Attorney General William Barr to communicate the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, on Sunday morning a key Democratic lawmaker insisted there remains “significant evidence” that President Donald Trump colluded with Russian agents during the 2016 campaign.
Barr was seen leaving his home this morning around 9:30 a.m. and speculation continued Sunday about when Barr would release contents of the report to Congress and the public.
While the contents of Mueller’s report are not known yet, reporting has confirmed that he is not recommending any additional indictments— prompting Trump allies to begin framing it as a vindication of the president.
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But Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s “This Week” that’s not the case. “There's a difference between compelling evidence of collusion and whether the special counsel concludes that he can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the criminal charge of conspiracy,” he said.
Schiff maintained that impeachment remains on the table if the report indicates criminal activity on the part of the president. “Congress would need to consider that remedy if indictment is foreclosed,” he said.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), also indicated that Mueller’s report is a starting point for a broader investigation of Trump that does not only involve questions of criminality, but protection of the rule of law.
Mueller, Nadler said, “is looking only at crimes… We have to look broader.”
Both chairmen called for the special counsel’s report to be released to the public as soon as possible. Nadler said on CNN that his committee would issue a subpoena to compel the report’s release and then sue if necessary. Asked if he would take it to the Supreme Court, Nadler replied “absolutely.”
Republicans took a victory lap as their Democratic colleagues plotted the next steps of Trump investigations. The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), said on Fox News Sunday that Democrats are dismayed because “the president has been proven right.”
He also said that it is not the Department of Justice’s role to turn over information to lawmakers to fuel further investigations of the president.
