WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee approved subpoenas Wednesday for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full Russia report as Democrats pressure the Justice Department to release an un-redacted version of the document.
In a 24-17 vote, the committee gave Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report, its exhibits and any underlying evidence or materials prepared for Mueller’s investigation.
Nadler has not yet said if he’ll send the subpoenas.
Attorney General William Barr told the committee chairman in a letter last week that a redacted version of the almost 400-page report would be released by mid-April, “if not sooner.”
Democrats say they want access to all of the information, even if some of it can’t be disclosed to the public. Nadler said he will give Barr time to change his mind on redactions, but if they cannot reach an agreement they will issue the subpoenas “in very short order.” He also said he is prepared to go to court to get the grand jury information.
“This committee requires the full report and the underlying materials because it is our job, not the attorney general’s, to determine whether or not President Trump has abused his office,” Nadler said.
In a four-page summary of Mueller’s report released on March 24, Barr wrote that the special counsel did not find that Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
