House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler on Monday vowed to call special counsel Robert Mueller before Congress so he can be grilled on his two-year federal inquiry into Russian election inference and possible collusion with President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
But the New York Democrat made Mueller’s appearance before the panel conditional on receiving a complete, unredacted version of the special counsel’s report compiling his findings from Attorney General William Barr, who has promised to turnover an edited copy by mid-April.
“Today, Ranking Member Collins called for Special Counsel Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary. I fully agree. Special Counsel Mueller should come before the Committee to answer questions in public about his 22 month investigation into President Trump and his associates,” Nadler tweeted, referring to Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga. “In order to ask Special Counsel Mueller the right questions, the Committee must receive the Special Counsel’s full report and hear from Attorney General Barr about that report on May 2. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Mueller at the appropriate time.”
Today, Ranking Member Collins called for Special Counsel Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary. I fully agree. Special Counsel Mueller should come before the Committee to answer questions in public about his 22 month investigation into President Trump and his associates. 1/2
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) April 8, 2019
Collins earlier Monday wrote to Nadler, demanding that Mueller answer questions during the week of April 22 to shed light on his probe’s conclusion that there was no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow, as suggested in Barr’s four-page summary of the document.
The exchange comes amid continued efforts by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee to obtain a full version of Mueller’s report. The panel last week authorized itself to subpoena Mueller’s findings from Barr if he did not change his mind and disclose an unredacted copy to Congress. Collins on Monday told Nadler he could get all of Mueller’s conclusions legally by launching impeachment proceedings against Trump.
“Your decision to make groundless claims and repeatedly threaten to go to court not only distracts from other Committee business but, based on firm legal precedent, will also end — after months, if not years, of litigation — without the Committee receiving the material you say it requires to complete its work,” Collins wrote. “If you decline to launch an impeachment inquiry, which is your clear legal path to the grand jury information, I suggest instead inviting Special Counsel Mueller in to testify before the Committee as soon as possible.”
