The Democratic National Committee, Nancy Pelosi, and several Democratic presidential candidates used the release of the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election as an opportunity to build lists and fundraise for their campaigns.
“We simply cannot trust Attorney General Barr’s redacted report to give us the full truth,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in an email sent to supports. “With the Attorney General behaving like the president’s personal lawyer, the redacted report just won’t cut it.”
The email urged supporters to sign a petition to demand that William Barr “release the full, unredacted report to Congress immediately” and linked to a petition. The form, once signed, directs to a fundraising page.
The Justice Department made a redacted version of the Mueller report publicly available Thursday. Select members of Congress will receive a version with fewer redactions, Barr said in a press conference Thursday.
The campaign for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., placed Facebook ads with a petition asking to hear directly from Mueller that led to a fundraising page. “The American people deserve the whole truth of what the Mueller investigation uncovered,” it said.
Several Democratic presidential candidates also placed ads on Facebook Thursday directing supporters to sign petitions that, once completed, lead to fundraising pages, including Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker.
Many 2020 Democratic hopefuls criticized Barr Thursday for trying to “spin” the Mueller report in favor of President Trump at a press conference held ahead of its release.
At least one lesser-known Democrat also used the report as a campaign organizing opportunity.
The campaign for freshman Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia, who narrowly beat an incumbent Republican in a suburban Atlanta-area district, placed a Facebook ad with a petition demanding the full, unredacted report.
“President Trump’s handpicked Attorney General William Barr is hiding facts from the Mueller Report from the American people,” McBath’s ad said.
Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign also fundraised following the release of the report.
“Sorry haters: NO COLLUSION & EXONERATION AGAIN!” an email to Trump supporters read. “Please contribute $5 in the next 24 hours to help us CRUSH our goal and send a powerful message to the entire nation that this WITCH HUNT must end.”
