Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, charged Tuesday Democrats' demands to see the full Mueller report without redactions showed they are “so committed to getting at this president” and “not focused on frankly doing what’s best for the country.”
“You got the chairman of the intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, saying ‘go ahead make public classified information’ and then you have the chairman of the judiciary committee saying ‘go ahead and make public grand jury material.’ Now that’s scary,” Jordan said on “Fox & Friends.”
“This is where they’re at because the Mueller report was not the bombshell that they had hoped it would be. But when you have the head of the intelligence committee, the head of the judiciary committee saying make public material that’s not supposed to get public, that’s not consistent with the law, that’s just wrong, just plain wrong.”
Democratic lawmakers, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-NY and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, have been demanding access in full to special counsel Robert Mueller's report in. Attorney General Bill Barr has said that he and the special counsel’s team are “well along in the process of identifying and redacting” sensitive material in the more than 300-page report and can likely have it to Congress by mid-April, “if not sooner.”
But Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are preparing to authorize subpoenas for the report this week, giving the panel the option to pursue that route if necessary.
TRUMP SAYS DEMS HAVE FORESAKEN MUELLER AFTER TREATING HIM AS 'GOD-LIKE'
The report was first transmitted to Barr at the Justice Department last month. Barr issued a four-page initial summary of Mueller’s findings to Congress and to the public just days after. Barr’s summary said that the special counsel found no evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russians during the 2016 presidential election.
Immediately, Democrats began demanding to view the full Mueller report and underlying evidence that brought the special counsel to its decision.
Barr has indicated he does plan on sharing much of the report, noting that, with the help of the special counsel’s office, the Justice Department is reviewing material that “by law cannot be made public” -- covering “material the intelligence community identifies as potentially compromising sensitive sources and methods; material that could affect ongoing matters, including those that the Special Counsel has referred to other Department offices; and information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.”
“Bill Barr said he will err on the side of transparency, he wants to release as much possible but he’s going to do it consistent with the law, which is what we should expect from an attorney general of the United States of America, “ Jordan said on “Fox and Friends."
“Understand that this report was not what they had hoped. First the Cohen hearing they had was a flop, then the Mueller report comes out, it’s not the bombshell they hoped. Remember what Bill Barr said special council Mueller found, no new indictments, no sealed indictments, no collusion, no obstruction. As definitive as you can get. And so now what they’re saying is 'we want to find something, we have to find something, cause we’re so committed to getting at this president and not focused on frankly doing what’s best for the country.'”
On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump blasted Nadler and Schiff on twitter.
“There is no amount of testimony or document production that can satisfy Jerry Nadler or Shifty Adam Schiff. It is now time to focus exclusively on properly running our great Country!” Trump tweeted.
Minutes later, Schiff fired back.
“The House voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report to the public. The American people overwhelmingly support the same. What are you afraid of, Mr. President?” Schiff tweeted.
The Judiciary Committee cited “historical precedent” for the full release of the Mueller report—specifically Watergate, when a judge ordered a 55-page grand jury roadmap to be provided to the committee; and during the Ken Starr investigation of former President Bill Clinton, when a 455-page report, along with evidence including grand jury material, was provided to the panel.
On September 9, 1998, on PBS’ “Charlie Rose," Nadler said, “As a matter of decency and protecting people’s privacy rights, people who may be totally innocent, third parties, what must not be released at all,” when talking about the Starr report on Clinton. “It’s grand jury material. It represents statements which may or may not be true by various witnesses, salacious material, all kinds of material that it would be unfair to release.” The clip aired on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday.
The president took to Twitter Tuesday morning to respond to the statements Nadler made more than a decade ago.
“In 1998, Rep. Jerry Nadler strongly opposed the release of the Starr report on Bill Clinton. No information whatsoever would or could be legally released. But with the NO COLLUSION Mueller Report, which the Dems hate, he wants it all. NOTHING WILL EVER SATISFY THEM! @foxandfriends”
“This is now about President Trump who they’re out to get,” said Jordan. “Again, this is the chairman of the judiciary, the long history the judiciary has in protecting fundamental liberties, fundamental rights and following the law and yet you now have the chairman saying ‘I don’t care. I don’t care. Give me everything we want to make public.’ That is what is so wrong.”
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He added, “It’s because Bill Barr’s letter spelling out what the special counsel found and the principal conclusions of his report was so strong for the president, complete vindication for the president, they are now, Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff and others are now saying ‘We got to have stuff that’s not consistent with how the rule of law works and has historically worked in this great country.’”
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