Author: David Jackson / Source: USA TODAY
The redacted version of the Mueller report is now available from the attorney general. Here are the key takeaways from it. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr had barely finished taking reporters’ questions about the Russia investigation when the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee signaled he wasn’t even close to satisfied with the answers.
“We cannot take Attorney General Barr’s word for it,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said as he whipped out a letter demanding a hearing with special counsel Robert Mueller.
Nadler’s response to the report, amplified by Democrats in the hours that followed, underscored a political reality taking hold as the nation processes the report’s meaning: While the exhaustive investigative work in the Russia probe is finished, the shadow hanging over Donald Trump’s presidency may never be fully lifted.
Democrats ramped up their rhetoric in the hours after Barr’s press conference on Thursday, kicking off a fresh fight over an investigation the White House desperately wants to leave behind. After the report was released, the details of Trump’s actions seemed to energize Democrats even though most of the revelations had previously been reported.
Takeaways: Trump thought Mueller would ‘end’ his presidency and other takeaways from the Mueller report
After criticizing Barr, Nadler took a more aggressive tone once the report hit: “The responsibility now falls to Congress to hold the President accountable for his actions.”
And then there were the unanswered questions.
Investigators did not find evidence that Trump’s conduct in 2016 amounted to conspiring with Russia, but did he attempt to obstruct justice by ordering aides to undermine Mueller? Why did Trump spend two years calling attention to the probe and bashing his own Justice Department if he was confident the report would exonerate him? Why did so many of Trump’s aides lie to the special counsel and Congress about their interactions?
Trump under siege
Those questions spurred calls for high-profile hearings on Capitol Hill and even reopened a discussion about impeachment, though Democratic leaders sought to tamp down that talk. As Trump and his supporters hammered the “no collusion” message, Democrats appeared to be getting more aggressive in their demands, not less.
“If you were a bloodthirsty Democrat yesterday you are probably thirstier today,” said GOP consultant Scott Jennings.
Trump has spent the better part of two years defending himself against the Mueller probe, an investigation that largely consumed his legislative agenda. The president himself grasped the political implications of Mueller’s appointment back in 2017, telling aides at the time that he was concerned the special counsel would “ruin” his presidency and lamenting that “I won’t be able to do anything.”
Mueller report: Trump took…
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