Democrats point to 'disturbing' evidence against Trump in Mueller report

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats on Thursday highlighted portions of Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 campaign that appeared to contradict President Donald Trump’s assertion that it represents “total exoneration,” pointing to examples within the document that they said demonstrate that the president had obstructed justice.

About an hour after Attorney General William Barr at a Thursday morning event framed the conclusions in the 448-page report in a light sympathetic to the president, the redacted document was finally delivered by the Justice Department to congressional committees on CDs, then made public on the department’s website.

"Even in its incomplete form, the Mueller report outlines disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice and other misconduct," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in a statement.

"Contrary to the Attorney General’s statement this morning that the White House ‘fully cooperated’ with the investigation, the report makes clear that the President refused to be interviewed by the Special Counsel and refused to provide written answers to follow-up questions; and his associates destroyed evidence relevant to the Russia investigation," Nadler said.

"The responsibility now falls to Congress to hold the President accountable for his actions," added Nadler, who said that he plans to issue a subpoena for the full report.

Democratic leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a joint statement that the report does not match what Barr has said about its conclusions.

"The differences are stark between what Attorney General Barr said on obstruction and what Special Counsel Mueller said on obstruction," they said. "As we continue to review the report, one thing is clear: Attorney General Barr presented a conclusion that the president did not obstruct justice while Mueller's report appears to undercut that finding.”

Nadler sent a letter to Mueller on Thursday requesting that he testify about the report before Congress “as soon as possible” or “in any event, no later than May 23, 2019,” tweeting that lawmakers "need to hear directly from special counsel Mueller and receive the full, unredacted report with the underlying evidence.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., sent a similar letter to Mueller Thursday just after its release, requesting "comprehensive testimony from you about the investigation’s full scope and areas of inquiry, its findings and underlying evidence, all of the intelligence and counterintelligence information gathered in the course of the investigation, and the status of any ongoing counterintelligence investigation.”

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a 2020 presidential contender, also said Mueller must testify as soon as possible. “Congress & the American people need to hear directly from the person who authored the report,” he said.

Shortly after the redacted report's release on Thursday, some Democrats highlighted areas that suggested important information was being concealed.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-N.J., tweeted a photo of several pages of the report that were almost completely blacked out with redactions.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., tweeted, “This doesn’t strike me as ‘total exoneration,’" posting a highlighted image of the report that said investigators had “identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.”

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., tweeted a similar conclusion.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who has filed articles of impeachment against Trump, said in a statement that his filing had been "based exclusively on evidence of Obstruction of Justice. The portions of the Mueller report released today buttress that conclusion.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who announced a White House bid over the weekend, called on Barr to resign. "Russia attacked us. The #MuellerReport details a multiplicity of contacts b/w Russia & @realDonaldTrump’s team and that Trump & his team 'materially impaired' the investigation.'" he tweeted. "Yet, OUR Attorney General acts as Trump’s defense attorney. He can’t represent both. Barr must resign."

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., tweeted: “Disappointing to see Attorney General Barr acting more like the president’s general counsel than Attorney General of the United States. ...This just shows that the American people ought to hear directly from Robert Mueller about the contents of this report.”

Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., tweeted that Barr’s press conference had been an “obvious attempt to control the media cycle before the public has an opportunity to review” the report. “Mr. Barr is acting today as the President's personal attorney rather than as the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the nation,” he continued.

Democratic presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tweeted that it was “a disgrace to see an Attorney General acting as if he's the personal attorney and publicist for the President of the United States.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., another Democratic presidential candidate, said on Twitter that the Barr event had been "a farce and an embarrassing display of propaganda on behalf of President Trump. Barr works for the people, not the president. They deserve to know Mueller’s full findings because nobody — especially not the president — is immune from accountability.”