Democrats want to see Robert Mueller's full Russia report and Attorney General William Barr seems poised to take his own sweet time in making anything public. Mueller's report appears to be more than 300 pages long, yet all we have is the four-page partisan outline Barr dashed off two days after receiving it. In fact, House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler of New York called the report "so substantial that I don’t see how you can summarize it in four pages."
That's why Democrats are already considering next steps, one of which reports NBC News is to skip straight over subpoenaing Barr and go straight to the source—Mueller.
“This report did not exonerate the president,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D-MD) said Tuesday. “If that is not forthcoming, we will certainly consider subpoenaing not only individuals involved but also records and papers and transcripts.”
Nadler suggested on Wednesday that he would like to speak with Barr first before bringing in Mueller. "After we’ve seen the report and after we’ve had Barr, then we’ll make a judgment as to whether it is necessary and what the timing is on seeing Mueller,” Nadler told CNN's Manu Raju.
But Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who sits on the Judiciary panel headed by Nadler, said a heavily redacted report would only embolden Democrats. “We would be angry and likely pursue other routes,” he said, noting subpoenas as one of those avenues.
While Republicans are calling for an end to the investigations on the basis of Barr's meager summary, Democrats say speaking with Mueller is exactly what they did following former FBI Director James Comey's assertion that there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute Hillary Clinton. The GOP-led House Oversight skipped straight over then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch to get testimony from Comey.
What all Democrats do appear to agree on is exercising their subpoena power when and if that becomes necessary. In addition, NBC reports that every Democrat interviewed wants to see the Mueller report before holding a hearing with either Barr or Mueller. So the Mueller report, in whatever form it is finally released, is almost certain to prove dispositive for Democrats, one way or the other.
