House panel votes to subpoena full Mueller report

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to authorize the subpoena of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's full report, setting up a showdown with the Justice Department.

Attorney General William Barr said late last month he is making redactions to the report alongside Mueller's team, and anticipates it will be released by mid-April.

But Wednesday's 24-17 committee vote authorizes Chairman Jerry Nadler to issue a formal subpoena to the Justice Department for the full, unredacted version of the report.

Nadler said there is "reason to suspect this Administration’s motives" in redacting the report, further suggesting it "isn’t the 'total exoneration' the president claims it to be."

"The Constitution charges Congress with holding the President accountable for alleged official misconduct," Nadler said. "That job requires us to evaluate the evidence for ourselves—not the Attorney General’s summary, not a substantially redacted synopsis, but the full report and the underlying evidence."

Barr had set an April 2 deadline to hand over the full report, but it passed without it being provided, setting the stage for Wednesday's vote.

Mueller's conclusions span 400 pages in addition to supporting materials. They are the culmination of his two-year probe into Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, and suspicions the Trump campaign colluded with that effort.

In a four-page letter to Congress last month, Barr said Mueller did not find any evidence Trump's presidential campaign conspired with Russia to influence the election.

Regarding specifically questions of obstruction of justice fueled by the president's action, particularly his firing of former FBI Director James Comey, Barr said the report "does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

But in a follow-up letter Barr sent to the Senate and House judiciary chairmen, Barr said his initial missive "was not, and did not purport to be, an exhaustive recounting of the Special Counsel's investigation or report."