Lindsey Graham will not be able to keep seat next cycle.
50
Over two years of this? If this was done to you how do you fight it? We think you committed a crime but we have no evidence so we'll spend any amount to investigate you and make you look guilty. Is that the way it's supposed to work.
Not that it lacks entertainment like when the first Manafort sentence was handed down. Normally I'm not the type of person who enjoys other peoples suffering but to see those news personalities go into apolexic fits last week was fun. Imagine when Mueller's report has nothing to show for it forty millions worth.
3
And in the Senate, Graham blocks a law unanimously passing the entire House. There is a true darkness in our Federal Government. Does Gang GOP really think they can keep the truth from the American people? It must be truely criminal.
30
Over two years of this? If this was done to you how do you fight it? We think you committed a crime but we have no evidence so we'll spend any amount to investigate you and make you look guilty. Is that the way it's supposed to work.
Not that it lacks entertainment like when the first Manafort sentence was handed down. Normally I'm not the type of person who enjoys other peoples suffering but to see those news personalities go into apolexic fits last week was fun. Imagine when Mueller's report has nothing to show for it? Forty million worth.
2
Graham blocks the vote in the Senate because he wants yet another Republican investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails first!
Can't make this nonsense up! Yeah, the prior several investigations aren't enough.
28
Consensus is encouraging, even remarkable given the divisiveness our social climate.
Discouraging however that elected officials can only unite on matters of national impertinence.
4
Judging from many of the comments celebrating the House vote and thinking the bill has been successful in now assuring the public release of Mueller's report may have missed the part about Lindsey Graham effectively killing this unanimous House bill on the Senate floor. So at the moment the bill is only a piece of paper in the trash bin.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican pariah of blocking the vote on bipartisan supported bills in the Senate, is now joined at his left side by Mr. Graham.
11
Maybe the Republicans have decided that Trump has outlived his usefulness. I mean do they really want to add a Space Force branch to the military? Among Republicans, if this is not a source of amusement behind closed doors, I'd be surprised.
9
Not quite what the democrats expected.
They’d have preferred a redacted summary to keep their conspiracy theories going.
A full public report that exonerates the President would be devastating.
3
So Lindsey Graham does not support the release of the Mueller Report to the American people.
The American people will remember this, Senator Graham.
39
And we should be able to order it on Amazon.
14
An average person in America, Given a chance to offer an opinion with fear of reprisals, would surly say this Muller report and all the waste it represents; is why so many average Americans hate American government and those within it.
3
Anything less than full release of the Mueller report will be unacceptable to the American people.
We deserve to know what is in the report, and we deserve to know exactly who knew what and when in regards to Russian interference in our election.
It will get very ugly if this report is not made public !
18
Lindsey Graham is such a self-serving lightweight that only voters in a state such So. Carolina could vote for him. A truly pitiful excuse...
16
After examining 186 reader comments, I suggest that the Mueller Report be divided into 23 part that are each released at the end of 30-day intervals.
3
Let Lindsey have his special counsel, it can start right after Mueller's full report is aired in Congress and in public. The new counsel would also have access to both Bushes, Ronald Reagan, Condi Rice, Dick Cheney and Mitch McConnell.
8
I have been waiting since March or so of 2017 when the first statement came out that something hinky had gone on in America's election. From there, the information kept growing and moving and reaching out into areas I could not have imagined. I knew that corruption was a part of political life and business life and bad manners were rife in the Arts and Film industry. Still, this last two years and some months have made my head spin with accustations and counter-accusations and investigations on the state and federal level.
I cannot even drink to calm myself. Well, strong, hot, sweet tea. Still. Yes. Our tax money has been put to a use which we must, and should, have made available to us. Mr. Mueller's findings straight to our eyes. Let us, the American citizens, consider, weigh, argue, debate, what this report carries and what action is required.
25
I suppose in this day and age of leaks, releasing to Congress only would be effectively the same as releasing to the public.
But still it seems like a sure recipe for limiting the sensitive information that will be in the report, if it is known to be publicly disclosed.
Even with this crook of a president, there is still a role for discretion and privacy beyond what the law requires.
Journalists protect sources and hold sensitive personal info. Our government that fancies itself so much more sophisticated than the ‘lying media’ should be able to do so.
I'd also love to see the release of [senators who voted against releasing the Mueller report] back to their home states after they fail to win re-election.
13
Yet another reason why DJT will act quickly to veto congress over his trumped up state of emergency. The problem for the US is that it has too much faith in the delusion of the separation of powers of its institutions to effectively rid itself of a demagogue. The senate and the DoJ are now simply organs of the President.
9
I take this to be proof there is nothing in the Mueller report that is a threat to the Republican Party, otherwise the vote would have been split along Party lines. You can be sure they knew what was in it before they voted for its release. We will be told foreign countries tried to interfere with our election, the outcome wasn’t affected, there was no collusion, and we must remain vigilant. See you in 2020.
6
Shame on Senator Graham, acting as Trump’s henchman, denying a non binding resolution intended to win back American’s faith in their government and democracy.
The motion to add to the resolution, the use of FBI resources to look into the tired, old, investigations now proven to be nothing but GOP political hit-jobs on Trump’s favorite boogeywoman is par for the course.
May Graham’s constituency recognize his un-American antics, undermining our democracy and vote him out next election cycle.
33
My only concern is the the Mueller Report is released - when Mueller and his team is ready.
That it’s not released prematurely, or any aspect of US interests that could be compromised.
When the Report is ready for release, it should be.
3
This is one of the most pivotal moments in US history. It's striking to me that Senator Graham is hyper-focused on the appointment of a new special counsel.
The precedent that chairman Schiff is worried about, is one that should have been set long ago. The American people need to have access to this type of information.
19
I can't think of another time, except perhaps with Nixon, that we needed transparency in what happened in 2016 and what has happened since in the Office of the Presidency. it's about protecting our institutions, about which, we have no choice.
19
And then there are still the matters of his taxes and SAT scores.
I believe the day is coming soon when Americans will wake up one morning and read an overnight tweet of his which says “A man like me -- who is doing so much to help the people of this country -- isn’t really required to pay taxes.”
And yes --- Republicans and other avid fans of his will enthusiastically affirm this.
26
What's the point of getting his SAT scores? There's no legal precedent for it. His taxes however should be given.
1
@A. Stanton Remember Leona Helmsley, who said: "Only the little people pay taxes!"
2
I believe Barr said that Justice can't reveal information on citizens that are not indicted.
How convenient that the Justice Department has a policy of not indicting Presidents.
The people won't be satisfied until the full document is made public. Period.
35
" Barr said he received the report today". A reporter casually let that drop last Friday and I guess nobody believed him. It seems believable to me. Barr could be sitting on it while he decides what to do. I seriously wonder if he ordered Mueller to wrap it up immediately, and Mueller did. But who knows? Perhaps they mutually agreed that only NY State would take the proper steps to put Trump and family behind bars. There would be something odd about a report coming out without further indictments, and Stone's trial yet to happen. After being admonished by the pundits to "wait for the report" to reveal all, what an unspeakable letdown if it is incomplete, or Trump was a smarter criminal than I thought and got away with treason.
6
Best news yet to propel our President into his second term. Unanimity, a precious commodity in any milieu, is golden in this instance. We’ll all rejoice in unburdening ourselves from hate-centric life to the continuation of America’s most accomplished, productive administration in decades.
3
How is it hateful for patriotic Americans to demand accountability and transparency from our elected leaders? Trump is not greater than our nation. He serves it.
8
420 politicians to zero. Apparently they all understand how politically perilous it would be to keep this report secret.
17
Now would't it be ironic if Trump managed to unite left, centre and right against him?
11
Since the report was done for Americans and we are paying for it, it is OURS and we should all have access to it—-if this country is a Democracy— and I hope it still is despite Trump’s attempts to make it a dictatorship.
20
Besides the obvious truths that the American people need to see the Mueller report and to avoid charges that Barr and the DOJ covered up crucial information, the House needs the full report to avoid duplicating some of the investigation already done by Mr. Mueller and to know which way the House investigation should follow. The House also needs this information for their constitutionally mandated role as the initiator of impeachments. Barr's noncooperation with Congress will set off a constitutional crisis.
That the DOJ should be an executive branch office subject to the review of a corrupt president is shocking and undermines any sense that a president is not above the law.
3
I do wonder why Republicans in the house suddenly think this is a good thing? Do they feel they can spin portions of the report to their advantage?
7
Maybe they know it won't actually be released to the public, but they can go on record for demanding its release.
3
If the Republicans withhold any information, they'll be accused of a coverup.
And everything important will be leaked.
3
420–0:
May this hasten the day when senators from both parties make a trip to the White House to say—
Mr. President, we have the votes in the Senate to remove you from office.
57
This was no "waste of time", but absolutely necessary. I'm grateful to have this reassurance, given Trump's recent thinly-veiled threat to the Democrats who are investigating him. The military, the police, and the bikers, all of whom he says support him, are only going to take so much before they come after the Dems and make things very, very bad for them, he told Breitbart.
21
Nancy Pelosi appears to have been briefed on the Mueller report. Her comment a few days ago that impeachment "is not worth it" suggests that she's trying to prepare her caucus -- and the American public -- for a report that does NOT contain irrefutable evidence of criminal activity by the President.
I can't imagine that House Republicans would also unanimously call for the release of the report unless they too were aware of the findings.
13
@Scott, oh dear. In any case the trump family finances will be answerable to SDNY.
2
It has occurred to me that if the AG sits on the report once it's released, we can pretty much count on someone leaking it. It might be his prerogative to suppress it, but there are an awful lot of people in this government who have completely forgotten who they work for...
15
When this is over, we will need to remember that it was Trump who told us that we were thieves, liars, losers, and unpatriotic; we will need to remember that it was Russian bots who described our fellow Americans that way. This is a good time to give a nod to the integrity of House Dems and to allow the House Republicans some redemption. We the People will be rebuilding together ... and having the Mueller report is part of that. Well done, House.
21
It's my understanding that Mueller is not the only person who can release the report.
The Grand Jury can also release the findings.
But, whatever will Lindsey do then....? Oh, my!
9
Trump should want to have it released to prove it was a "witch hunt". When he says that he will leave it up to Barr to decide - he is saying he does not want it released.
7
To add to all of the comments about Mitch McConnell's corruption; he is obviously compromised by Russian money... Let's not forget that Justice Kennedy's son was the man at Deutsche Bank (the corrupt bank tied to Russia) who was lending Trump millions when no reputable bank would. We really need to follow every single strand of influence connected to Trump. Why do you think Kennedy resigned from the Supreme Court so abruptly? Republicans and conservatives are deep deep deep in the stink of Russian money.
29
Excellent. Thank you, all Congresspeople.
14
Mueller's work has just begun. Though he's been moving at a rapid clip and has already yielded unprecedented results, many of the public's major concerns haven't yet been addressed (including tax fraud by the Trump "organization," financial and political ties to foreign governments and Russian organized crime, use of political office for personal enrichment), we've got a lot investigated in the Special Prosecutor's efforts and deserve to see the results of his investigation.
But Mueller's "report" is just the tip of the iceberg. Those indictments already show a pattern -- and state prosecutors (beyond the reach of presidential pardons) will fill in the rest of the Big Picture.
4
Barr can do what he wants -
He doesn’t have to release anything-
Settle down dems, Barr was appointed as a firewall, and he will be just that!!
Get ready to lose again in 2020.
2
@Mike DeMaio.
What's this "again," Mike? With a 2 million plurality in 2016, we won that one by any reasonable estimate. Trouble is, the system's too easy to game.
7
North of three million. And since when was being a “firewall,” against the truth a virtue in a democracy?
7
What is the FOX gold standard regarding this? Did they ever argue that results from congressional investigations into the Clintons should be withheld from the public? Did they advocate a red line for any of those investigations, or did they advocate for additional investigations? Did they make millions from cherry picking report "findings"?
We have every right to see the results of Mueller's investigation and know if a criminal occupies the office of our President. It's ridiculous to think that the President is a king and is immune from criminal prosecution.
Let the chips fall where they may.
11
Even if mueller’s report doesn’t implicate trump, we all know he’s a criminal. So many people covering up for him all the time.
7
Finally there is some consensus in the House. May this trend continues. Constitution is mightier than any single Party.
5
Let's see the Senate vote this one down. How do you explain THAT to the folks back home?
5
Lindsey Graham didn’t have a problem with he release of the Starr report re: Clinton. That investigation went on far longer than the Mueller report and the report was full of graphic and salacious details. In fact, Lindsey lead the charge. History will not look kindly on the craven Senator Graham.
57
The senate will block this.
Trump’s not worth impeaching? Uh, yes he is! This is not a time for political calculation and finesse. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We’re there. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We’re there. If this were about a Trump, I’d say defeat him in 2020, but this is about the GOP writ large and the dark money that owns it. Impeach!
9
I wish the Democrats had agreed to have a special counsel look into the Hilary Clinton email matter. There is the possibility that someone would be chosen who was not honorable as Robert Mueller and that individual would create a maelstrom of suspicion and political havoc. However, with a reasonable special counsel, the likelihood is that investigating Hilary's emails would reveal nothing other than the stupidity of Bill Clinton's walking across the tarmac to speak to Loretta Lynch in her plane and her clumsy ineptitude in not telling him to get lost.
3
Unfortunately, I believe it is wishful thinking to assume a 420-0 House vote may be harkening a return to pre-Reagan era bipartisanship vis-à-vis government oversight. I strongly suspect Republican House members voted favorably for the Democratic resolution because the Rs know McConnell won't bring up the resolution in the senate. Call me cynical, but I view the R House votes, all of them, as a fig leaf.
6
There may be hope for us. The light is getting brighter.
2
Seriously? Lindsay Graham wants more investigations of Hillary Clinton? He has apparently forgotten his appraisal of Trump two years ago - "Trump is a kook, a pathological liar, and he is unfit to be President." How and why did he evolve into a simpering, ingratiating, manipulative Uriah Heep sort of character? I think his business interests should be investigated. (I am half-joking.)
24
So bipartisanship isn’t dead after all.
3
Attorney General Barr will not be able to hide the Mueller Report from Congress. Ultimately, Congress will get its hands on it and the Report will be revealed, in one way or another, to the public.
Any protracted delay in delivering the report on the part of the Attorney General would only contribute to the rumor mill and drag Republicans to major defeat in 2020.
6
They say we have a divided government, and yet we have total unanimity on one thing: they want to see if Trump is a crook. Any bets?
5
In the event that it is indeed true that, as President Trump contends, Mr. Mueller's report will provide absolutely no evidence of any intent to obstruct justice. - then I would think that the Trump administration would be very pleased to release as much of the report as possible to the American public. Those with nothing to conceal have no concerns in such matters. The truth will out in due time.
4
The results from the House vote are promising. But even if Mueller's report is released to the public, I am less confident that both sides of the isle will interpret the report the same. As much as Mueller has my vote of confidence, I cannot say the same of all of our politicians or news outlets.
7
The POTUS, and members of Congress are all voted to Office by the people of this country. That being the case, why should this report or any similar report, not be made public?
If the Special Counsel submits his report to the Attorney General, that is just protocol. For the AG to see or review the Report, and then, forward the Report to Congress, in a different form, is where the problem is.
Nothing in the Report should be deemed classified or confidential. The Report should go to Congress, in its entirety. Otherwise, to suppress or keep back certain information, is exactly what the public has been wanting to know, since the commencement of the Mueller investigation.
14
Who were the four Republicans who voted "present" instead of siding with the majority?
5
@Larry Levy Yes, who are they, indeed? The first thing that came to mind when I read your question, Larry, are a few lines from that Johnny Cash/Leadbelly song:
"There's a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame...."
@Larry Levy
Amash (MI); Gaetz (FL); Massie (KY); Gosar (AZ)
2
If the findings of right- or wrong-doing are not released to the public, then that alone will be interpreted as a Republican cover-up and further divide our country.
For the sanctity of our democracy and for upholding the law, the facts need to be revealed in order that those who follow trump can either,
A) do so with their heads held high, their faith restored in that their man was proved to be telling the truth, or
B) be fully informed of exactly how disgracefully trump used them, took advantage of their faith, and knowingly lied to their faces for the past four years.
16
@LivingWithInterest
My money's on C.:
C) be fully informed of Trump's crimes and lies yet continue to support him, no matter what.
These people need to be worked around; there's no chance of working "with".
5
I wonder what if the Democrats have a Plan B?
If Mueller's report will not have anything that could be termed, as collusion and other, than some non-enforceable long distance indictments against real, or imagined individuals and organisations, whose deeds - real or not - would not have made an iota of difference in 2016? What then?
4
@waldo
If Mueller's team has not found evidence if collusion, we will have to accept it. Besides, looks like SDNY is going to be very busy with the trumps, manaforts and cohens for quite some time. I'll take those indictments over impeachment any day, because those are really gonna hurt.
1
@waldo
We already have Manafort sharing polling data with a Ukranian suspected of being a Russian agent. We can safely assume that information wasn't supplied just to satisfy Klimnik's curiosity.
Pretty sure the Democrats won't be in need of your Plan B, but by all means, let all the truth come out.
3
Did you already forget mueller was appointed by republicans?
1
Americans experienced a violated, stolen, invalidated election in 2016.
American tax payers paid for the Senate, Congress, and the Department of Justice, and the Special Councilor.
Republicans laundered Russian money through the NRA to retain power.
Heck yeah we get to read the report in 2019!!! rather than 2119.
20
This is all part of a Kabuki to let Dems walk back their prior comments about subpoenaing the Mueller Report (not AG Barr's version).
2
Why does no one ask Barr why he was picked the be the AG? Could it be he has stated he doesn't think a sitting president can be indicted?
8
I agree. The report should be made public, but what’s the point. No matter what it says, the House will be repeating the entire process from beginning to end as if 2 years and millions of dollars had not already been spent on a far more comprehensive investigation than Congress could ever do. Might as well do it over, and over, and over, until we finally get the answer we want.
I propose that the Tony awards be expanded to include Congressional hearings. After all, they provide us with theater at its finest.
3
Whilst not a US citizen or resident, I feel a sense of relief this vote was overwhelmingly definitive. The preservation, integrity, and protection of your democratic institutions form a crucial roll in contributing to international stability and the ability of the US to maintain and enhance global respect for its standards of governance.
10
I can only guess that Republicans voted to release after hearing that there is no smoking gun with which to hang Trump, maybe through Barr.
4
It is kind of interesting that the GOP Senate does not want everyone to read the Mueller Report, which is supposed to demonstrate how Trump's campaign courted, and was seduced by, Russian operatives; and whether Trump's subsequent actions went over the line and actually became obstruction of justice. This they want to know nothing about. But they sure did want to read and release everything Ken Starr had to say about Monica's blue dress and Bill's cigar in the Starr Report. What am I missing here?????
32
Vote out Mitch McConnel if he refuses to pressure Justice to release the report in its entirety.
11
By all means, release the report. Then, see it all unfold on your home screen. I'd like to go on record now claiming the movie rights to this epic tale of deceit. It's a public document, and as a tax-paying citizen I believe there is compelling need for this debacle to be told on screen in all its unvarnished seediness.
8
Recently congressional closed door testimony from Orr, Page and Strzok was released much of it favorable to Trump. I haven't seen of it in this newspaper yet. If the Mueller report is favorable to Trump will that be unfit to print too?
3
And Graham just blocked the vote in the Senate.
This demagogue is winning. The Toronto Star is reporting on a Breitbart interview with the prez on Monday saying, I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump–I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough—until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”
And yet Graham blocks the Mueller report and R's give away their constitutional responsibilites.
Venezuela, here we come.
30
It is downright hilarious that the country has been breathlessly anticipating the Mueller report for two years, and there's a pretty good chance it won't even be made public.
Nice system of government we've got going here...
9
Can't wait to see what we got for our $50 Million.
I also can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces if there is nothing there. Kind of like election night 2016.
2
The real question is if McConnell will allow anything to come of it.
That position has far too much power.
5
and this a show vote.....
which in reality means nothing
but
Put out for Donations
“[The resolution is] nothing but a restatement of the regulation. Attorney General Barr will follow the regulation...He has said so.”
After all, that's the way things are supposed to work in our government. We follow the norms of our regulations, right?
4
Wow, perhaps I've been too cynical about Republicans in Congress. Bravo for supporting this resolution. That it's no-brainer was never any guarantee.
Cynicism about Sen. McConnell still seems warranted, however.
8
I agree that the entire report should be released. If Mueller hasn't found anything impeachable, then where do the taxpayers go for recourse? Millions of dollars have been spent on this. I would like my money back.
@Melissa M.
You mean like all the Benghazi hearings?
Also, the Mueller investigation paid for itself by seizing Manafort's assets.
Yes, that traitor, Manafort.
38
"If you're innocent why are you taking the 5th?" - Donald Trump
"if you're innocent why are you hiding the report?" - Citizens of the US.
47
“It’s nothing but a restatement of the regulation. Attorney General Barr will follow the regulation,” said Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. “He has said so.”
Weasel, he did not. Two paragraphs down we learn that under the regulation, Mr. Mueller will produce a "confidential report" and give it to Mr. Barr, Trump's hand picked guy. Then, "...Mr. Barr has demurred on just what he will release..."
Sorry, time finally for some transparency in government. Time to drain the swamp for real!
11
President Trump, more than anyone, should be demanding that the full findings of this "Witch Hunt" be released to the American public so we all see for ourselves that there was "No Collusion!"
Right?
17
Since a negative can't be proven, The Mueller Report can't possibly conclude there was there was no collusion between Trump's campaign and the Russians. Even so, whatever's in the report it won't stop Trump from repeatedly claiming it proves, once and for all, there was no collusion. So the very best thing AG Barr could do for the Democrats is bury the report, leaving Trump both speechless and making him look forevermore as guilty as sin.
2
I forgot about that little Constitution thing: THE VETO. But more importantly that 2/3rds of both the house and senate are necessary to override the veto.
1
I have a feeling that Mueller’s report might reveal more than the Democrats bargained for...and a lot less of what they had hoped for.
4
It seems unlikely the report will contain much beyond what we already know. The question is: what are we going to do about it?
3
So gratifying that people with diverse political stances and those who are rather apolitical will be able to get a hold of facts. We are all on the same page when it comes to securing our nation and safe-guarding the basics that bind our nation together. Yes to Constitutional checks-and-balances, yes to a free press, and yes to Congressional oversight. We ride a raft of logs that sometimes float and bob in less than perfect grace, but the logs may very well hold fast together through this stormy time.
1
While I agree this investigative report absolutely should be made public I am highly doubtful this will have any influence on AG Barr's consideration to release.
3
Don't let 420-0 fool you.
Rethuglicans are hedging their bets on "nothing damaging" to them, in particular, being brought to light through the release of the report.
4
We may as well send a copy to our president’s consigliere,
Vladimir Putin
11
Hard to believe...Matt Gaetz voted "Present"...
4
It won't matter. The Republicans are playing for time. They know Barr will hold it up in courts for months. McConnell's judge picks will support Trump. In the end, the GOP will claim election interference when Trump runs again. "We can't handicap Trump!" They will cry. Some democrats will agree. Fox News, oh sorry, State News will scream bloody murder. Trump will get re-elected because the GOP will cheat --- they will steal the ballot boxes again if they have to.
Maybe just for show, Trump will shoot someone on 5th avenue while Ivanka and Jared video it and pose with the corpse. Then, State TV will claim it was a democrat and not a real citizen. Trump supporters will go as usual while we steam.
13
The Democrats should get over it. They lost because they wanted Hillary to win no matter what. But then voters found out, thanks to WikiLeaks, how crooked "crooked Hillary” really was. Democrats refusing to admit that Clinton was a deservedly well-hated politician who deserved to lose, as did the Democrats for rigging her nomination/coronation.
So let`s shoot the messenger.
All the indictments so far are about bribery, campaign contributions, perjury, not registering as an agent, etc. Typical criminal activity of those connected to the rich and powerful.
Why not attack Trump for his real sins? Would that be too hard? By now even those who are still With Her must know that this Russia thing just isn't there.
If the people complaining about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election really cared about that kind of stuff, they'd have stopped U.S. interference in other countries' elections long ago. In fact, the U.S. did far more to interfere in electing its stooges Boris Yeltsin and Petro Poroshenko than Russia could possibly have done to try to elect Trump.
I’ll take them seriously when there’s an investigation into Israelgate and Tony Podesta (whatever happened to him?) and when they reject regime change in Venezuela.
The insanity that has engulfed America is put into harsh perspective when one considers the insane people run the biggest, most powerful military in the world and regularly start aggressive wars, destroy countries and overthrow legitimate leaders.
5
@Chris - Hillary won the popular vote. It's funny how right wingers keep forgetting that fact.
42
Great.
How bout them tax returns?
41
Obviously if they don’t allow the public to read the entire report, we’ll be in the streets in a matter of minutes. Full stop.
9
With this overwhelming support, why not change the special counsel rule by legislation? House and Senate Republicans would be hard-pressed to object. The issue would be whether that change could apply to Mueller who was appointed under the old rules.
2
A good step but I think it’s better to wait for a vote that actually tests the health of the republic. They all voted for it because they knew it had no force of law and it’s what their constituents want.
4
Devin Nunes voted yes. What’s up with that?
4
Not sure why McConnell won't let this resolution come to the floor of the Senate. After all, if the President is innocent of Russian collusion, the Republicans should be thrilled to get this report out into the open.
67
@MRW
Maybe McConnell just needs a few million emails and phone calls deluging office demanding he do his job and allow the Senators to vote on legislation the entire nation wants passed.
4
Be still my heart.
The best part of all this will be realizing the past two years of Democrats bleating about Russian collusion is a huuuuge nothing burger.
No doubt Democrat media darlings like Adam Schiff will be on CNN and MSNBC apologizing for their malicious disinformation campaign...
3
@EGD
Really?
4
The Dems have pushed for Investigation, withholding judgement. Funny how the Republicans have rushed to judgement, insisting on it being a nothing burger before the facts come out.
Let it play out and time will put all in it’s right place.
17
Lawmakers you have come soo far! Just a few steps more. Tax returns please! Hopefully SDNY will get them if they subpoena Allen Weisselberg alongwith the House oversight committee.
“Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, signaled on Thursday that he would likely block a congressional request to obtain President Trump’s tax returns on privacy grounds, setting up a potential legal battle if Democrats follow through with plans to request those documents.”
10
Democrats think Trump has something to fear; Republicans know Democrats have something to fear—still knitting.
2
It is honestly mind-boggling to think that this investigation, paid for by taxpayer dollars, would ever be kept secret from Congress and the American public. There is something seriously wrong with a process that even allows this level of secrecy around something so important. Whatever arcane law exists that allows this secrecy should be rescinded by Congress instead of voting on meaningless resolutions.
20
@Mark Hawkins
There's no secrecy, just no meat.
Does anyone believe for a minute that if Muellers report proved anything close to Russian collusion that news wouldn't have hit the streets a long time ago?
No secrets in DC.
3
Hopefully, if all goes well, the grandchildren of our Congressmen and women will get to read the Mueller report fresh off the press...in their old age. I give it another 75 years or so. #AnyDayNow
Here is what we know so far.
90% of Republicans support Trump which implies that most of them agree with Trump when he says that Mueller’s investigation is a ‘witch-hunt’. The 420 to 0 vote to make the report public implies that the Republicans do NOT expect Mueller’s report to be incriminating to Trump.
But Trump himself acts like a guilty man and desperately keeps trying to prevent Mueller investigation from seeing the light of the day; as if he expected that Mueller will certainly incriminate him (and likely his family).
I think that in this case the most rational judgment is to rely on Trump’s ‘famous’ gut feeling: the dirt is coming his way and those followers who voted to make Mueller’s report public will likely become seriously disappointed.
This, of course, will almost certainly spell THE END of the Trump’s claim that he conducts legitimate business, leaving perhaps the only place where the Trumps may claim some legitimacy: the federal penitentiary.
4
Even Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the second-ranking Republican said, "the American people deserve to know the truth about what, if anything, special counsel Mueller has uncovered, and now we should finally see this investigation come to a close.”
We don't just deserve to read it, we need to read it, every single unredacted word of it.
21
When Ken Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton as pertained to the alleged Whitewater crimes/cover-up was completed, the entire report, every single gratuitously lewd word (demanded by none other than Brett Kavanaugh) was published in all of the nation's leading newspapers and journals. That investigatiom reportedly cost taxpayers $70 million. It turned up nothing more than an illicit tawdry affair between two adults.
I expect exactly the same with regard to S.C. Mueller's report. It is imperative that we know who, how, and to what extent a presidential election was altered, if it was altered and by whom. To have done so was an attack on our sovereignty. If Americans participated, they're complicit and are guilty of treason.
19
@Deb after the Kenn Star report the laws around special council investigations were completely overhauled, as by the end of the bill Clinton impeachment trial both sides of the isle were in agreement that Kenn Star investigation had shown dramatic overreach and had been way too much of a public spectacle so they essentially rewrote the playbook from scratch. Hindsight being 20/20 I personally think they went way too far in the other direction but given this happened in the late 90s the USA was a very different place then. Remember that this was pre 9/11 so it's not unreasonable to assume that lawmakers simply could not foresee this type of situation occuring so what made sense back then likely looks very different from our perspective now
How about releasing the Senate Intelligence Committee report on Torture? Remember that one?? They should release that one to the public for all the same reasons..."make it available to the American public for a catharsis that will allow us to start with the facts, understand what happened and begin to rebuild the faith of the American people". That sounds good to me.
3
Such unusual times. Neither side is afraid of the facts. The fact will be what they will be. And both sides will spin them however best suits their needs.
2
We, the people, deserve to see the complete report, no 'redactions' ... everything.
6
@PlayOn
There definitely will be redactions, at least initially, as there will be ongoing prosecutions not yet completed at the likely time the report looks like it will be released, and they can't release information that would impact those ongoing cases, but those redactions should be as surgical as possible, redacting only the minimum stuff necessary to not affect ongoing prosecutions and not a single word more. Furthermore as those prosecutions conclude the redacted information should be made available once those charged are either found guilty or exonerated
1
Regardless of the outcome of the report, this is a good vote and I’m glad for it. I’m glad we can all agree on this much at least. It’s important.
375
@Scribbles Mueller Report is the most important document of this century. Publish; Please. Ray Sipe
12
Anyone that doesn't want to see the Mueller report is essentially admitting they have an incentive to hide something. Plain and simple.
523
@Character Counts
Plain and simple, anyone who isn’t willing to post their social security number, birthdate and true name has no authority to call others guilty for wanting privacy.
1
You can add Lindsey Graham to that list. He blocked a Senate vote for the reports public release, and sounded like Trump with his incoherent rambling about the Steele dossier being the source of the entire Illegitimate investigation.(patently false) Graham is a worthless shill and cover man for Trump, and hopefully gets to follow him right out the door in 2020.
19
There may be hope for us yet.
30
By all means there should be complete public access so not a single cherry goes unpicked.
10
Why hasn't the House of Representatives demanded Trump's tax returns?
What is the purported 'leadership' doing to undermine the will of the people?
Why is Pelosi, unilaterally, without prompting, declaring that an investigation into Impeachment of this criminal cabal is "off the table"?
What is AG Barr's response to demands to disclose the report, especially considering his extreme bias against the Mueller investigation in the first place?
What of former acting AG Whittaker's demonstrable lies about the President's attempts to obstruct the investigation by demanding the firing of investigators?
There are more questions than answers here...and even more must be asked and answered.
8
@macdray Rep. Pelosi said it was not worth an attempt at impeachment without bipartisan support.
8
This is almost like Waiting For Godot!
14
@Counter Measures . . . Trump ain't that Lucky.
1
@Counter Measures
This, and Brexit!
Let's not forget Barr's long long letter to Trump auditioning for the job he presently has. He made many points regarding separation of powers and the extent of presidential authority.
Specific locations and names of people will need to be omitted for security reasons, but the important word is specific.
There should be no vague, general appeals to 'national security' or 'presidential authority'.
Robert Mueller is a war hero and conservative republican. I trust him to be more than respectful to security. I also trust him to understand the depth to which our democracy is in danger of falling. He risked his life for it. He could 'meet' with Barr, tell him which very specific security items he is willing to remove, and release the report. He does not need approval form Barr.
Would that be unconstitutional and cause him to be prosecuted? I doubt he will bow to that threat, especially from a coward.
15
People want to know the truth. After this nightmare of a Trump administration we need sanity. Knowing the contents will provide a sense of justice that we are sorely lacking,
The GOP needs to be on the right side of history if they care about democracy . If anyone thinks they can get away with not releasing the report they better think twice. There will be no GOP they won’t have to worry about re-election they are going to be toast
13
Seems to me that the hold-up on Mueller’s report is mostly attributable to Mueller not having completed his work - and, really, no one would consider it complete without additional. indictments that would at the least include Don Jr. and Jared Kushner. Andrew Weismann’s rumored leaving is probably more a reflection that HIS work is complete.
However, I think we shouldn’t forget that the report is supposed to be built around Mueller making specific ‘recommendations’ to the AG/DOJ on what to do - and it will be interesting to see if Mueller will pay ANY attention to the separate question of whether a sitting POTUS can be indicted; it’s not covered in the Constitution and there is no law or statute covering this, only DOJ ‘guidelines’ that have evolved since the question first arose pre-Watergate, when DOJ put together a 30 count indictment against Spiro Agnew to force his resignation; Nixon’s resignation rather than face impeachment by the Senate was in part attributable to his facing tax evasion charges by the IRS (Nixon was FOS when he claimed to the American people some weeks before his resignation “I am not a crook).
What Trump has done - and these aren’t allegations - makes Watergate seem almost minor- league/trivial in comparison.
Talk of impeachment is in that sense premature and I think the country will be well-served to not pursue it at this time - Dems will benefit politically from holding off.
21
If Barr tries to hide the report, Americans will take to the streets to defend our Republic.
18
420-to-0 ?!?!
Be still, my heart!!
37
By design the House has always been closer to the pulse of the people, more so than the Senate. It's obvious, (though many - Senators, POTUS don't acknowledge it)that the majority of voters think the last two years of national government have been a disaster. Good to see that the Constitition, though a little rusty from disuse, shows signs of working properly!
9
We ought to get to see it since taxpayers have paid millions and millions of dollars for it. We own it.
27
@ironjenny
No, we haven't. The special councils office actually made money through asset seizures from the convicted criminal and former head of the Trump campaign Paul Manafort.
Taxpayers haven't spent a cent on it
A nonbinding resolution that is meaningless. I would be curious as to how republicans would vote if there were to be serious legislation requiring release of the Mueller report. Or of Trump's tax returns.
This in some way reminds me of the emergency powers vote. Easy to vote against Trump for show. He is certain to veto the vote. Let's see how many brave republicans there are when it comes time to vot to override the veto.
9
@Concernicus The president will not veto the resolution, because the Senate will never vote on it. But it he did, there are more than enough House votes to override the veto.
2
"overwhelmingly?" 420-0 is unanimously
5
@kgeographer
With the exception of the other 15 representatives.
Only when the Executive branch tries to usurp the role of Congress, does the Republican Party finally act. Anything else under the sun is acceptable.
5
@The Buddy
And then there were those eight long years of the sainted Barack Obama using his phone and his pen to go around the legislative branch...
2
@EGD
Citation needed.
As in, please provide examples of this "go around the legislative branch" you speak of.
It has been my theory that republicans want mueller’s report to solve their trump problem. To wit: he’s corrupt (not a problem for them) and obviously so (big problem for them.) Not to mention the morals and misogyny problems (women vote more than men.) They therefore
desperately want the report to be issued so they can shrug their soldiers and say that they didn’t have anything to do with bringing him down.
6
And Devin Nunes voted *for* the public release?
I’m guessing here that he knows he can’t hide behind partisanship any more. He’s getting his “I didn’t know” alibi ready, as are Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows.” Front-runners all.
8
Public, unredacted and with all background files, please, with a large crow under glass for the White House dinner.
9
Being the investigation and report of the most important, lengthy, and with widespread ramifications, the Mueller Report MUST be disclosed in its entirety to the citizenry of the United States.
After all, it is WE who paid for it.
It is WE who need it to make our future choices on who should serve in the most important office in the world.
Not releasing the report will cause a calamitous loss of faith that our Constitution still works. And that the Constitution can be tweaked for nefarious purposes.
That people who try to circumvent our Constitution will be caught, tried, and punished to the maximum amount possible without consideration of what office they may hold.
If not then the Constitution is little more than a yellowed piece of paper in a vault that is absolutely meaningless.
18
@Texexnv
Time to find out if it is just "a yellowed piece of paper".
3
@Texexnv
Again, the report did not cost the taxpayers any money. In fact the whole investigation turned a profit thanks to asset seizures from career criminal Paul Manafort.
I completely agree with everything else you said though, just wanted to make sure people get the facts
The House resolution doesn’t trump the Special Counsel Independent and Integrity Act. It says that at the conclusion of his work,“the Special Counsel shall submit to the Attorney General, the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report detailing the factual findings of the investigation and explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel.”
A report that details factual findings and explains decisions o prosecute not to rose cure should satisfy everyone except those who think the purpose of the Special Counsel investigation is to provide opposition research for the 2020 election.
3
"It’s nothing but a restatement of the regulation" -Representative Collins - GA
In a normal Congress, this resolution wouldn't be needed but because of how modern Republicans eschew norms, duty, and traditions (eg Merrick Garland, For the People Act), this is needed to remind the Republicans of the responsibilities that Congress is expected to honor.
7
The American people have to see the Mueller report in order to restore the public trust.
As Richard Nixon said, "people have a right to know if their president is a crook".
703
Is there any doubt, L? Not in my mind. Not in the minds of informed, honest people I talk to.
90
njglea,
Of course we don't need to see the report to know that Trump is a crook.
Maybe I should rephrase Nixon's quote: "people have a right to know if their president is a crook and a Russian asset".
169
Hilarious !!
12
Nobel Peace Prize for Robert Mueller.
And yes, you bet i want to read every single word of that report.
454
I second that ! Excellent.
44
@Nightwood the report should be entirely available
20
@Phyliss Dalmatian I third the motion to award Mueller the Nobel Peace Prize. After all, averting a second American Civil War is a huge accomplishment.
33
I'd like to think that the near-unanimous support of the Republican delegation to this resolution signals the beginning of them FINALLY shouldering their Constitutional duty to defend and protect the United States from enemies external and internal, but I'm not that naive. Still, it is a good sign that both parties can come together on something, especially something so critical as the Mueller Report.
Now, let's hope it provides the enlightenment we've all been looking for.
12
I’d like to think that too. But I just can’t.
I'm willing to bet that a majority of republicans will change their minds. This was all show. What did John Kelly say, all hat and no cattle.
5
“It’s nothing but a restatement of the regulation."
It's no such thing. It's a clear demand that he go *beyond* what he's required to do by regulation and release *the full report to Congress.*
15
For the sake of the public who has been believing everything that Trump has been saying, please release this report. Seriously. If they don't, there will be conspiracy theories that rival that of JFK, Bigfoot and Alien abductions.
10
The Republican Senate will do nothing because Mitch McConnell is compromised.
When it became clear after Trump had secured the nomination and that Russia was interfering in the presidential election, the nation's intelligence agencies presented that information to the congressional leadership, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell covered it up.
The CIA told him that Putin is overseeing an operation to disrupt the election and to help Trump, and here is what McConnell basically said, in the words of Washington Postreporter Greg Miller, who broke this story: "'McConnell is basically telling [the CIA], 'you're telling us that Russia is trying to help elect Trump. If you try to come forward with this, I'm not going to sign onto any sort of public statement that would condemn Russian interference. But I will condemn you and the Obama administration for trying to mess up this election.'"
Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy all knew about Trump's ties to Putin, suspected his indebtedness to Putin, and knew Russia was trying to get Trump elected. They knew it before the election and they let it happen. They didn't just turn a blind eye, but actively kept the American people in the dark.
McConnell (and Ryan and McCarthy) are not in Mueller's brief as far as we know. They should be. They should be forced to testify about what they knew about the Russian attack on America.
182
@rich Seems plausible but do you have anything to back up this conjecture?
7
@rich Don't overlook Mitch's self-interest in keeping his wife in a cabinet job in the Trump Administration. They may well be lining their pockets at our expense through that position.
3
I have to wonder if the republicans are starting to back Pence as a better bet for them than Trump. His agenda is terrifying and appeals to many of the republicans responsible for putting Trump in office and he has the experience to be effective. They've learned that Trump is not the puppet they hoped for, instead he's an irrational spoiled brat. I have mixed feelings about impeachment even though it seems the only sane course for our country.
10
@Just Me
What’s the difference between Pence and other religious fanatics? He speaks to God and God told Pence to worship false idols in the name of Trump . And all that this administration represents. This administration represents hate and Pence with his phoney piety look fits right in
The GOP has exposed themselves and all the loud mouth lies won’t help them.
Think GOP and the word corruption is whispered in your thoughts, when will this all end.
6
@Just Me - Pence is most certainly complicit in all of this and Republicans know it.
10
The GOP went along because, at this point, it is common thinking the report will not provide a smoking gun. The GOP will use this during the 2020 election cycle to point out two years of attack against Trump and yet, no smoking gun.
I would almost promise you the video clips of CNN and MSNBC interviews are being spooled up with, “The Mueller probe will uncover...,” “Just wait for the results of the Mueller probe,” and such. Then, the Mueller probe will be shown in this interviews.
You cannot cry wolf for 600 days and not expect a counter-reaction when the wolf doesn’t arrive.
The GOP is going along because they feel it is going to provide them the ammunition they need in Congressional races.
8
@KK. Until we see the report, we don't know how many wolves are identified. Howl at the moon, say I.
3
It seems that the only real value that this report may have is that it could potentially fuel investigations in the House, Senate and various prosecutors’ offices.
And the report itself will be suppressed if necessary, that is, those parts that Whitaker and Barr couldn’t influence.
This Special Counsel process is looking pretty weak. Another example of how our justice system falls short of being exemplary.
4
Interesting move, a bipartisan vote no less. Considering Pelosi is on record to side with Trump, and not take any action against him. Despite what is in the Mueller report, or what ever crimes House committees, and New York State uncovers; Pelosi wants to save her skin, and re-election hopes, by not taking any action against Trump.
If the Mueller Report, and other investigations, indicate Trump should be impeached, and Pelosi still stands by Trump, she should be stripped of her leadership and her district voters should recall her.
4
@Nick Metrowsky
I believe the speaker is saying:
Impeachment is not advisable AT THIS TIME.
After the release of the report, proceed accordingly.
7
@Nick Metrowsky
Yeah that is a pretty egregious mischaracterization to say Peloci "sided with Trump". All she said was right now impeachment isn't a wannable option and throwing some token gesture out there just to have Trump be "exonerated" by a vote straight down party lines in the Senate would actually help him in his 2020 reelection bid. Calling not wanting to pursue an unwinnable strategy that would actually benefit him in 2020 "siding with Trump" is about as fake news as it gets
1
Democrats should have run on republican obstruction throughout 2016. It is only now that most Americans realize how a branch of government can decide to block legislation most Americans want. From background checks, to the Mueller report to voting rights to HR-1, a single man, elected by 800,000 people in a taker state is holding the whole country hostage enabling corruption on a scale the World has never seen
Believe me
13
What kind of ties does Mitch McConnell have with Russia?
4
@Deirdre
Yes, a lot of mistakes were made in 2016 by Democrats. Thankfully the recent infusion of fresh blood and new ideas that came into the party post 2016 election is doing things right now, as the recent midterm elections clearly showed.
Sounds like republicans know what’s in it. My guess is it clear Trump, more or less. Why? Of course he may have talked or communicated with them, but many candidates do that. And even if they got the emails, they didn’t get the story on tv. It’s the local media that did the rest I think. Unless one says the local media was being run by the Russians. So, I don’t see the collusion thing going anywhere!! If he did anything really wrong, then, I didn’t see how the US media can’t be found to have done similarly wrong. So, collusion is going no where! Unless they have more dirt. And they more likely don’t, or even if they do, that would never see the light of day!
2
@Frea - Seriously? So why did every one of Trump's cronies and family members meet with the Russians and then lie about it?
8
@Frea, It's more like what they know is that Barr will likely suppress it, at least until it is leaked. And it will be leaked, and not necessarily by a Democrat. But your comment doesn't really make sense. What is your source for the statement "many candidates do that [speak with Russians]?" The US media, as far as we know, did not meet with Putin, or try to build a big hotel in Russia, or encourage the Russians to hack emails of US candidates, or collude with Julian Assange. And this is the tip of a large iceberg. What Trump and his cronies have done is unlike anything in US history, save Nixon's attempt to sabotage the peace negotiations with Viet Nam in 1968, and maybe the XYZ Affair in the early years of the country..
5
@Frea
It's like Watergate, in that it wasn't the actual crime if breaking into the hotel that forced Nixon to resign under the threat of impeachment, it was the obstruction of Justice he carried out in covering it up.
Had Trump been above board on this stuff, it easily could have been a very different story. But instead there were unknown amounts of lying and efforts impede the investigation at every turn. Only a release of the report will provide definitive proof one way or the other
2
There is one important but often overlooked aspect of the Special Counsel's reporting requirements that Nicholas Fandos should have discussed: Mueller is likely to produce two reports. As Fandos correctly points out, Mueller is required to produce a confidential report for DOJ outlining decisions on prosecution, particularly in cases where Mueller decided not to prosecute despite evidence of a crime.
What Fandos does not mention is that Mueller's investigation also has counter intelligence as part of its mandate. Under Special Counsel regulations, the counter-intelligence report MUST be released to the appropriate committees of the House and Senate as well as to its leadership. While that report can be redacted of highly classified information that many members of Congress do not have appropriate clearances to see, the full report with no redactions must be released to the Chairs and Ranking members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees as well as to the leadership of both the House and Senate (meaning Pelosi and McCarthy in the House and McConnell and Schumer in the Senate).
10
@Ken - Excellent point! It will be interesting to see how Pelosi and Schumer will use this, if these reporting requirements are not fulfilled.
2
The Mueller Report just might be the seminal document that outlines the depth, breadth and scope of the Trump crime family's involvement with Russia to steal the 2016 election. It HAS to be made public — to both Congress and to the American people. Democracy was, is, and will be at stake here.
8
Accountability, or lack thereof. That is the question. If our democracy is to work as it should the public deserves to know what is in the Special Counsel's report. Of course, we can expect that it's main target-- the president-- will move heaven and earth to assure that the public will see as little of it as possible. There is most likely going to be an epic battle over this long-awaited outcome. Will justice prevail? Our democracy may hang in the balance.
3
Congress passed the law that governs Special Prosecutors and their work product. This sort of feel good resolution non-sense is getting boring. You are the law makers, pass a law - even get it over Trumps Veto if need be. But please stop these outrage resolutions and do your jobs.
7
Putting aside all the unknowns regarding the outcome, this entire episode has been a learning experience. Who could have guessed that so much of what our government does is kept secret from the people, and that enforcing the law has so many obstacles in its path that it is a wonder if the truth can ever be unearthed. What we now know is that it is quite easy to commit fraud and basically use other people's money. Does anyone believe that only Manafort was using the strategies he employed?
We do not have a President who is steeped in corruption for no reason. He is the reflection of our time. This is what America has become and it's not great.
7
So far ,the excursion cost US 70 million ,two years of millions in media propaganda ,for a few exotic coats ,rugs and a couple of NY taxi licenses.
4
@Alan Einstoss, So far. Just wait a bit. It's only the beginning. 70 million is a bargain for saving the country from the corruption and potential destruction of democracy. This will play out over the next 2-4 years and if it alerts Americans to the dangers this man and his family and cronies present to this republic, it will have been worth every penny of whatever it costs.
3
From the looks of the vote, they must have thought their children were watching.
4
I do not think there is anything incriminating on the president with regards to collusion. My guess is that it is the reason he makes it all about this so we look away on the other issues which are much more damaging (tax, fraud, obstruction, abuse of tax payers money, ...) but not in Mueller s hand anymore. He was smart disseminating these to NYC,...
What people should be worried about is who he has put in charge of all the different administrations.... while we all look for collusion, he s destroying healthcare, FCC, education, finance regulations, environment, défense, justice,...
I believe him when he says it s a hoax. If there is collusion we won t find out with a smoking gun. The hoax is that it s a distraction from the rest.
10
@Benoit - Well said!
This vote must come as a shock to Trump who thought that all the republicans in congress were among his closest "friends." Apparently they didn't believe a word he said and, when push came to shove, they shoved him back! Good on them!
5
Of course there should be a full public release of the Mueller report. We paid for it, we should know what is in it.
Or as Nixon would say, we have the right to know if our president is a crook.
8
@avrds
We actually did not spend a dime on the special council investigations. The office actually made money thanks to the criminal Paul Manafort
Bet the farm: McConnell will refuse to have a vote on it.
7
We the taxpayers paid for it, we should be able to see it! Especially because it concerns us- e.g. - it directly concerns the security of the American people.
370
Robert Mueller’s team have shown clarity, competence and thoroughness (in indictments and prosecutions). And have shown dedication, commitment and discretion in process. Even before the report comes out, the evidence of the discipline and dedication is heartening to those of us who believed those things were what this country valued.
The release of the report is the natural necessary completion of a process dedicated to facts and to providing those facts to the public whom they serve.
50
@Sarah
But Republicans don’t deal in facts, remember they watch fox no news!
3
For the sake of the country and our democracy, this report absolutely must be released to the American public in its entirety. Any attempts to limit, redact, or modify the report or the findings of the special counsel should not be tolerated.
280
@CMC I concur in spirit, but it IS possible that there are security concerns where international intrigue is central to the case. As just one example, the names of foreign assets and US agents whose work, and perhaps even lives, could be jeopardized by disclosure. Barring those concerns, of course We the People need to see it all.
53
@mls Obviously parts of the report that are truly classified would be redacted. There is plenty of policy and precedent for this.
What we don't need is politically motivated cover-up by over-redacting the report till there is nothing left of it. There is unfortunately precedent for this as well.
11
@mls Donald Trump IS the security concern.
40
Are they sure Gosar votes present because of his support for trump or just that he was pretty sure he was there?
50
@JD
maybe he was confused by the voting choices?
6
@JD
He’s not sure, he has to check with somebody!
3
@JD
Having listen to him a few times I am pretty sure he is not there.
11
It seems like some Republicans are contemplating their place in history. It may be nonbinding, but still, they can say they were on record opposing a blatant cover-up.
61
Republicans voting to release the report signals one of two things:
1) They really believe Trump is going to come through intact.
Or
2) More intriguing, they've finally decided that enough collateral damage is enough. They got their tax cuts and military budget. In sports, sometimes you let your star player go and begin a rebuilding phase. This might be the political equivalent.
75
@Dan
To add to your numbers:
1)...because they know in advance what's going to be in the report or
2)...because they know in advance what's going to be in the report.
5
@Dan Don’t forget, they got their conservative judges. Tax cuts and military bedget can be reversed in short order. Not so with judicial appointments.
7
@Dan
I think the vast majority of Republicans cannot stand DJT and are looking to the Mueller report for rock solid evidence for them to withdraw their support.
3
Perhaps one of the most important votes in House history, certainty since the impeachment of Nixon. Maybe, now, it is just a matter of time before the nightmare that is Trump ends. No matter what they say, Republicans have spoken with their vote - truth will prevail.
19
I can't wait for the movie...
16
It’s at times like these Americans should feel as though government has gotten away from WE THE PEOPLE. Which it has. The president has powers which are out of bounds. Emporish. McConnell too has much too much power to single-handedly stop the forward motion of justice.
If the Dems want to play the same game when they have the majority in the senate, that will be a sad day. When in power they should examine that which makes legislators supreme as individuals, and negate those practices.
McConnell is so out of touch with America’s credo.
34
That is likely the most bipartisan piece of legislation voted on by Congress in years... although the cynical part of me believes that the GOP Congressman only went along with it since the Senate would give them cover and the vote is nonbinding.
60
I wonder what would prevent Mr. Mueller from releasing the full report on his own if Barr won't do it, especially if, as seems likely, he considers such a move to be both legally and morally justified.
15
@Paul Abrahams The desire to keep his job and respect the rules of the Justice Dept might keep Mueller from releasing the report on his own. But from what's said about him, if he thinks key elements of the report are being withheld for political reasons, I'd bet he'd do it anyway. It's not like he'd need the job.
10
@JL Pacifica
my guess is that if Mueller releases the report directly he could be brought up on criminal charges of some sort.
2
@JL Pacifica
Mueller's job ends with his report.
5
Great News!
15
We did not elect McConnell to be our King nor does the Constitution give the Senate Majority Leader the right to single-handedly block discussion of a bill that passed the House 420-0. It is simply the result of a Senate rule that the Senate can repeal. If Federal judges can now be approved with a simple majority of the Senate why can’t the autocratic rule of the Majority Leader be changed?
331
Two outrageously partisan attack dogs, Gaetz and Gosar couldn't bring themselves to vote for this. Where were Nunes, Gohmert and S. King when we most needed them?
3
I believe current proponents of Trump want to clear the air or get any accusations aired before election time or close to it, even thinking to promote Pence or such and get a head start for their idea of a better candidate because they know a hullabaloo over Trump’s misdeeds closer to the major election would hurt them more. Hopefully, the investigation gets all the time it needs to ferret out all we need to improve our system.
9
While it is very heartening to see that Republicans and Democrats can come together for the common good, there's no reason to doubt that Attorney General Barr and Mitch McConnell with the Republican Senate will do everything in their power to make sure any aspect of the Mueller report will never see the light of day.
It only begs one to wonder what they're hiding, and if there's any truth to those rumors of Russian collusion after all.
People who are innocent don't act this way.
204
When you say rumors of collusion you are referring to Russian influence in the upper echelons of the Republican Senate - yes?
1
Hard to draw our own conclusions without a full reporting of the facts.
The right to access of information is critical to democracy.
420 to 0 is welcome news for our country's future.
For the four who voted "present," here's hoping you won't be present in the House much longer. If you can't stomach the light of day, you're not fit to lead.
508
@C. Whiting
AMEN!
44
@C. Whiting
who are the four??
10
@C. Whiting
"trump" has zero regard for democracy, rather only contempt.
Here's a recent quote of his for you to ponder in all it's horror:
“I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump. I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough—until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad.”
He is not leaving the white house peacefully.
40
I wish that the GOP members of the Senate would remember that Donald sinks ships. They should untether from him while they can.
The American People are watching... and most are disgusted with the decline of the USA under current leadership.
It may come to pass that the GOP's last gasps of air will depend on whether they decide to rebel against their man who may be shown to be beholden to Russia.
89
@MyOpinion
The problem here is that McConnell and many Republicans are themselves beholden to Russian oligarchs, having received from them millions in illegal foreign campaign dollars laundered through the NRA and other routes.
181
I'm very impressed that Republicans voted for this. It almost makes me want to take back all of the bad things I've been saying about Republicans for the last hour.
Let's see what Senate Republicans do.
7
Why would Republicans vote for the public release of the Mueller Report if they did not think it will exonerate Trump. If not released, or is doctored by AG Barr, controversy will follow Trump all the way to the election, which is bad for the Republican's that need to be re-elected.
6
Certainly this single document will rise above all politicization and spin and will convince everyone about the exact nature of truth. All questions will be answered, those whose former theories are proven to have been wrong will gracefully concede and their concession will be accepted with grace and forgiveness. At last our divided nation will be made whole and we will all see with clarity and unanimously the best way to live happily ever after.
Also the Earth is flat.
27
@Albert Ross
Of course not, but you can make better decisions with information than without information.
19
@McGloin
Thanks for your encouraging words. I hope that the final report and its aftermath are at least as encouraging.
4
Please let this mean the dominos are starting to fall down. Come on Republicans. You can keep joining the Democrats.
137
Even as fodder for the media and press, this Resolution with essentially full Republican House member support as well, is significant in that it demonstrates full embrace of the truth, whatever that may be called. However, the fact remains that Mueller reports to Barr who reports to Trump and even before the report is disclosed, if it will be, I have no confidence in it as that chain of command precludes any sense that the investigation is "Independent". Mueller is a "Special Prosecutor" answerable to the D.O.J. and Trump.
16
Though many Republicans surely voted for this resolution for political appearances rather than ethical reasons or fidelity to the rule of law, let's give all of Congress credit for this. If the Justice Department, White House, Senate, or Supreme Court stand in the way of making the entirety of the Mueller report completely public, there will be a huge public revolt. At least Congress has the sense to realize that.
243
@jrinsc
Okay, I'm being picky, but Congress is the House & the Senate together. It is just the House that deserves credit not "all of Congress," as you state.
10
@GLA
Of course, you're right. It's not picky at all; it's actually an important point. Thanks for the correction.
7
When all is said and done, look for the silent Mueller in the running for Time's Person of the Year.
130
@Ps and Qs
Mueller's silence speaks thunderous volume.
We hope it will finally bring this debacle to its just
conclusion. It is getting so painfully tiresome.
34