WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee formally issued a subpoena on Friday demanding that the Justice Department hand over to Congress an unredacted version of Robert S. Mueller III’s report and all of the evidence underlying it by May 1.

The subpoena, one of the few issued thus far by House Democrats, escalates a fight with Attorney General William P. Barr over what material Congress is entitled to see from the special counsel’s nearly two-year investigation. The chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, asked for all evidence, including summaries of witness interviews and classified intelligence.

“My committee needs and is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence consistent with past practice,” Mr. Nadler said in a statement. “Even the redacted version of the report outlines serious instances of wrongdoing by President Trump and some of his closest associates. It now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of that alleged misconduct and to decide what steps we must take going forward.”

Mr. Nadler’s deadline falls a day before Mr. Barr is scheduled to testify publicly before the Judiciary Committee in what is expected to be an explosive session where Democrats plan to excoriate Mr. Barr’s handling of the report and Republicans will urge their colleagues to accept that there was no criminality and move on. </s> House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Friday subpoenaed the Justice Department for the full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation – as well as the underlying evidence that was part of the probe.

“The Department is required to comply with that subpoena by May 1,” the New York Democrat said in a statement.

“I am open to working with the Department to reach a reasonable accommodation for access to these materials, however I cannot accept any proposal which leaves most of Congress in the dark, as they grapple with their duties of legislation, oversight and constitutional accountability,” he continued.

Nadler said the redactions included in the version publicly released Thursday by Attorney General William Barr appear to be “significant.”

“We have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel developed to make this case,” he added. “Even the redacted version of the report outlines serious instances of wrongdoing by President Trump and some of his closest associates. It now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of that alleged misconduct and to decide what steps we must take going forward.”

Nadler’s committee voted early this month to authorize the subpoena for the report ahead of its release.

On Thursday, Barr notified Nadler and his Senate counterpart, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that he would offer them and other top lawmakers the chance to review a less redacted version of the 448-page report in a “secure reading room” next week.

Nadler said the report outlines “disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice and other misconduct” and that Congress has the responsibility to hold him accountable.

Nadler also sent a letter to Mueller on Thursday requesting that he testify about his 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.”

Asked if holding the president accountable means impeachment, Nadler said, “That’s one possibility — there are others.” </s> The House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to authorize the issuance of a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full and unredacted report.

The move, which was approved on a 24-17 party-line vote, is one step closer to forcing Attorney General William Barr to turn over the roughly 400-page report.

He has said he plans to publicly release the documents with redactions later this month.

“We need these materials to fulfill our constitutional obligations,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the committee chair, ahead of the vote.

The vote gives Nadler authorization to issue a subpoena to the Justice Department for the final report, its exhibits and any underlying evidence or materials prepared for Mueller’s probe.

He has not said when, or if, he would do so.

The Democrat-led committee also approved subpoenas for five of President Trump’s former top advisers: Steve Bannon, Hope Hicks, Reince Priebus, Donald McGahn and Ann Donaldson. The five served as key witnesses in Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election.

Earlier, the committee rejected a GOP amendment that sought to block the subpoena from seeking grand jury information.

But afterward, Nadler told reporters he would “absolutely” go to court to get that information.

Nadler earlier hinted that he would delay the issuance of the subpoena to give Barr “time to change his mind.”

The move to compel the Justice Department to release the Mueller report comes one day after Barr missed a Nadler-imposed deadline to turn over the massive document. He told lawmakers last week that he couldn’t make the deadline but promised to release it in mid-April, if not sooner. </s> The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice to turn over special counsel Robert Mueller’s entire unredacted report, as well as the materials supporting its findings.

The Hill reported the resolution authorizing multiple subpoenas passed the committee in a straight party line vote, 24-7.

“The resolution also authorizes the committee’s Democratic chairman to subpoena testimony related to the special counsel’s report,” The Hill reported.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said he would give Attorney General William Barr a limited number of days to comply with the demand before issuing the subpoena for the full unredacted report on the findings of Mueller’s investigation into collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia.

“This committee requires the full report, because it is our job, not the attorney general’s, to determine whether or not President Trump has abused his office,” Nadler argued Wednesday before the committee. “We must make it harder for future presidents to behave in this way.”

TRENDING: Archaeologists Uncover Definitive Proof of Bible Passage in Middle of Jerusalem

Barr has promised to deliver as much of the Mueller report as he legally can to Congress, without redactions, by the middle of April.

The attorney general has noted that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) prevents him from disclosing matters occurring before a grand jury, including the testimony of witnesses, without a judge’s approval.

“I will give him time to change his mind,” Nadler said, according to The Hill. “But if we cannot reach an accommodation then we will have no choice but to issue subpoenas for these materials.

“And if the department still refuses, then it should be up to a judge — not the president and not his political appointee — to decide whether the committee can review the complete record.”

House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia accused Democrats of engaging in “political theater” and defended Barr, saying he is following the law.

“The regulations we put in place are still there,” Collins said. “At this point in time, the attorney general, although he is being smeared, repeatedly, is doing exactly what the regulation says.”

Nadler told reporters after the committee meeting that he is not willing to negotiate with the DOJ concerning his demand the entire report and its underlying materials be handed over.

“The committee must see everything, as was done in every prior instance,” he said. “We handle confidential materials all the time. We have facilities to do that. We make those judgments.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, the New York Democrat addressed the controversy regarding his opposition in 1998 to publicly releasing independent counsel Ken Starr’s complete report regarding then-President Bill Clinton because it contained “salacious” material and unverified testimony versus calling for all the materials to be released to Congress now.

He said the controversy in 1998 was releasing materials from the Starr report that Congress already had.

“Congress has no business publishing graphic accounts of the president’s sex life,” Nadler said. “We are dealing now not with the president’s private affairs, but with a sustained attack on the integrity of the republic by the president and his closest advisers.”

Trump responded to Nadler and his fellow Democrats’ demands for the entire report and its underlying materials on Tuesday, saying, “It’s ridiculous. We went through two years of the Mueller investigation. …

“So there’s no collusion, there’s no obstruction and now we’re going to start this process all over again? I think it’s a disgrace.”

The president said of the Democrats, “Anything we give them will never be enough.”

He pledged to stand by what Barr decides should be released.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Monday that the Committee is preparing to subpoena Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full report on his Russia investigation on Wednesday and the evidence he used to write it.

Representative Jerry Nadler said that he was “disturbed” by Attorney General William Barr’s decision not to release the full report right away, and that the Committee would vote on the subpoenas if the Justice Department fails to deliver the report by the end of the day Tuesday.

Barr submitted a four-page summary of the report to Congress last week and promised in a meeting with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on Friday to release a redacted version of the almost-400-page Mueller report by “mid April, if not sooner.” The summary said that Mueller did not find any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, but that he left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during the investigation.

Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are currently combing through the report to redact classified material before releasing it to Congress.

“When the full scope of the president’s misconduct has been revealed, when his lies are debunked and his abuses have been laid bare, I believe that members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will draft legislation to curb the worst of his offenses,” Nadler wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times published Monday. “Put another way: If President Trump’s behavior wasn’t criminal, then perhaps it should have been.”
• Trump’s AG Nominee Will Vow to Let Mueller Complete Investigation
• Giuliani: Trump Will Use Mueller Probe Anniversary to Push for Conclusion </s> House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., issued a subpoena Friday to obtain the "complete and unredacted" version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report, as well as the underlying materials -- the next step in what is almost certain to be a lengthy political and legal battle between Democrats and Republicans over the report.

"This includes, but is not limited to, all summaries, exhibits, indices, tables of contents or other tables or figures, appendices, supplements, addenda or any other attachments whether written or attached in a separate electronic format," the subpoena says.

Nadler's push comes a day after a redacted version of the report was made public. The White House has hailed the report, which found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in 2016, as a victory.

But Democrats have pointed to Mueller's review of 10 instances where Trump may be considered to have obstructed justice -- although the special counsel did not conclude that Trump committed a crime -- as well as other details in the report as justification for Congress to see the full report, and for Mueller to testify to Congress.

Nadler and other Democrats have been particularly opposed to Attorney General William Barr's decision to release a redacted version of the report to Congress. Barr said that he, along with special counsel, identified four areas of the report that needed redactions, including grand jury material, information the intelligence community believes would reveal intelligence sources and methods, any material that could interfere with ongoing prosecutions, and information that could implicate the privacy or reputational interests of “peripheral players.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN GOES ON POST-MUELLER ATTACK AGAINST 'OBAMA-ERA DOJ AND FBI,' WARNS 'JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED'

But Nadler has claimed that the committee needs to see the full report, as well as the underlying evidence, in order to determine any further action they may choose to take against the president or his associates.

"My Committee needs and is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence consistent with past practice," he said in a statement. "The redactions appear to be significant. We have so far seen none of the actual evidence that the Special Counsel developed to make this case. Even the redacted version of the report outlines serious instances of wrongdoing by President Trump and some of his closest associates. It now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of the alleged misconduct and to decide what steps we must take going forward."

Nadler is requesting the information on May 1, a day before Barr is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee. If the Justice Department doesn't respond, Democrats could hold officials in contempt of Congress or fight it out in court. Nadler's committee also holds the power to launch impeachment proceedings, something that a number of House Democrats and 2020 presidential hopefuls have indicated they may support.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Republicans immediately pushed back on Nadler's demand. Ranking Member Doug Collins, R-Ga., accused him of "rushing to subpoena material" and of disregarding "good faith transparency without even taking the department up on its offer to review material under the redactions."

"As a result, today's subpoena is wildly overbroad," he said. "It commands the department to provide Congress with millions of records that would be plainly against the law to share because the vast majority of these documents came as a result of nearly 2,800 subpoenas from a grand jury that is still ongoing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> The Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee has approved subpoenas to get the full, unedited report and other evidence related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The committee voted 24-17 along party lines on April 3 to authorize Chairman Jerrold Nadler to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report.

Included in the subpoenas would be any underlying evidence or materials prepared for the investigation by the special counsel.

The action also authorized Nadler to subpoena documents and testimony from five former Trump aides, including ex-political adviser Steve Bannon and former White House Counsel Donald McGahn.

Democrats in the House had given Attorney General William Barr until April 2 to provide the full report to Congress.

The Justice Department did not meet the deadline. Barr told Nadler that an edited version of the 300-page report would be provided in mid-April, "if not sooner."

Democrats have expressed concerns that Barr, recently appointed by President Donald Trump, would use redactions to cover up any evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

"The Trump administration has an idea. They want to redact the Mueller report before they provide it to Congress," Nadler said.

Mueller officially closed his investigation when he submitted the report on March 22. Barr then sent a four-page letter to Congress, detailing Mueller's "principal conclusions."

Barr wrote that the special counsel did not find that the Trump presidential campaign coordinated or conspired with Russia to win the election and did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on Friday rejected Attorney General William Barr’s proposal to allow them access to a less-redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report.

In an April 19 letter to the attorney general, six Democratic lawmakers led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer instead reiterated their demand for Barr to release the unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence to Congress. But they also said they were open to discussing a “reasonable accommodation” with the Justice Department.

The letter was also signed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, top Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein and top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat Mark Warner.

“Your proposed accommodation - which among other things would prohibit discussion of the full report, even with other committee members - is not acceptable,” the Democrats wrote.

The lawmakers said access to the full Mueller report and underlying evidence is necessary for Congress to fulfill its “constitutional responsibilities”.

“This includes considering whether legislation is needed in light of the findings contained in Special Counsel Mueller’s report and the attorney general’s determination that no prosecution is warranted despite those facts,” the letter said.

Also on Friday, Nadler issued a subpoena to obtain the full report. </s> Attorney General William Barr headed back into the office Sunday as the Justice Department works through the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election meddling — and possible ties between President Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin.

Mueller delivered his long-awaited report to Barr late Friday and announced that his office will not seek additional indictments in the case, which has cast a cloud over the first two years of Trump’s administration.

Barr will decide how much of the report the public and Congress will see and could make his first findings available as soon as today.

He spent more than nine hours in the office on Saturday before returning there Sunday.

Top Democrats demanded this weekend that the entire report be released — save for redactions made to protect national security — and reiterated Sunday they are ready to subpoena the report, underlying information and administration officials to ascertain its contents if it is not.

“If that is the case, and they can’t hold him accountable, the only institution that can hold a president accountable is Congress, and Congress, therefore, needs the evidence and information,” New York City Rep. Jerry Nadler said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Nadler is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has the power to issue subpoenas.

“I suspect that we’ll find those words of transparency to prove hollow, that in fact they will fight to make sure that Congress doesn’t get this underlying evidence,” Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler issues a subpoena to the Justice Department for, by May 1, the full, unredacted version of the Mueller Report, and for the underlying grand jury evidence and testimony. Attorney General William Barr's offer to allow committee members a chance to view a less-redacted version of the report does not meet the committee's needs and was not accepted.