Top Democrats signaled Sunday they’ll do what it takes to draw every bit of information about the Russia meddling probe out of special counsel Robert Mueller and Attorney General William Barr.
They may even haul them before Congress.
“I think that certainly is a possibility,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told CBS’s Face the Nation. “But let’s take the first step in terms of the full disclosure of the report and the underlying documentation.”
As it stands, Mr. Barr is reviewing the report on Russian meddling that Mr. Mueller filed late Friday.
The White House and Congress hadn’t been briefed on the findings as of mid-Sunday, though Democrats are demanding transparency.
Mr. Jeffries said he understands that sources and methods must be protected. But beyond that, he wants full disclosure.
“We don’t want to see simply crib notes, we don’t want to see an outline, we don’t want to see an executive summary,” he said. “We need to see everything, so that the American people can draw conclusions on their own.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said they will take an incremental approach to their request for underlying evidence.
If their request is denied, they will issue a subpoena, he told ABC’s This Week.
“If subpoenas are denied, we will haul people before the Congress,” he said. “And yes, we will prosecute in court as necessary to get this information.”
Mr. Jeffries, of New York, downplayed talk of impeachment but said the information will help Congress pick from a series of labels — some of them stark and colorful — for the president.
“The American people deserve to know whether Donald Trump is either a), a legitimate president, b), Russian asset, c), the functional equivalent of an organized crime boss or d), just a useful idiot who happens to have been victimized by the greatest collection of coincidences in the history of the republic,” Mr. Jeffries said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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