Washington: Top congressional Democrats said on Sunday it was ‘urgent’ that the full report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election be publicly released, stressing it does not exonerate Donald Trump.
The president was quick to claim vindication by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report findings which, according to a summary by Attorney General Bill Barr, found that no Trump campaign official was involved in Russian conspiracies to interfere in the 2016 US election.
Such a conclusion would no doubt blunt a key weapon for Democrats desperate to oust Trump in 2020. But with the report declining to determine whether there was obstruction of justice by the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer escalated their demands for the full document's release.
“The fact that Special Counsel (Robert) Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay,” the Democratic pair said in a joint statement.
They also said Barr, nominated just months ago by Trump, is ‘not a neutral observer.’ The two Democrats also said Trump's declaration that the report is a complete exoneration of the president ‘directly contradicts the words of Mr Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility.’
