“This Is a Disgrace”: 2020 Dems Demand the Unredacted Mueller Report

Bill Barr has become the newest campaign issue.

Mother Jones; Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP; Getty

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It didn’t take long for Robert Mueller’s report on contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia to become an issue in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. More than a dozen declared and potential White House hopefuls quickly weighed in on Twitter, with several prominent candidates blasting the Justice Department for including so many redactions:

Democrats directed much of their fire at Attorney General William Barr, who held a widely criticized press conference before the redacted report’s release Thursday morning, during which he repeatedly said there had been “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller, who has not commented publicly on his office’s work beyond court filings and the occasional blunt email from his spokesman, is not likely to keep quiet for much longer. Rep. Jarrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday he plans to “subpoena for the full report and the underlying materials” while also requesting that Mueller testify no later than May 23. On Twitter, several Democratic contenders echoed the call for Mueller to address lawmakers.

The candidates also used the occasion to urge supporters to sign petitions calling for the release of the unredacted report and for Barr’s resignation.

Cory 2020

But one undeclared candidate simply held his tongue.


Listen to our DC bureau chief David Corn discuss Mueller’s findings on this special breaking news edition of the Mother Jones Podcast:

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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