WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Members of the House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to authorize issuing a subpoena to obtain special counsel Robert Mueller's full report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and alleged collusion with President Donald Trump's campaign
The Democratic-controlled committee voted 24 to 17 in favor of authorizing the subpoena, with the vote coming down strictly along party lines.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., noted the subpoena will not be issued immediately and that Attorney General William Barr will be given time to turn over the full report.
'But if we cannot reach an accommodation, then we will have no choice but to issue subpoenas for these materials,' Nadler said.
Barr has offered to provide a redacted version of the report by mid-April, while Democrats had called for the full report to be released by April 2.
Nadler argued the committee has reason to suspect the Trump administration's motives in redacting sensitive information contained in the report.
'The Mueller report probably isn't the 'total exoneration' the President claims it to be,' Nadler said. 'And, in any event, this Committee has a job to do. The Constitution charges Congress with holding the President accountable for alleged official misconduct.'
He added, 'That job requires us to evaluate the evidence for ourselves-not the Attorney General's summary, not a substantially redacted synopsis, but the full report and the underlying evidence.'
Democrats have repeatedly asked for the full Mueller report to be released after Barr's summary said the investigation found no collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign and the evidence did not support an obstruction of justice charge against the president.
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