DPCC Co-Chair Lieu: The American People Have a Right to See the Mueller Report
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Ted Lieu, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on MSNBC to call for Special Counsel Mueller's Report to be made public. Congressman Lieu emphasized the need for transparency and how House Democrats will continue their investigations into the Trump Administration. Below are excerpts from the interview. Click here to watch the video.
"Thank you, Alex, for your question. Let me first say that the American people should be proud that this report even exists. Donald Trump tried on numerous occasions to block this investigation. The fact that Robert Mueller was able to complete it on his own terms I think shows the strength and vitality of our democracy and our institutions. Now this report must be made public. But Special Counsel Mueller's charge was narrow, he was looking at whether there was enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone committed a federal crime mostly related to Russia. Congressional Committees have a much broader charge. We are interested in knowing if Donald Trump, his family or any associates committed any crime and second engage in any ethical misconduct whether or not it rose to the level of crime. Those investigations will continue."
"It's hard to speculate without knowing what the report actually says. This report could exonerate Donald Trump and it could also say he would have indicted him but for the fact he's a sitting President. There is a really large spectrum of possibilities and the White House cannot use executive privilege to shield wrongdoing. We have to see what the report says and I also want to make sure that Attorney General Barr doesn't give a summary that's misleading and he's very aware of that."
"If the report actually says Donald Trump committed a number of crimes and that they can't indict because he's a sitting President it will be up to Congress to hold Donald Trump accountable, which means we have to see the entire report and all of its contents. We can't do our job under the way the framers set up the Constitution without this information."
"That's a great point. It is not surprising to me. In addition we know that Robert Mueller farmed out a lot of criminal matters to other jurisdictions that they're pursuing. It is very possible that the Southern District of New York will hand down additional indictments based on what they find. Again, Robert Mueller's mission was quite narrow. The other offices are interested in knowing, did Donald Trump, his family or associates commit any crime".
"I don't know what Senator Cruz is saying because Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statements basically contradict what Senator Cruz has just said. In the Judiciary Committee, we don't have a record yet. We have interesting reporting, we have interesting news articles. Statements people have made. What we need are to gather documents and interview witnesses under oath, produce a record and then we'll have a conversation with the American people on how to proceed after our investigation is concluded."
"The American people and Congress need to see the entire report. There are two rules in the Department of Justice. One is that you can't indict a sitting President, which I believe is nowhere found in the Constitution by the way. Second, there is a rule that says if you don't indict someone you can't say anything about them. Well, based on that, then we essentially get a one-line summary from the Attorney General. One of those two rules needs to be broken and we'll see what the Attorney General does with the predicament he's in."
"We will be informed by the Special Counsel's investigation, but again our mission is much broader. We are interested in knowing did anyone in the executive branch commit any federal crimes and second, did they engage in any ethical misconduct. Those investigations will keep on going."