House Democrats give Barr deadline for access to Mueller report

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has given Attorney General William Barr one last shot to accommodate lawmakers seeking access to a more complete version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report before beginning contempt proceedings.

In a letter Friday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., gave Barr until Monday to respond to his request that the Justice Department allow more lawmakers the chance to read the fuller report as well as turn over investigative material underlying the report. Barr had released a redacted version of the report on April 18.

Earlier this week, citing a “compelling need to protect the autonomy and effectiveness of its investigations,” the department said it was “unable to provide” Mueller’s investigative files in response to a committee subpoena.

“The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department,” Nadler wrote. “But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.”

The letter is the latest salvo in a widening war between the White House and congressional Democrats, who are seeking to have Mueller and former White House counsel Donald McGahn testify. On Thursday, Barr snubbed Nadler’s committee, failing to show for a scheduled hearing after he disagreed with the panel’s format.

Last month, the Justice Department offered to make a less-redacted version of the 448-page Mueller report available to select members of the House and Senate – the chairmen and ranking members of the two chambers’ Intelligence committees, the leaders and minority leaders of the House and Senate, and the chairmen and ranking members of each chamber’s Judiciary panels. That’s a total of 12 lawmakers, with one staff member each.

Top Senate and House Democrats rejected the offer, saying it would not permit them to discuss the report with other lawmakers who have top security clearances, and prevent them from carrying out an effective congressional investigation.

“In order for Congress to fulfill its functions as intended by the Constitution, it must operate as a coequal and coordinate branch of government,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a letter to Barr last month.

In his letter to Barr, Nadler said the Justice Department “has never explained why it is willing to allow only a small number of members to view a less-redacted version of the report, subject to the condition that they cannot discuss what they have seen with anyone else.”

The department in its April 18 offer made by Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd suggested it was because of the “sensitive nature of the information.”

The House Judiciary Committee also wants the department to seek a court order to permit disclosure to Congress of grand jury material.

Meanwhile, Nadler’s committee is working to secure Mueller’s testimony later this month. “We’re still firming things up, but we’re still on target” for an appearance by May 23, a committee aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss private deliberations.

Talks are also ongoing with McGahn’s lawyer over his appearance. The committee Democrats have requested that he turn over by Tuesday documents that he submitted to the special counsel. Those records are in the possession of his lawyer.