Dem House chairs: Mueller report 'does not exonerate the president'

Six top House Democrats blasted Attorney General William BarrWilliam Pelham BarrHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report DOJ plans to release ‘lightly redacted’ version of Mueller report Thursday: WaPo Nadler accuses Barr of ‘unprecedented steps’ to ‘spin’ Mueller report MORE on Thursday evening while maintaining that special counsel Robert MuellerRobert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE‘s report on his nearly two-year investigation “does not exonerate” President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report DOJ plans to release ‘lightly redacted’ version of Mueller report Thursday: WaPo Nadler accuses Barr of ‘unprecedented steps’ to ‘spin’ Mueller report MORE.

In a joint statement, Democratic Reps. Jerrold NadlerJerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerNadler wants ‘the boss of everybody’ Stephen Miller to testify before Congress Giuliani slams Nadler for ‘diarrhea of the mouth,’ ‘lack of judiciousness’ Grand jury material becomes key battle-line in Mueller report fight MORE (N.Y.), Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report Dems attack Barr’s credibility after report of White House briefings on Mueller findings Congress won’t get Mueller report until after Barr press conference MORE (Calif.), Maxine WatersMaxine Moore WatersHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report On The Money — Presented by Job Creators Network — Treasury misses Dem deadline on Trump tax returns | Senate GOP opposition to Cain grows | Dems challenge bank CEOs on post-crisis reforms Ocasio-Cortez grills bankers on if more should have gone to jail for financial crisis MORE (Calif.), Richard NealRichard Edmund NealDems, Trump harden 2020 battle lines on Tax Day On The Money: Five things to watch on first Tax Day under Trump’s law | Trump lawyer disputes Dem reasons for requesting tax returns | Trump struggles to reshape Fed Trump lawyer disputes Dem rationale for requesting tax returns MORE (Mass.), Elijah CummingsElijah Eugene CummingsHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report DOJ plans to release ‘lightly redacted’ version of Mueller report Thursday: WaPo Dems attack Barr’s credibility after report of White House briefings on Mueller findings MORE (Md.) and Eliot EngelEliot Lance EngelHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report Dems say Pompeo won’t allow briefing by Trump’s Afghan envoy Tensions between the United States and Russia over Venezuela increase MORE (N.Y.) condemned what they said was a “damning portrait of lies” that could amount to obstruction of justice committed by the president.

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“Taken as a whole, Mueller’s report paints a damning portrait of lies that appear to have materially impaired the investigation, a body of evidence of improper contacts with a foreign adversary, and serious allegations about how President Trump sought to obstruct a legitimate, and deeply important, counterintelligence investigation,” the committee chairs wrote.

“We are profoundly troubled by the astonishing efforts by President Trump identified in the report to obstruct the investigation, including his attempts to remove the Special Counsel and encourage witnesses to lie and to destroy or conceal evidence,” the lawmakers continued.

Nadler, Schiff, Waters, Neal, Cummings and Engel serve as chairs of the House Judiciary, Intelligence, Financial Services, Ways and Means, Oversight and Reform and Foreign Affairs panels, respectively.

Democrats have accused Barr of misrepresenting Mueller’s findings, citing sections of the report that state Congress should be allowed to decide whether to investigate a sitting president for “corrupt” uses of presidential power.

“With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice,” Mueller wrote.

Barr wrote in a four-page summary of the report sent to Congress last month that Mueller had left the determination of whether to prosecute Trump for obstruction up to the attorney general. Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod RosensteinRod Jay RosensteinHouse Dems demand Barr cancel ‘inappropriate’ press conference on Mueller report Mueller won’t attend Barr press conference on report Schumer slams Justice Dept over ‘pre-damage control’ on Mueller report MORE decided there was not enough evidence to pursue an obstruction charge.

Democrats have criticized Barr and Rosenstein’s decision not to pursue prosecution of the president for obstruction of justice, arguing that actions taken by the president, including the firing of former FBI Director James ComeyJames Brien ComeyWashington in frenzy over release of Mueller report Ten post-Mueller questions that could turn the tables on Russia collusion investigators GOP senators double down on demand for Clinton email probe documents MORE, amounted to such a crime.