1 of 3 | Protesters chant during a rally to demand to release the full report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Report in front of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI |
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April 4 (UPI) -- Thousands of people gathered for a National Day of Action to call for the release of the Justice Department's full Russia investigation report Thursday.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-Calif., chairman of the House judiciary committee, spoke to a crowd at a rally in Washington, D.C., one of more than 300 being held in cities throughout the country. The rallies called for U.S. Attorney General William Barr to release an unedited version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.
"This is a matter of law and it is a matter of justice," Nadler said. "We need a full accounting of the president's actions, not only to determine what this president has done, but also because one way or another one day the country will move on from President [Donald] Trump and we need to make sure that no future president feels as empowered as President Trump does to abuse the power of the presidency, to attack the nature of our Democratic institutions and to endanger our democracy."
A coalition of activist groups, including Stand Up America, MoveOn.org, Indivisible and Public Citizen, organized the protests throughout the country through TrumpIsNotAboveTheLaw.org.
Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller's conclusions last month but it left some wanting the full, 400-page report about what was found during the two-year investigation. The summary said investigators found no evidence to indicate collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia but it did not clear the president of obstructing justice.
Congressional Democrats gave Barr a deadline of April 2 to release the full version, but the attorney general has released no report. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Justice Department officials have said a redacted version, minus potentially sensitive information, will be released in the next few weeks.
"Trump's hand-picked attorney general, William Barr, missed the deadline set by Congress to release the full Mueller report. We are calling for a National Day of Action on Thursday, April 4, to demand that Barr #ReleaseTheReport," the organizers' website states. "Barr has offered an alternate timeline for a redacted version of the report-but we deserve the full report and congressional leaders and the American people expect it now."
The judiciary committee voted 24-17 Wednesday to authorize a subpoena for Mueller's full report, despite objections from Republicans that doing so could compromise national security.
"The department is wrong to try to withhold that information from this committee. Congress is entitled to all of the evidence. This isn't just my opinion. It is also a matter of law," Nadler said in a statement, adding that he will allow Barr time to voluntarily turn over the full report before issuing the subpoena.
He added that Congress has reason " to suspect this administration's motives" and said the Mueller report likely isn't a total exoneration of Trump, as the president has boasted.
