Durbin: Bring Mueller to Congress to testify on report
It's time to let Robert Mueller speak, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said, after the release of the special counsel's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election Thursday.
The former FBI chief's "detailed and sobering report" about contacts between Donald Trump's campaign and the Russians and efforts to impede the Mueller investigation requires a vetting in Congress, said Durbin, a member of the Judiciary Committee.
The president said the report exonerated him, and Attorney General William Barr said it showed no conspiracy with Russia.
"There was a false narrative," Trump said. "It was a terrible thing. We can never let this happen to another president again."
Durbin contended the redacted report's findings "paint a very different picture" from Republican accounts.
It is "imperative" Mueller testify before the Senate and House judiciary committees, said Durbin, of Springfield.
"The American people must have full transparency to draw their own conclusions," he said.
Democratic Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Mike Quigley of Chicago both serve on the House Intelligence Committee, where Mueller is expected to testify in the coming weeks.
"We must consider whether simply not committing a criminal act is the standard we want to set for the president of the United States," Quigley said. "An action - or in this case, a series of actions - does not have to be a crime to be unethical or corrupt."
Krishnamoorthi was troubled by the "'sweeping and systematic fashion'" Russians interfered in the 2016 election, as described by Mueller.
"Russian military officers were tasked with hacking the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Here in Illinois, they hacked into the Illinois State Board of Elections database," Krishnamoorthi said.
"It's really a call for action for us. What are we going to do about this so we aren't susceptible to Russian influence in 2020?"