Rand Paul blocks resolution calling for Mueller report release

By Jordain Carney - 03/28/19 01:43 PM EDT
 
 
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"We still have not seen the report. I have urged the Department of Justice to release the report, and the administration should not delay in producing the report to Congress," Klobuchar said. 
 
But Paul objected because Klobuchar wouldn't agree to amend the nonbinding resolution to include provisions calling for the public release of communications between several Obama-era officials including former President Obama, former FBI Director James ComeyJames Brien ComeyBolton book sells 780,000 copies in first week, set to surpass 1M copies printed The Seila Law case: Liberty and political firing A new age of lies? MORE and former CIA Director John BrennanJohn Owen BrennanGraham postpones Russia probe subpoena vote as tensions boil over GOP votes to give chairman authority to subpoena Obama officials Rosenstein takes fire from Republicans in heated testimony MORE. 
 
"We need to know was there malfeasance, was there misuse of power, did President Obama's administration get involved in an election to infiltrate the Trump campaign to trap them? … We need to know that," he said. "What we need to discover and we do not yet know: Was President Obama involved?"
 
Under Senate rules, any one senator can request that any bill or resolution be passed. But because it requires the sign-off of every senator, any one senator can also block their request. 
 
Thursday's floor drama marks the fourth time Democrats have tried to pass the House resolution, which argues there is “overwhelming public interest” in the government releasing the contents of the high-profile Mueller report. The resolution calls on the Justice Department to fully release the report to Congress and to release it to the public “except to the extent the public disclosure of any portion thereof is expressly prohibited by law.”
 
Mueller handed over his report to the Justice Department last week, marking the formal end to his two-year investigation. Attorney General William BarrBill BarrDemocrat asks Barr to preserve any records tied to environmental hacking probe Justice Dept. considering replacing outgoing US attorney in Brooklyn with Barr deputy: report Ousted Manhattan US Attorney Berman to testify before House next week MORE sent a four-page letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Sunday and told lawmakers he is currently working with Mueller to determine what should be released. 
 
 
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Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamJaime Harrison seeks to convince Democrats he can take down Lindsey Graham Hillicon Valley: Senate panel advances bill targeting online child sexual abuse | Trump administration awards tech group contract to build 'virtual' wall | Advocacy groups urge Congress to ban facial recognition technologies Senate panel advances bill targeting online child sexual abuse MORE (R-S.C.) also blocked it earlier this month because Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerPublic awareness campaigns will protect the public during COVID-19 Republicans fear backlash over Trump's threatened veto on Confederate names Overnight Defense: House panel votes to ban Confederate flag on all Pentagon property | DOD report says Russia working to speed US withdrawal from Afghanistan | 'Gang of Eight' to get briefing on bounties Thursday MORE (D-N.Y.) refused to amend it to include a provision calling on the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate alleged department misconduct in the handling of the investigation into 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocrats try to turn now into November The Memo: Unhappy voters could deliver political shocks beyond Trump On The Trail: Trump, coronavirus fuel unprecedented voter enthusiasm MORE's email use and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications related to Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
 
Paul had previously warned that he would block the resolution unless information about the opposition research dossier compiled against then-candidate Trump was also released. 
 
"I don't care whether it's a Democrat president or a Republican president, we should not waste the time of the entire country sending spies into campaigns, making false accusations and tying the country in knots for two years," Paul said from the Senate floor on Thursday.
 
"We will agree to see the Mueller report as long as the other side will agree to show us the communications that took place in deciding to promote this fake allegation against the president and whether there was misuse of their office," he continued. "We based this investigation on a lie, we should investigate who the liars were."
 
In addition to asking for information to be publicly released, Paul's amendment would also call for Obama-era CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James ClapperJames Robert ClapperTrump's actions on China speak louder than Bolton's words GOP votes to give Graham broad subpoena power in Obama-era probe Graham postpones Russia probe subpoena vote as tensions boil over MORE to testify under oath, call for any communications from Obama about an investigation into the Trump campaign to be released and for the public release of any communication about the decision not to indict Clinton. 
Tags Hillary Clinton Mitch McConnell Charles Schumer Lindsey Graham Robert Mueller James Clapper Amy Klobuchar William Barr John Brennan James Comey Rand Paul Mueller report Senate Mueller investigation