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Rand Paul blocks resolution calling for Mueller report release

By Jordain Carney - 03/28/19 01:43 PM EDT
 
 
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Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharDurbin signals he isn't interested in chairing Judiciary Committee Democrats seem unlikely to move against Feinstein Senate Democrats call for ramped up Capitol coronavirus testing MORE (D-Minn.), who is one of several Democratic senators running for president, tried to get unanimous consent for the Senate to pass the resolution, which cleared the House in a 420-0 vote earlier this month. 

"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. 
 
 
"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 BarrTrump and advisers considering firing FBI director after election: WaPo Steele dossier source insists he is not Russian agent: 'It's slander' Voting rights group files suit against Trump, administration officials alleging voter intimidation 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 GrahamHillicon Valley: Threatening emails raise election concerns | Quibi folds after raising nearly B | Trump signs law making it a crime to hack voting systems Trump signs legislation making hacking voting systems a federal crime Jaime Harrison on Lindsey Graham postponing debate: 'He's on the verge of getting that one-way ticket back home' MORE (R-S.C.) also blocked it earlier this month because Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerTrump casts doubt on hopes for quick stimulus deal after aides expressed optimism Schumer says he had 'serious talk' with Feinstein, declines to comment on Judiciary role Democrats seem unlikely to move against Feinstein 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 ClintonJudge rules to not release Russia probe documents over Trump tweets Trump and advisers considering firing FBI director after election: WaPo Obama to campaign for Biden in Florida 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 ClapperWhy the Nobel Prize shows the US and China need to work together on gene editing Trump suggests Gold Star families could have infected him Overnight Defense: Two ISIS 'Beatles' indicted in US | Army Reserve investigating North Carolina Senate candidate | National Guard units on standby in case of unrest 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