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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 KlobucharLobbying world New small business coalition to urge action on antitrust policy Bottom line 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 BarrBoehner: Trump 'stepped all over their loyalty' by lying to followers Dominion: Ex-Michigan state senator 'sowing discord in our democracy' with election fraud claims Hunter Biden says he doesn't know if Delaware laptop was his 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 GrahamMSNBC's Joy Reid pans Manchin, Sinema as the 'no progress caucus' Overnight Defense: Biden proposes 3B defense budget | Criticism comes in from left and right | Pentagon moves toward new screening for extremists Biden defense budget criticized by Republicans, progressives alike MORE (R-S.C.) also blocked it earlier this month because Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerNY Times beclowns itself by normalizing court-packing 'to balance the conservative majority' The first Southern state legalizes marijuana — what it means nationally H.R. 1/S. 1: Democrats defend their majorities, not honest elections 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 ClintonClose the avenues of foreign meddling Pelosi planned on retiring until Trump won election: report Pence autobiography coming from Simon & Schuster 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 Clapper140 national security leaders call for 9/11-style panel to review Jan. 6 attack The biggest example of media malfeasance in 2020 is... Meet Biden's pick to lead the US intelligence community 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