April 18, 2019

“This Is a Disgrace”: 2020 Dems Demand the Unredacted Mueller Report

Bill Barr has become the newest campaign issue.

Mother Jones; Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP; Getty

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It didn’t take long for Robert Mueller’s report on contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia to become an issue in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. More than a dozen declared and potential White House hopefuls quickly weighed in on Twitter, with several prominent candidates blasting the Justice Department for including so many redactions:

Democrats directed much of their fire at Attorney General William Barr, who held a widely criticized press conference before the redacted report’s release Thursday morning, during which he repeatedly said there had been “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller, who has not commented publicly on his office’s work beyond court filings and the occasional blunt email from his spokesman, is not likely to keep quiet for much longer. Rep. Jarrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday he plans to “subpoena for the full report and the underlying materials” while also requesting that Mueller testify no later than May 23. On Twitter, several Democratic contenders echoed the call for Mueller to address lawmakers.

The candidates also used the occasion to urge supporters to sign petitions calling for the release of the unredacted report and for Barr’s resignation.

Cory 2020

But one undeclared candidate simply held his tongue.

Listen to our DC bureau chief David Corn discuss Mueller’s findings on this special breaking news edition of the Mother Jones Podcast:

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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