Investigators in the House are focused on questioning why Attorney General William P. Barr decided that Trump should not face obstruction of justice charges.
By Rachael Bade and Rachael Bade Congressional reporter Email Bio Follow Karoun Demirjian Karoun Demirjian Congressional reporter focusing on national security Email Bio Follow March 25 at 6:54 PM Many Democrats conceded Monday that the possibility of impeachment proceedings against President Trump is over, at least for now — marking a dramatic retreat in the wake of the conclusion by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III that Trump’s campaign did not conspire with Russia in the 2016 election.
In addition to growing skepticism among House Democrats, two key centrist Republican senators, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney , also said Monday that any talk of impeachment should now be off the table with the delivery of Mueller’s Russia report. The decision to focus on Barr is a conscious one, Democrats said. During a Sunday afternoon phone call with Pelosi and House committee chairmen, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler argued that Barr, rather than Mueller, should be their most immediate target in the aftermath of the Russia probe’s conclusions.
But Mueller’s findings have called those allegations — and claims of evidence — into question. Barr’s summary repeatedly stated that Mueller had not determined that Trump or any of his subordinates coordinated or collaborated with Russian officials to sway the 2016 election. “Our probe in intelligence is much broader than the scope of what special counsel Mueller had to deal with,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi , arguing that he did not believe Mueller focused on all the counterintelligence the House panel is trying to scrutinize.
Given Pelosi’s precondition of bipartisan support for impeachment proceedings, Mueller’s findings have made that a moot point. Some of Trump’s staunchest critics among congressional Republicans said Monday that they consider the Russia matter closed as a line of inquiry that would lead to anything close to impeachment.
Collins said she wants to know more about the obstruction issues but said Mueller is “so experienced and he conducted such an extensive, in-depth investigation” that his inconclusive finding spoke for itself.
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