Democrats see Mueller report as a roadmap

WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats on Thursday claimed ownership of the obstruction of justice investigation into President Donald Trump, vowing to pick up the inquiry where special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’S report left off.

“It was probably written with the intent of providing Congress a roadmap,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

Attorney General William Barr on Thursday released a redacted version of the 448-page report, marking the end of the Justice Department’s two-year investigation and the start of a new chapter, this one controlled entirely by Trump’s political opponents in Congress.

Democrats lambasted Barr’s redactions of the report and particularly a four-page summary he released last month. They said Barr – acting to protect the president who appointed him – masked key findings in the fuller report, omitted evidence of potential obstruction and improperly concluded that the president did not illegally interfere with the investigation into whether his campaign conspired in Russia’s 2016 election meddling.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-calif., and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said Barr’s “slanted March 24th summary letter, his irresponsible testimony before Congress” and the fact that he held a news conference Thursday morning before the report was released “have resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality.”