Democrats said Friday they will refuse to look at the “less-redacted” version of the special counsel’s report the Justice Department has offered them.
All six Democrats who were to be in the special group with access to less-redacted report said they won’t look at it.
They’re holding out for their demand to see the 448-page report in its entirety, including secret grand jury information.
“Given the comprehensive factual findings presented by the special counsel’s Report, some of which will only be fully understood with access to the redacted material, we cannot agree to the conditions you are placing on our access to the full report. Nor can we agree to an arrangement that does not include a mechanism for ensuring access to grand jury material,” the lawmakers said in the letter, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer.
The fight over access to the report has quickly turned into a major constitutional battle.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued a subpoena Friday morning demanding the full document be produced to Congress.
Attorney General William Barr had said Mr. Nadler and a small group of other lawmakers would be granted access in secret to a broader version of the report, but he has resisted allowing Congress being able to see information obtained through a grand jury, which under law is supposed to be kept secret.
Democrats say they don’t trust Mr. Barr, saying his earlier summary of the special counsel’s findings has been undercut by the redacted report, released Thursday, which details a number of questionable actions by President Trump.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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