Trump news: Congress votes to subpoena full Mueller report from attorney-general, as senior Republicans turn on president's 'catastrophic' border closure plan
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Your support makes all the difference.The House Judiciary Committee approved subpoenas Wednesday for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full Russia report as Democrats pressure the Justice Department to release the document without redactions.
The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report, its exhibits and any underlying evidence or materials prepared for the investigation.
Mr Nadler has not yet said if he’ll send the subpoenas, which would be the first step in a potentially long fight with the Justice Department over the materials.
The Judiciary panel also voted Wednesday to authorise subpoenas related to five of Donald Trump’s former top advisers, stepping up a separate, wide-ranging investigation into Trump and his personal and political dealings.
The vote further escalates the Democrats’ battle with the Justice Department over how much of the report they will be able to see, a fight that could eventually head to court if the two sides can’t settle their differences through negotiation. Democrats have said they will not accept redactions and want to see the evidence unfiltered by Mr Barr.
In the letter last week, Mr Barr said he is scrubbing the report to avoid disclosing any grand jury information or classified material, in addition to portions of the report that pertain to ongoing investigations or that “would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.”
Democrats say they want access to all of that information, even if some of it can’t be disclosed to the public. Nadler said he will give Mr Barr time to change his mind on redactions, but if they cannot reach an agreement they will issue the subpoenas “in very short order.” He also said he is prepared to go to court to get the grand jury information.
Mr Trump is meanwhile being urged not to follow through on his threat to close the US border with Mexico as senior Republicans warn of the cost of prioritising security over trade and scramble for alternatives to tackling the illegal immigration “crisis”.
“Closing down the border would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country and I would hope we would not be doing that sort of thing,” said Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, a quote the president has since attacked The New York Times for publishing on Twitter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load.
"Enough is enough, let's move on", says Louie Gohmert, another Texas Republican. He's clearly tired. He's just called the Obama administration Orwellian, for some reason.
Arizona Republican Debbie Lesko says what Nadler and his fellow Democrats are asking of William Barr is "criminal" without a court order.
Again urges the House to move on from the "circus" of its pursuit of the president. She says its all about the 2020 race.
Trump loyalist Jim Jordan says the only reason the House Judiciary Committee is meeting today is because the Mueller report did not end the way the Democrats would have preferred it to and because Nadler's issue of 81 subpoenas requesting documents from Trump's inner circle three works ago yielded no new evidence.
Florida's Matt Gaetz, another Trump fan boy, adds this hearing is the "death rattle" of the Democratic Party. His lime green tie is the real offence if you ask me.
The committee has voted down the Buck Amendment, which would have stopped Nadler from demanding grand jury information.
The House Judiciary Committee has voted 24-17 in favour of chairman Jerrold Nadler's resolution to issue a subpoena to attorney-general William Barr, ordering him to turn over the Mueller report in full.
They will also issue subpoenas for underlying records and records to five former Trump employees.
It won't happen immediately, however.
Jerry Nadler uncompromising on his way out of the Rayburn Office Building.
A little more than a month before Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen is due to go to jail, he's apparently turned up more information on the president that he says could be of interest to federal prosecutors.
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, responsible for comparing the Democratic Party to a dying human being breathing their last in the House Judiciary Committee just now, earlier in the day said this on LGBTQ+ rights.
He was last heard from threatening Michael Cohen ahead of his Oversight Committee testimony in late February, tweeting and then deleting the following:
"Hey @MichaelCohen212. Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot..."
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