Do You Support a Bill Requiring the Special Counsel Report Be Made Public?

What’s the story?

• A bipartisan pair of senators have introduced legislation that if enacted would require special counsel Robert Mueller to provide a summary of his findings to Congress and the public once his Russia probe ends.
• Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) - both members of the Judiciary Committee – introduced the legislation Monday which would remove the decision from the attorney general of whether or not to release the report.

What are both sides saying?

• “A Special Counsel is appointed only in very rare serious circumstances involving grave violations of public trust. The public has a right and need to know the facts of such betrayals of public trust," Blumenthal said in a statement. 
• Grassley added that requiring a public report would provide "oversight of and insight into activities" of a special counsel probe.
• Grassley continued that he was “encouraged to hear attorney general nominee William Barr place a high priority on transparency when asked at his confirmation hearing about Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, and there’s no reason to think that Mueller won’t be allowed to finish his work.”
• Barr had said during his hearing that it was his “intent” to release as much information as he could about Mueller’s findings, but stopped short of committing to release the report in its entirety.

“My goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can, consistent with the law,” Barr told lawmakers. “I can assure you that, where judgments are to be made, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and I will not let personal, political or other improper interests influence my decision.”

• Rudy Giuliani has argued that the president's legal team should be allowed to “correct” special the final report on possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia before Congress or the American public get to read it.
• “As a matter of fairness, they should show it to you — so we can correct it if they’re wrong,” Giuliani, a member of Trump’s legal team, told The Hill. “They’re not God, after all. They could be wrong.”

What do you think?

Should the Mueller report be made public? Should the president be allowed to “correct” Mueller’s report before its released to the public? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr)