Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we have now had a day where the Attorney General testified before the Judiciary Committee, and many issues are not resolved because there are great discrepancies based on Mr. Mueller's letter that has been made public--two letters, in fact, that have been made public between what Mr. Barr has been saying and what Mr. Mueller believes.

The cloud that hangs over our country because of Russian interference in our elections--and, frankly, that hangs over the President because of the actions Mr. Mueller outlined in his report--remains. There is a great need to clear all of that up and to clear all of it up with no ands, ifs, or buts.

I was shocked when I heard the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, my friend and colleague whom I have traveled with, Lindsey Graham, come out of the hearing and say that he was not going to call Mueller for a hearing. The fact that he on his own, despite the desires of many other members of the committee, would simply say that Mueller is not going to testify was so outrageous and wrong. So I went to my colleague here on the floor--my friend Lindsey Graham. I said to him: How can you do this? This is outrageous.

He said: I am just going to ask Mr. Mueller in a letter if Barr said anything misleading or inaccurate but not have the hearing.

I was appalled.

Now I see on a tweet by a reporter, Emma Dumain, that Lindsey Graham has slightly modified what he has said. He said that if Mueller tells Graham in the letter that Barr said anything misleading or inaccurate today, he would have the hearing. That is not good enough. That is a game. He should not put the onus on Mr. Mueller, a straight arrow, somebody who believes in a chain of command, to publicly state that in a letter.

Mueller should come testify--no ands, ifs, or buts. Mueller should come testify--no games as to what he answers in a letter.

What are our colleagues so afraid of on the other side of the aisle? Are they afraid Mueller might say things that are different than what Attorney General Barr said? Are they afraid for the country to discuss the kinds of things the President has done, which nobody much seems to like? Are they afraid that we talk about foreign interference in our elections?

I would plead with my colleague Lindsey Graham to reconsider. I would plead with my colleague Lindsey Graham to say: Mueller is coming; no ands, ifs, or buts so we can question him, including our side of the aisle. That is what Congressional oversight is about. It is not about the chairman of the Judiciary Committee deciding what should be heard and what should not be heard. That is not the job of the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, no matter who he or she is.

Special Counsel Mueller just concluded one of the most important investigations in our Nation's history. The Senate and the American people have a right to hear from the special counsel directly about the threat of foreign interference in our elections and, yes, the conduct of the President. It is one of the biggest takeaways from the hearing; that we need the special counsel here to testify, to clarify the discrepancies between what he and the Attorney General are saying. We don't need a letter. We don't need conditions. That seems like a game, a dodge, a ruse, a way to prevent Mr. Mueller from testifying.

In my view, Attorney General Barr routinely mischaracterizes the special counsel's words, his intentions, his reasoning. We know, from the special counsel's letter that was publicly released, that to be true. It is likely that Attorney General Barr did so again in the hearings. We need to hear from the special counsel himself to sort this out and get the truth, not at the discretion of the Judiciary Committee chairman but because America, our system of government, our rule of law, demands it.

Congress has always had, from the days of the Founding Fathers, a duty to provide oversight for the executive branch. Just because one party doesn't feel like doing it because the President is from the same party doesn't measure up to the grandness of our Constitution.

My dear friend from South Carolina, please rethink your position. Back off of this idea that Mueller shouldn't testify or should only testify if he meets certain conditions only set by you and call Special Counsel Mueller in to testify.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source