WASHINGTON (CN) - Following through on an oft-repeated threat, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler subpoenaed the Justice Department on Friday for an unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The subpoena comes nearly a month after Mueller submitted his 448-page report to the Justice Department, and one day after the release of a redacted version fueled concerns that President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice by trying to kill the probe.
"Even the redacted version of the report outlines serious instances of wrongdoing by President Trump and some of his closest associates," said Nadler, a New York Democrat. "It now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of that alleged misconduct and to decide what steps we must take going forward."
The House Judiciary Committee authorized Nadler to issue the subpoena with a vote earlier this month. Attorney General William Barr has said parts of the report must be kept secret to protect ongoing investigations and prosecutions, as well as grand jury material or information that might be harmful to the reputations of people involved in the investigation.
In addition to the full, unredacted report, Nadler is subpoenaing for the evidence that Mueller used to reach his conclusions. The Justice Department has until May 1 to comply with the request.
At a press conference on Thursday, Barr said the White House was able to review the redacted version of the Mueller report before it was released, but did not assert any claims of privilege on information in the document.
Most of the redactions in the report were to the section on Russian efforts to interfere in the election. According to the color-coded markers included on the redactions, much of the information held back in that section would have posed "harm to [an] ongoing matter," presumably the case against a group of alleged Russian hackers and another against those involved in Russia's online activities surrounding the election.
The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment on Nadler's subpoena.
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