MUELLER REPORT | Trump says foes did 'treasonous things’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday accused those responsible for launching the special counsel investigation of “treasonous things” and said they “will certainly be looked at.”

Trump did not specify who he was referring to, but told reporters, “There are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, very bad things. I would say treasonous things against our country.” He added, “I’ve been looking at them for a long time.”

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, are demanding a full look at special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings and dismissing Attorney General William Barr’s Sunday summary as incomplete, at best, and biased, at worst.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats have seized on a line in Barr’s summary that says Mueller’s report “does not exonerate” Trump on obstruction of justice — even though Barr concluded the evidence of obstruction was insufficient to find Trump committed a crime. Barr said Mueller did conclude that Trump’s campaign did not collude with Russia to swing the 2016 presidential campaign in his favor.

On Monday, a leading Republican senator previewed his party’s strategy, defending Barr’s decision and vowing to “unpack the other side of the story” of the Russia investigation.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Senate Judiciary chairman who spent the weekend with Trump in Florida, said his committee will investigate the actions of the Justice Department in the Russia investigation, including the FBI’s use of a dossier compiled by British spy Christopher Steele.

Graham’s comments echoed Trump’s own complaints Sunday in which he compared the probe to a failed coup and said those behind it should be held responsible.

Congressional Democrats are not giving up their quest for more information.

“The fact that Special Counsel Mueller’s report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement. “Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.”

Given the report, Democrats seemed more likely to focus on their ongoing investigations, calls for transparency and frustrations with Barr, rather than engaging with the talk of impeachment that has been amplified on Pelosi’s left flank. As the release of Mueller’s report loomed, Pelosi recently tried to scuttle that talk by saying she’s not for impeachment, for now.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who would lead any impeachment effort, said he would call Barr to testify soon “in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department.”