Among the committee’s first orders of business expected later this month, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler said, will be legislation to shield the special counsel from unjust termination. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Congress Dems revive push to shield Mueller from firing and make his final report public There's growing Republican support for making Mueller’s findings public.

House Democrats plan to move quickly to protect special counsel Robert Mueller and ensure his findings are made public, in their first move since taking power to confront the White House over the Russia investigation.

Still undetermined, however, is whether Democrats would pass a combined package or one measure to prevent President Donald Trump from firing Mueller and another to ensure the release of his final report, according to lawmakers and aides.


“Which is the best way [to shield Mueller] — I don’t know,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a recent interview.

Among the committee’s first orders of business expected later this month, Nadler said, will be legislation to shield Mueller from unjust termination, an effort that went nowhere in the GOP-controlled House and was blocked by Senate Republicans. Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has long criticized the proposal as a futile, partisan hit job against the president.

But there is growing Republican support for making Mueller’s findings public after Trump declined to commit to doing so over the weekend — and the House will try to force the Senate’s hand.

“I hope they can pass it in the Senate. I don’t know if they can. Sen. McConnell has not been terribly accommodating to such efforts,” said Nadler, whose committee has jurisdiction over the issue.

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Trump has been dogged since the start of the Mueller probe in May 2017 by questions about whether he’d fire the special counsel. The president and his lawyers have denied any interest in making such an explosive move, though a person familiar with the issue told POLITICO that Trump did order Mueller’s firing just a month into the probe and backed down after his White House counsel threatened to quit.

McConnell’s opposition to the protect-Mueller effort is well documented; but last week, when asked about a new Senate bill aiming to guarantee a public disclosure of Mueller’s findings, McConnell said that the Mueller report “ought to be as fully open and transparent, whatever the recommendation, as possible.”

Those comments left Democrats hopeful that McConnell might be amenable to the idea as long as it isn’t tied to the legislation to protect Mueller’s job from a president who continues to rail against a “witch hunt” that has ensnared some of his former close associates.

For that reason, Nadler suggested the House Judiciary Committee could pass two measures, making it more likely that the goal of a public Mueller report would be achieved. Trump would still have to sign such legislation, but passage alone would send an important signal from Congress, proponents argue.

“The report has to be public,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), a member of the Intelligence Committee, said on CNN, noting that Republicans have supported the public release of the panel’s witness interview transcripts.

“The crux, the heart of the report, and the conclusions and the facts and circumstances on which it’s based have to be public so that the public can review it and we have faith in our electoral system,” Turner added. “The public has got to have confidence that this investigation was unimpeded, went to its conclusion.”

Democrats have signaled an urgency to act on the effort, with Nadler and House Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California threatening to issue subpoenas for the information if it’s shielded from them or subjected to political interference within the Justice Department.

On Sunday, Trump would not promise to make the final report public, telling CBS News: “I don't know. It depends. I have no idea what it's going to say.”

Mueller, now in his 20th month on the job, has no deadline. When he does wrap up, he’s required under Justice Department rules only to give the attorney general a confidential report detailing who he prosecuted and who he declined to prosecute. It’s then up to the attorney general to decide what to publicly release. Separately, the attorney general is required to tell Congress of any instances in which DOJ leaders overruled Mueller on any major decisions.

During his confirmation hearings last month, William Barr, Trump’s attorney general nominee, did not commit to a full public disclosure. Meanwhile, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said last week that the Mueller probe was “close to being completed,” but Democrats dismissed that claim.

Nadler is leaving all options on the table to ensure that Mueller’s findings become public, and he told POLITICO he would issue a subpoena to the Justice Department if the attorney general blocks a full disclosure. He also indicated he would invite Mueller to testify before the committee if a legislative effort doesn’t materialize. But he prefers legislation because a subpoena challenge could lag in federal court for months.

While House Democrats will be able to pass their Mueller-protection efforts without GOP support, buy-in from Senate Republicans is crucial. Last week, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced legislation that would allow Congress to review Mueller’s final report, including the evidence contained in it. The bill would also require a public disclosure of the report, with proper redactions to protect the FBI’s sources and methods. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) has introduced an identical measure in the House.

“The American people paid for that report. They deserve to know everything that’s in it,” Blumenthal said, adding that he still had concerns about Barr as attorney general. “This issue is a defining and definitive test of the larger question which is will he be the people’s lawyer or the president’s lawyer.”

While House Republican leaders have expressed support for publicizing Mueller’s findings, it’s unclear if a legislative effort can move forward in the Senate, with some Republicans deferring to Barr and the president.

“You don’t know what’s in it,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said of the final report. “It involves an investigation of one of our biggest adversaries, Russia, and there could well be classified information that can’t be revealed, and so I’m sympathetic to why Barr and the president have not said unequivocally it’s going to be public.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is a co-sponsor of the special counsel protection bill and is up for re-election in 2020, said he is confident Barr will release as much information as he can.

“There’s some statutory limitations. A lot of people try to read it as he was equivocating [at his confirmation hearings] but I think he was saying exactly what he had to say legally,” Tillis said. “He’s going to release as much as possible. I don’t anticipate a lot of redaction and I want it all out. I think that’s the easiest way to end the speculation and move on.”

While the fate of the Grassley-Blumenthal bill is unclear, Republican senators have echoed McConnell, saying they support transparency.

“I think after this long investigation has gone on that the American people deserve to know what the findings are of Mr. Mueller,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said. “I believe the report should be released.”

Burgess Everett and Darren Samuelsohn contributed reporting.