Rep. David Cicilline David Nicola CicillineClark rolls out endorsements in assistant Speaker race Races heat up for House leadership posts The folly of Cicilline's 'Glass-Steagall for Tech' MORE (D-R.I.) told CNN Monday morning it’s "impossible" to "write off completely" the question of Russian collusion without the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE.

A summary released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr said Mueller’s investigation found no evidence of coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

"It's a really impossible determination to make without actually reading the report, reading the conclusions of Mr. Mueller, reading the evidence that he gathered." On collusion, Rep. @davidcicilline says it's unfair to "write it off completely." https://t.co/ZL0U84Cc1J pic.twitter.com/87XB75hNhn — New Day (@NewDay) March 25, 2019

ADVERTISEMENT

Asked if this meant Democratic investigations going forward will focus less on the issue of Russian collusion, Cicilline said on CNN’s “New Day” that would likely be the case, but added that it was “a really impossible determination to make without reading the report [and] reading the conclusions of Mr. Mueller.”

If Barr’s summary is accurate, Cicilline told CNN’s John Berman, "We still have a responsibility to make sure we protect the integrity of our democracy and make sure we don’t allow the Russians or anyone else to attack us again.”

Cicilline added that House Democrats “may still have some responsibility to examine the conduct at issue even if it doesn’t rise to the level of criminality,” echoing comments by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerSchumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence House passes bill to protect pregnant workers MORE (D-N.Y.) on CNN Sunday that the House has a much broader investigative mandate than Mueller’s.

Cicilline also addressed the question of obstruction of justice, which Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Rod RosensteinDOJ kept investigators from completing probe of Trump ties to Russia: report Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report FBI officials hid copies of Russia probe documents fearing Trump interference: book MORE determined Trump did not commit.

“This is the attorney general of the United States, in my view, attempting to shape the narrative on the obstruction of justice claim,” Cicilline said, noting that while Mueller explicitly wrote that Trump was not exonerated of obstruction of justice, “Mr. Barr, in 48 hours, turns that around and says ‘oh no, I’ve looked at it, he’s exonerated.’”