The Democrats will “absolutely” take the Trump administration to court if Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is not shown to the public, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said Sunday.
Speaking to ABC’s This Week, Schiff said the House Democrats are going to “insist” that Mueller’s final report into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election be released to the public. He added that his committee would subpoena Mueller’s final report if it’s not made public.
There is “an intense public need to know here,” Schiff said.
Since the investigation started in July 2017, Mueller has made not a single public comment about the findings. However, a final full report on the Russia investigation and the Trump campaign is reported to be in its final stages. But the final document may never be made public as it’s up to newly-confirmed Attorney General William Barr.
“Bill Barr has committed in his testimony to making as much of the report public as he can, and the regulations allow him to make it all public,” Schiff said.
“In the end, I think the department understands they’re going to have to make this public. I think there will be immense pressure not only on the department but the attorney general to be forthcoming.”
WATCH: Mueller report could come soon, but may not be made fully public
Democrats could use Mueller’s findings as the basis of impeachment proceedings. On Friday, Schiff and other House Democrats sent a letter to Barr, arguing that the public should be given a chance to view Mueller’s report its entirety.
ABC News chief anchor and political correspondent George Stephanopoulos asked Schiff what will happen if the Justice Department does not release the memo.
“We will obviously subpoena the report. We will bring Bob Mueller in to testify before Congress. We will take it to court if necessary,” Schiff added.
He said the Democrats are going to insist on the report becoming public, as there is evidence that’s only in the hands of the Justice Department — and no one else can see it.
“There were searches conducted, for example, of Roger Stone and Paul Manafort,” he said. “There is no other way to get the information that was seized except through the department. And we can’t tell the country what fully happened without it.”
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— With a file from the Associated Press
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