Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has agreed to review a version of the special counsel’s report that was first prepared by Attorney General William Barr in April. Until now, Democrats have refused to view this version because the offer came with too many restrictions. However, after reaching agreement with Barr on seeing more underlying evidence, Pelosi has decided she wants to see the somewhat less marked up report. And, as she goes to view the report, the speaker declared that she feels “no pressure” to begin an impeachment inquiry.
Right now, there is a redacted version of the report from former special counsel Robert Mueller, there is an unredacted version that is only available to William Barr, Donald Trump, and maybe Sean Hannity, and there’s a “less redacted” version. In April, Barr offered up the version that he described as “minimally redacted” to Congress in an attempt to head off subpoenas, but Democrats—including Pelosi—rejected the offer because it came with enough strings to weave a rug. The report would only be for the viewing of a handful of representatives and senators in the leadership, they wouldn’t be allowed to take notes about what they saw, and all the differences between the version visible to the public and the version the leadership team was allowed to glimpse would remain strictly confidential. It was an offer that seemed more like taunting “we’ll let you have a peek, but you can’t say anything or do anything about it” than it did a legitimate attempt at finding a compromise on the issue.
Barr’s offer was widely and soundly rejected as House committees continued the effort to secure the entire report. But as Politico reports, Pelosi has now decided she will view the previously prepared version of the report, even though the restrictions on its viewing remain in place. This comes after the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler reached an agreement with Barr to view some of the report’s underlying evidence in exchange for backing off criminal contempt action against the attorney general.
Meanwhile, Pelosi says she feels “no pressure” to bring an impeachment, even as more Democrats announce their support for such an action.
Some Democrats had offered up censure as a slap-on-the-wrist compromise for holding Trump responsible for his ongoing obstruction. Pelosi has also stepped in against that action. “I think censure is just a way out,” she said. “If the goods are there, you must impeach.” Which sounds good … if there is an intention to impeach. However, Pelosi continues to claim that she won’t begin impeachment unless there is broad public support. “If you’ve got to go down this path,” said the speaker, “you have to make sure that the public has an understanding of why. What I believe is that when we go forward, as we go forward, it has to run deep.”
In the meantime, Mitch McConnell is blocking over 100 bills that have emerged from the House, including all the bills that Pelosi believes are more important business of the Congress than conducting an impeachment. McConnell or what broad public support enabled him to prevent the Violence Against Women Act, or the Equality Act, or gun safety legislation, or any other items that passed the House with bipartisan support from ever even reaching the flood of the Senate. But those polls must be really good.