[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 1, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Barr Hearing

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we have now had a day where the 
Attorney General testified before the Judiciary Committee, and many 
issues are not resolved because there are great discrepancies based on 
Mr. Mueller's letter that has been made public--two letters, in fact, 
that have been made public between what Mr. Barr has been saying and 
what Mr. Mueller believes.
  The cloud that hangs over our country because of Russian interference 
in our elections--and, frankly, that hangs over the President because 
of the actions Mr. Mueller outlined in his report--remains. There is a 
great need to clear all of that up and to clear all of it up with no 
ands, ifs, or buts.
  I was shocked when I heard the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
my friend and colleague whom I have traveled with, Lindsey Graham, come 
out of the hearing and say that he was not going to call Mueller for a 
hearing. The fact that he on his own, despite the desires of many other 
members of the committee, would simply say that Mueller is not going to 
testify was so outrageous and wrong. So I went to my colleague here on 
the floor--my friend Lindsey Graham. I said to him: How can you do 
this? This is outrageous.
  He said: I am just going to ask Mr. Mueller in a letter if Barr said 
anything misleading or inaccurate but not have the hearing.
  I was appalled.
  Now I see on a tweet by a reporter, Emma Dumain, that Lindsey Graham 
has slightly modified what he has said. He said that if Mueller tells 
Graham in the letter that Barr said anything misleading or inaccurate 
today, he would have the hearing. That is not good enough. That is a 
game. He should not put the onus on Mr. Mueller, a straight arrow, 
somebody who believes in a chain of command, to publicly state that in 
a letter.
  Mueller should come testify--no ands, ifs, or buts. Mueller should 
come testify--no games as to what he answers in a letter.
  What are our colleagues so afraid of on the other side of the aisle? 
Are they afraid Mueller might say things that are different than what 
Attorney General Barr said? Are they afraid for the country to discuss 
the kinds of things the President has done, which nobody much seems to 
like? Are they afraid that we talk about foreign interference in our 
elections?

  I would plead with my colleague Lindsey Graham to reconsider. I would 
plead with my colleague Lindsey Graham to say: Mueller is coming; no 
ands, ifs, or buts so we can question him, including our side of the 
aisle. That is what Congressional oversight is about. It is not about 
the chairman of the Judiciary Committee deciding what should be heard 
and what should not be heard. That is not the job of the chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee, no matter who he or she is.
  Special Counsel Mueller just concluded one of the most important 
investigations in our Nation's history. The Senate and the American 
people have a right to hear from the special counsel directly about the 
threat of foreign interference in our elections and, yes, the conduct 
of the President. It is one of the biggest takeaways from the hearing; 
that we need the special counsel here to testify, to clarify the 
discrepancies between what he and the Attorney General are saying. We 
don't need a letter. We don't need conditions. That seems like a game, 
a dodge, a ruse, a way to prevent Mr. Mueller from testifying.
  In my view, Attorney General Barr routinely mischaracterizes the 
special counsel's words, his intentions, his reasoning. We know, from 
the special counsel's letter that was publicly released, that to be 
true. It is likely that Attorney General Barr did so again in the 
hearings. We need to hear from the special counsel himself to sort this 
out and get the truth, not at the discretion of the Judiciary Committee 
chairman but because America, our system of government, our rule of 
law, demands it.
  Congress has always had, from the days of the Founding Fathers, a 
duty to provide oversight for the executive branch. Just because one 
party doesn't feel like doing it because the President is from the same 
party doesn't measure up to the grandness of our Constitution.
  My dear friend from South Carolina, please rethink your position. 
Back off of this idea that Mueller shouldn't testify or should only 
testify if he meets certain conditions only set by you and call Special 
Counsel Mueller in to testify.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.