Rashida Tlaib Says ‘We Don’t Know for a Fact’ That Donald Trump Didn’t Collude With Russia as She Pushes for Impeachment

Representative Rashida Tlaib doesn’t trust Attorney General William Barr’s brief summary of the special counsel’s final report, arguing that “we don’t know for a fact” that Donald Trump and his campaign didn’t collude with Russia as she continues to push for the president’s impeachment.

“You all know that there was like a three-page letter—he says four—but Attorney General Barr, if he didn’t do anything, he should release the whole report,” Tlaib told TMZ. “Release it.”

Tlaib went on further, adding that the public should be able to see more information from Robert Mueller’s two year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election than a four-page summary from an “appointee of Trump.”

“The American people deserve the whole report to be made public and let us decide,” she said. House Democrats are calling for the attorney general to release the entire Mueller report by April 2, stating that the four-page summary is “not sufficient for Congress.”

Over the weekend, the country got a glimpse of Mueller’s key findings through Barr’s short summary of the special counsel’s report. After issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas and interviewing 500 witnesses, Mueller found no evidence of collusion.

“The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” Barr wrote in his letter to lawmakers on Sunday, March 24.

Though, according to Barr, the special counsel made no conclusion as to whether Trump obstructed justice throughout the investigation. But the attorney general and his deputy Rod Rosenstein determined there was insufficient evidence to prove the president committed a criminal offense.

When asked about whether or not the Mueller report had changed her thoughts on impeachment, Tlaib told TMZ there are plenty of other reasons to remove the president from office that “go beyond” the special counsel’s investigation.

“That’s why we have Congress, right? We have Congress for the public hearings, for actual public, transparent processes so we can look over this instead of us guessing what’s in the report and whether or not there was any collusion,” she said. “But more importantly, whether or not there has been any violations to the Constitution, and I believe there has been.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., attends a House Financial Services Committee hearing titled ‘Putting Consumers First? A Semi-Annual Review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,’ in Rayburn Building on Thursday, March 7, 2019. Tlaib, who has been pushing for Trump’s impeachment since entering Congress, says that she is not convinced there was no collusion between the president and Russia. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images

Tlaib added that the Trump presidency is like a “dark cloud” over the country and “we need to clear it up.”

Since taking over the House of Representatives in January, Democrats have launched several investigations into the president’s businesses, his personal finances and potential obstruction of justice. At the same time, other Democratic lawmakers have tried to steer clear of discussing impeachment, arguing it does more harm than good.Related Stories

Earlier this month, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi attempted to shut down impeachment talk by saying that President Trump is “just not worth it,” asserting that Democrats shouldn’t go down that path unless “there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan.”

But Tlaib asked her colleagues in a letter sent on Monday to support a resolution to investigate the president for crimes worthy of impeachment. The freshman congresswoman asked the House to form a commission to look into whether Trump has committed any “high crimes and misdemeanors” that should prompt his removal from office.

“We all swore to protect our nation, and that begins with making sure that no one, including the President of the United States, is acting above the law,” she wrote in the letter. “I urge your support in recommending that the House Committee on Judiciary begin hearings, take depositions, and issue subpoenas to answer this question that is fundamental to the rule of law and the preservation of our democracy.”