Colorado Sens. Bennet, Gardner call for public release of Mueller report

Colorado’s U.S. senators were quick to respond to the delivery late Friday of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to Attorney General William Barr, both calling for transparency.

“Now that Special Counsel Mueller has completed his investigation, a declassified version of the report should be made public,” Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet said in a short press release. “The American people deserve to know the contents of the investigation.”

Shortly thereafter, Republican Sen. Cory Gardner issued this statement on Twitter:

“I have consistently said the Mueller investigation should be allowed to reach a conclusion, and I’m grateful the Special Counsel has finished the investigation and submitted a report today. The American people have a right to know the outcome of the investigation and the Department of Justice should release as much as possible to the public in accordance with the law.”

According to The New York Times, “Barr said he may share Robert Mueller’s ‘principal conclusions’ with lawmakers as early as this weekend … [but] Barr will decide how much of it to release to Congress or the public, and where the case of Russian election interference goes.”

Although numerous intelligence officials have concluded Russians did interfere in the election on behalf of President Donald Trump – and several of his top advisors have been indicted or convicted in the probe – it remains unclear if Trump illegally conspired directly with the Russians.

The president maintains he did not collude with the Russians.

Speaking on MSNBC, House Judiciary Committee member U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, whose Colorado district includes part of the Vail Valley, was grilled on why Trump was never interviewed by Mueller or subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury.

“I want to read the report so I understand better precisely why he wasn’t interviewed. I’d like to understand the special counsel’s rationale for not issuing a subpoena … I think it’s hard to make a judgment call without seeing the report and the findings and the underlying evidence,” Neguse said. “The American public deserves to know the truth.”