McConnell says Mueller investigation should be put to rest at last
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in an exclusive interview on "The Story with Martha MacCallum" on Tuesday, re-emphasized that it's time to put the Mueller probe to bed at last.
"I think we ought to put it to rest," he said. "Mueller spent two years on this, he interviewed hundreds of people, he reached the conclusion there was certainly no collusion on. .. the president’s part.
"He brought no charges on obstruction. They indicted a number of Russians. It was clear what the Russians are trying to do. He pointed it out to us. What else do we need to know? It’s time to move on."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier Tuesday, McConnell said in a Senate-floor speech that the probe was a classic instance of "case closed."
Since Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation was released, Democrats and Republicans have sparred over how the document was provided, what Mueller did or didn't find, how Attorney General William Barr summarized the conclusions and more.
Democrats have called on Barr to resign and Mueller to testify, while Republicans have defended Barr as honorable.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For his part, President Trump has urged Mueller not to testify.
BRET BAIER REACTING TO MCCONNELL: CASE NOT CLOSED
McConnell, responding to a question about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's accusations that Barr lied to Congress, defended Barr and accused Democrats of suffering from so-called "Trump derangement syndrome."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That’s an outrageous assertion. The man had a brief summary of the report, released all the report that was legally allowed to be released. Put it on the Internet. To call a public servant like the attorney general a liar is completely over the top," McConnell said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a different view: "He lied to Congress." the California Democrat said last week. "If anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime. Nobody is above the law, not the president of the United States and not the attorney general."
McConnell called on both parties to move on and see what they might accomplish "together."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Why don’t we turn our attention to try and see what we can figure out and what we can do together for the American people and not squander any more time?" McConnell said.