GOP senator: ‘Really important’ that Mueller report be made public

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Wednesday said he believes it is important that special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election be made public, but he’s not sure if that will be the case.

“Whether the report will be made public is very uncertain. And I’ve been worried about this,” Kennedy said in an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.”

{mosads}He noted that the Justice Department typically does not issue reports on investigations, but instead lets indictments, or the lack of indictments, speak for themselves.

“I think it’s really important that this report be made public,” Kennedy said. “People are smart enough to figure it out and they’ve heard so much about it and they’ve listened to all the spin on both sides. This is an unusual circumstance and the American people need to see this report.”

He suggested Mueller write his report “knowing it’s going to be released to the American people.”

“Whether the [Mueller] report will be made public is very uncertain. I’ve been worried about this,” @SenJohnKennedy says as AG nominee William Barr’s confirmation hearing enters its second day. https://t.co/0pHJvNgdRB pic.twitter.com/u8PT8QTmcY

— New Day (@NewDay) January 16, 2019

Mueller’s investigation, and any subsequent report, was at the center of a confirmation hearing on Tuesday for President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr.

Barr told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would allow Mueller to finish his investigation and that Trump and his legal team would not be allowed to “correct” Mueller’s final report on his Russia investigation, something Rudy Giuliani had suggested in an interview last week with The Hill.

Barr, who previously served as attorney general under the George H.W. Bush administration, also said he would not carry out a directive to fire Mueller without cause.

Mueller has thus far implicated five former Trump associates and more than 20 Russians in his probe, which is also looking into possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

The president and his allies have regularly called the investigation a “witch hunt,” and Trump has insisted he did not collude with Russia.