Arizona lawmakers react to summary of Mueller’s Russia-Trump probe

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers were split along party lines when reacting to the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, a summary of which was delivered by Attorney General William Barr to Congress on Sunday.

Sen. Martha McSally said in a Sunday tweet that she was “glad” to see the investigation was over.

Now that we close this chapter, I hope that as a nation we can focus on issues that move us forward like: affordable healthcare, good-paying jobs, and quality education.

— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) March 24, 2019

But Arizona Democrats, including Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, called on parts of the report “not classified or sensitive to national security” to be released to the public.

“These conclusions make clear we must protect the integrity of our elections from foreign interference, regardless of which political party is in charge,” Sinema said in a statement to KTAR News 92.3 FM. 

The Justice Department said Mueller’s investigation did not find evidence that President Donald Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller also investigated whether Trump obstructed justice but did not come to a definitive answer.

In a four-page letter to Congress, Attorney General William Barr quoted Mueller’s report as stating it “does not exonerate” the president on obstruction. Instead, Barr said, it “sets out evidence on both sides of the question.”

Trump, in Florida, celebrated that the report showed “there was no collusion.” He also claimed it showed there was no obstruction.

Rep. Andy Biggs and other Arizona Republicans agreed with the White House’s characterization of the report as being a “total exoneration” of Trump.

“Attorney General Barr’s summary letter of the Special Counsel’s Report reveals a complete exoneration of President Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller,” Biggs said in a statement.

“Barr’s letter states that Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of conspiracy between candidate Donald Trump or his organization and Russia. There was no ‘collusion.’”

Rep. Paul Gosar said in a tweet, “No collusion. No obstruction.”

Rep. Debbie Lesko echoed Biggs’ and Gosar’s comments in a series of tweets Sunday.

Just as @realDonaldTrump has said all along… No collusion. No obstruction. Time for #Democrats to move on for the sake of our Country. #AZ08

— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) March 24, 2019

#NoCollusion #NoObstruction after 22 months, $25M, 2800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, 19 lawyers, 40 FBI agents. Yet, Congressional #Democrats think they know better and plan to continue the #WitchHunt. #unreal

— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) March 24, 2019

Other Arizona Democrats called for the entire report to be made available to the public.

I appreciate the hard and dedicated work of the Special Counsel led by Robert Muller, AG Barr shared a letter reviewing it, but I look forward to seeing the entire report, every word. The American people should also be able to examine it fully.

— Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (@RepKirkpatrick) March 24, 2019

A brief summary to Congress isn’t enough, and the American people deserve to know the full findings of the Special Counsel. It’s time to #ReleaseTheReport. https://t.co/Z3kPhQRkMm

— Raul M. Grijalva (@RepRaulGrijalva) March 25, 2019

The report should be released to the public immediately. https://t.co/Pn1wtkNZss

— Ruben Gallego (@RepRubenGallego) March 22, 2019

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