McConnell calls for end to investigations of Trump, says ‘case closed’
"With an exhaustive investigation complete, would the country finally unify to confront the real challenges before us?" McConnell plans to say later Tuesday, according to excerpts provided by his office.
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WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will lay out his case to move on from investigations into President Donald Trump and his 2016 campaign, calling the matter "case closed" even as Democrats intensify their probes into Trump's conduct.
McConnell, R-Ky., who faces reelection next year, argues that Democrats are continuing to relitigate an election result that is now more than two years old, and plans to make a detailed argument in a floor speech Tuesday morning to declare the matter finished and instead focus on legislation.
"With an exhaustive investigation complete, would the country finally unify to confront the real challenges before us?" McConnell plans to say later Tuesday, according to excerpts provided by his office. "Would we finally be able to move on from partisan paralysis and breathless conspiracy theorizing?"
He continues: "Or would we remain consumed by unhinged partisanship, and keep dividing ourselves to the point that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his agents need only stand on the sidelines and watch as their job is done for them."
"Regrettably, I think the answer is obvious," McConnell will say.
Yet the majority leader’s forceful rhetoric comes as the fallout from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Separately, regarding McConnell’s call for a focus on the legislative agenda, the Senate has spent much of the last few months on nominations and little time on legislation.
A key House committee plans to vote Wednesday on holding Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena, as the conflict continues to flare over releasing Mueller’s unredacted report and Barr’s testimony before the House. Barr declined to appear before the House Judiciary Committee last week under conditions demanded by Democrats who control the panel.
Tuesday is also the deadline for Don McGahn, the former White House counsel, to hand over three dozen types of documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its own investigation into Trump.