People For the American Way

Thousands Rally Across the Country to Demand the Release of the Full Mueller Report

Tori Slatton | April 5, 2019
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Thousands Rally Across the Country to Protect the Mueller Investigation

Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded the Trump-Russia investigation in March and sent his findings to Attorney General William Barr. Instead of immediately releasing the full report to Congress and the American people, which the American public overwhelmingly supports and which the House of Representatives voted unanimously on, Barr issued a four-page document that he claimed was a summary of the 400-page report that seem to downplay Mueller’s findings. To protest Barr’s refusal thus far to comply, People For the American Way helped lead a coalition of activists in rallies all over the country.

Hundreds of peaceful protests took place in most major cities and in a number of small towns and rural areas. Crowd sizes ranged from several dozen people to several hundred, and included a number of prominent speakers. PFAW members attended an evening rally in Washington, D.C. where hundreds of protestors peacefully assembled in front of the White House. Speakers at this rally included Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. , House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Neera Tanden of the Center For American Progress, Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen, and PFAW’s own Marge Baker and Diallo Brooks.

Sen. Blumenthal reminded rally attendees that the American people paid for the Mueller report and deserve to know what’s in it. He discussed how presidents of the past have tried to block similar measures, and the people have prevailed in their efforts to ensure transparency in their government. Rep. Nadler discussed how Congress was tasked with checking the president and fighting corruption, and stated that the institution cannot do its job without the full report.

Marge Baker gave a speech about how grassroots coalitions will not stop fighting the corruption in the White House and reminded everyone in the crowd that this behavior is not normal. Neera Tanden reminded the crowd that Barr is a political appointee under Trump and stated that “[i]t took Barr forty-eight hours to write a summary exonerating the boss who just picked him.”

Next, Lisa Gilbert expressed concern about who has been given access to the report at the Department of Justice, arguing that “[w]e cannot rely on conclusions that are coming to us from the president’s inner circle.” Finally, Diallo Brooks gave a fiery speech that emphasized that the grassroots coalitions fighting against Trump will not be worn down by his tactics to shift the public’s focus elsewhere. He told the crowd that the fight will be long, but assured them that we will keep going until the full truth comes to light.

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Mueller investigation, rallying, Robert Mueller, Russia, Trump administration