Democrats Demand to Hear Directly from Mueller
SANCHEZ: President Trump has long claimed that he had nothing to fear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation but the Mueller report reveals the president was terrified when he learned that Robert Mueller was appointed back in 2017. The report says this, quote, "When then Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the president that a special counsel had been appointed the president slumped back in his chair and said, 'oh, my god, this is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm f'd.'"</s>ROMANS: Leading Democrats in the House not showing any new appetite for impeachment now that they have seen the redacted Mueller report. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer telling CNN's Dana Bash, "Based on what we have seen to date, going forward on impeachment is not worthwhile at this point. Very frankly there is an election in 18 months and the American people will make a judgment." Top House committee chairman in lockstep with that message, conscious of just how hard it would be to persuade two-thirds of the Republican- controlled Senate to vote to remove President Trump.</s>REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The evidence would have to be quite overwhelming and demonstrable and such that it would generate bipartisan support for the idea that it renders that the president unfit for office. Now many of us do think the president is unfit for office but unless that's a bipartisan conclusion, an impeachment would be doomed to failure. I continue to think that a failed impeachment is not in the national interest.</s>REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): It's too early to reach those conclusions. It's one reason we wanted the Mueller report, and we still want the Mueller report in its entirety and we want other evidence, too.</s>SANCHEZ: Democrats are also dismissing the assessments of Attorney General William Barr, and demanding to hear directly from the man who authored the report, Bob Mueller. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler also setting the wheels in motion on that. Listen.</s>NADLER: I have formally requested that Special Counsel Mueller testify before the House Judiciary Committee as soon as possible so we can get some answers to these critical questions because we clearly can't believe what Attorney General Barr tells us.</s>SANCHEZ: Democrats are not stopping there as CNN's Manu Raju tells us, they are gearing up for a fight.</s>MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Boris. Now House Democrats are planning to pursue their investigations on multiple fronts in the aftermath of the release of the Mueller report. On one front there's going to be a full corps press to demand the full Mueller report, the unredacted Mueller report, including the grand jury information that Democrats have been asking for but the Justice Department so far not willing to turn over. Expect subpoenas that could come out as soon as Friday. At the same time Democrats moving on other fronts, including an investigation into House Intelligence Committee looking into financial interests, potentially areas of compromise as the Democrats say that's been affecting the president. They've already subpoenaed nine different banks to get information about the president's business dealings. It's not clear whether the Mueller investigation fully probed this area as an area that Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, wants to continue to pursue initially off the bat. Bill Barr, the attorney general, will be before the House Judiciary Committee at the beginning of May. Also before the Senate Judiciary at that time. Also, Bob Mueller, the special counsel, the Democrats want to bring him in for public testimony as well. The House Judiciary Committee also wants to look into the notion of potential obstruction of justice. They're going to use what the Mueller report found as a roadmap. But they say their investigation is much broader into abuses of power so they see this as fuelling their investigations even as the Republicans say it is time to move on. So, Boris and Christine, despite the end of the Mueller investigation, the release of the redacted report, end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.</s>SANCHEZ: And there are still many other investigations.</s>ROMANS: There.</s>SANCHEZ: Manu Raju, thank you.</s>ROMANS: All right. What caused the fire that nearly destroyed the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris? Authorities may have the answer. That's next.