BRUNSWICK, MAINE – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released the following statement in response to today’s release of the Mueller report:

“The lengthy document released today by the Justice Department is further proof that Special Counsel Mueller and his team conducted a serious, thorough, and thoughtful investigation into the events surrounding foreign interference in the 2016 election. While I intend to carefully review these extensive findings in the coming days, here are my initial reactions to the Special Counsel’s report:

• “First and foremost, Special Counsel Mueller clearly and without doubt confirms the Intelligence Community’s assessment that foreign powers sought to interfere in the 2016 election. These efforts, perpetrated by the Russian government, were a sophisticated, thorough, and direct attack on our democratic principles. This is an incredibly serious threat to our American system of government that we must work aggressively to prevent in future elections. That effort starts with making sure that the American people are fully aware of the scope and degree of foreign interference in our elections; to that end, I hope and expect that we will never again hear elected officials express doubt regarding the clearly proven fact that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
• “Second, this document is filled with numerous examples of reckless judgment by the President and his closest advisors, both before and after his election in 2016. While the Special Counsel’s report states that the investigation was unable to establish evidence of cooperation or coordination between the Trump campaign and individuals directly carrying out the Russian effort, there are numerous and serious instances of links between the campaign and individuals with Russian ties; for example, the decision by Paul Manafort to share internal campaign messaging plans, polling data, and key states targeted by the Trump campaign with a Russian national who had ties to Russian intelligence. Additionally, Special Counsel Mueller notes that the President instructed his staff to fire Special Counsel Mueller, who only remained in his position because the President’s staff ‘declined to carry out orders,’ thereby averting more serious legal questions. These are deeply concerning behaviors, and Americans – regardless of who they voted for – should be troubled by such blatant disregard for our electoral and governmental norms. Put more simply: just because these actions may not have broken the law doesn’t mean that they’re right.  
• “Third, I am severely disappointed in AG Barr after watching his press conference this morning and comparing key passages of the Mueller report to the original characterization of the report in the Attorney General’s letters to Congress. I am particularly frustrated regarding his lack of clarity on the important fact that the Special Counsel’s choice not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment was impacted by the Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion that a sitting President may not be indicted. I voted against AG Barr’s nomination, saying at the time that I thought he had a ‘deep respect for the Department of Justice’ but had concerns about how he would handle the Mueller report. I now worry that I gave Mr. Barr too much credit – his attempts to mischaracterize the conclusions of the Special Counsel’s investigation have only served to exacerbate an existing divide in our nation, and have inflicted further harm upon our national discourse.

“As previously stated, in the coming days I will be carefully examining the full findings of the Special Counsel’s report, which will now be added to the extensive evidence the Senate Intelligence Committee has already collected as part of our parallel investigation into foreign interference in the 2016 election. Additionally, I will be recommending to Chairman Burr and Vice Chairman Warner that the Senate Intelligence Committee should invite Special Counsel Mueller to a public hearing so the American people may be able to hear directly from the Special Counsel regarding his findings.”