Dems plan 12-hour marathon Mueller report reading at Capitol

A group of more than 20 Democratic lawmakers are planning a marathon-style reading of special counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted report at the Capitol on Thursday. 

The office of Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), the vice chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, confirmed the plans to The Hill on Tuesday.

Scanlon told The Washington Post that she devised the plan because of the “no collusion” and “no obstruction” claims made in the wake of the Mueller report.

{mosads}”We’ve been saying for weeks that if you think there was no obstruction and no collusion, you haven’t read the Mueller report,” Scanlon said. “So the ongoing quest has been, ‘How do we get that story out there while we are waiting for the witnesses to come in?'”

Scanlon added that lawmakers would conduct the reading in the House Rules Committee Room inside the Capitol. She said the group would read all 448 pages of the report and that the reading would stretch between 12 and 14 hours. 

Scanlon will open the reading, with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) following. Scanlon said more Democratic lawmakers would likely volunteer to take part in the reading.

“I’d be amazed if even 1 percent of the American people have read the Mueller report, in part or in its entirety,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told the Post. Raskin reportedly volunteered to read the final pages of the report.

“We have to catch up the American people any way we can. I would hope this would spur reading of the Mueller report all over the country,” he added.

Mueller earlier this year wrapped up his 22-month investigation into Russian interference and whether President Trump obstructed justice. The report on the investigation, which was released last month, said Mueller was unable to uncover evidence to conclude that a conspiracy took place between the Trump campaign and Moscow. 

However, the report noted that Mueller could not come to a conclusive determination on whether Trump obstructed justice, while saying that Congress has the authority to conduct such probes.

The report’s release led several Democrats to call for the president’s impeachment. Others have vowed to investigate the administration further.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a 2020 presidential candidate who has called for Trump’s impeachment, read parts of the Mueller report on the Senate floor last week, formally putting portions of the report into the Congressional Record.

A group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), also read portions of the Mueller report aloud on the House floor last Thursday as they seek to draw attention to details from Mueller’s findings.

Cristina Marcos contributed reporting.