Published: 6/25/2019 7:00:17 PM
Have you read the Mueller report? If you’re like more than 75 percent of Americans, the answer is no.
Even though the report debuted at No. 1 on the paperback nonfiction bestseller lists of the New York Times and Amazon in early May, the number of people who actually read it is doesn’t seem to match. According to a CNN poll, only 24 percent of Americans have read even a part of special council Robert S. Mueller’s 448-page summary.
True, the tome isn’t the type of thing you’ll bring to the beach to glance at between naps this summer. But given that many pages are heavily redacted, it won’t take as long as you might imagine.
True, “The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election,” as the report is called, didn’t achieve the goal of many liberals — to remove President Donald Trump from office through impeachment.
True, the report, released on April 18, doesn’t appear to live up to its two-years-in-the-making hype. Those who believe Trump was guilty of collusion and obstruction before the report came out likely still do. Those who believe Trump’s claim of no wrongdoing likely still do.
But there’s still an important civics exercise to be learned by reading the report, which lays out the complicated events surrounding the 2016 election.
The report consists of two volumes: Volume I describes the investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and its interactions with the Trump campaign. Volume II addresses the president’s actions toward the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the election, and his actions toward the special counsel’s investigation.
It’s crucial for Americans to understand the report’s findings on their own, rather than relying on newspaper editorials, online pundits, or cable news channels that are driven by ratings. It’s also important for Americans to reach their own conclusions instead of relying on a brief summary by Attorney General William Barr, who many believe has put his loyalty to the president ahead of the Constitution.
The report can be read here: www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf. Or listen to someone else read it here: audible.com/pd/The-Mueller-Report-Audiobook/B07PXN468K.
The options don’t end there. There’s even a Mueller Book Club — muellerbookclub.com/ — that is calling on Americans to start local reading groups across the country and that recently wrapped up a weekly broadcast to discuss the report.
Of course, you can always buy it online.
No matter how you access it, Mueller hopes you do. In his only comments after the report, Mueller on May 29 said that, “There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis, and the reasons for the decisions we made. We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself.”
He concluded his remarks by saying that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, which was the central allegation the Special Counsel’s Office spent two years investigating.
“That allegation deserves the attention of every American,” Mueller said.
We agree. So grab a copy of the report for your next vacation, borrow it from a neighbor or pull it up on your tablet.