Ohio Republicans gleeful over report
WASHINGTON — When it comes to defending President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan is typically a man of many words fired off with the speed of a professional auctioneer. But on Sunday, his reaction to the long-awaited report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller was striking in its brevity.
“No collusion! No obstruction!” he tweeted. “It’s time to move on.”
Jordan was not alone among Ohio Republicans in declaring glee at the report of Mueller, who neither concluded that Trump obstructed justice nor exonerated him. Democrats, meanwhile, were initially slower to react.
Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-lakeville, said Mueller’s conclusion “confirms what we knew all along: that neither the president nor anyone in his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.”
“After two years and millions of dollars in taxpayer money, this witch hunt is finally over,” Gibbs said. “Congressional Democrats should reconsider whether they want to drag this matter out after such a definitive conclusion from the special counsel.”
Rep. Bill Johnson, R-marietta, said the findings were “clear.”
“There was no collusion between then-candidate Donald Trump — or his campaign — and Russia,” Johnson said, adding that mainstream-media journalists and Democrats “should apologize.”
“It was simply, and obviously, a fabricated hoax perpetrated by those who could not accept the fact that Donald Trump won the 2016 election fair and square ... Who will be held accountable for starting this treacherous conspiracy theory that’s wasted so much of our time and the American taxpayers’ hard-earned money?”
Sen. Rob Portman, R-ohio, merely repeated the findings of the report. He added, “As I’ve said consistently, I believe the report should be made public, with important exceptions for grand-jury or classified information, and I hope the attorney general provides as much information to the public as he possibly can, as soon as he can. I appreciate the summary received today, and hope to have the opportunity to review the report very soon.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-ohio, said the summary report “is not enough,” and he called on the Justice Department to “turn over the full report to Congress.”
Brown’s reaction echoed a joint statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-calif., and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., saying that Attorney General William Barr’s fourpage letter “raises as many questions as it answers,” and thus the entire report and underlying documents should be released.
Rep. Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat, said “the American people deserve complete transparency.”
“The full Mueller report needs to be made public; a four-page summary released by the Trump Administration is not enough,” he said.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-dayton, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel had come to the same conclusion as Mueller: “‘The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its electioninterference activities.’”
“As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I look forward to reviewing this report and working towards making this information public as soon as possible,” he said.
Turner joined Rep. Steve Stivers, R-upper Arlington, in wanting to review the full report.
“It is important that everyone gives Special Counsel Mueller’s report the careful consideration it deserves, and I plan to review and assess Attorney General Barr’s summary over the coming days,” Stivers said. “Until then, any comment would be premature.”
Brad Parscale, campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President Inc., said, “Today marks the day that President Trump has been completely and fully vindicated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, exposing the Russia collusion conspiracy theory for the sham that it always was and catching Democrats in an elaborate web of lies and deceit.”
The campaign released a video of Democrats maintaining that Trump and/or his campaign engaged in collusion with the Russians.
Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken tweeted: “Mueller’s report is completed. No collusion. No basis for obstruction of justice. The unnecessary political witchhunt is finally over. We can go back to focusing on our booming economy. Great day for America.”
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-troy, simply tweeted “#Nocollusion” and sent copies to two Democratic congressmen, CNN and MSNBC.
Not long after sending his tweet, Jordan, a staunch Trump defender and ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, decided that perhaps more than a brief tweet was necessary. So he sent out a statement sayingthat “after 22 months and over $25 million in taxpayer funds, we know what many of us suspected all along— there was no collusion, coordination, or cooperation with Russia.”
“All the special counsel’s prosecution of U.S. persons in the course of this investigation were wholly unrelated to collusion,” Jordan said.