GOP delay in naming House Intelligence Committee members may have cost Mueller
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., formally named the nine Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday, ending a weeks-long delay that may have cost special counsel Robert Mueller valuable time to act on potential leads the panel could offer just as he appears close to wrapping his investigation.
Democrats now in the majority on the Intelligence Committee had vowed that one of their first acts would be to authorize the release of more than 50 witness interview transcripts to Mueller to aid in his probe. At the least, members have said they had reason to believe some witnesses lied to the panel, something that has already led Mueller to bring charges against Trump allies.
It is likely that Mueller and his team of investigators have had access to the committee's transcripts, two sources familiar with the matter tell NBC News. But while the committee voted unanimously last September to authorize the release redacted transcripts of most of their Russia-related interviews, the then-GOP majority rejected a Democratic motion to provide all transcripts, including classified materials, directly to Mueller.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the committee, told NBC Wednesday that even if Mueller's team has seen the transcripts, they have been limited in what they could do with that information.
"They don't have the use of them for perjury prosecutions until we authorize them for that use. And whether they could actually use the material in it as part of their report is also I think in question," Schiff said. "So for those reasons and perhaps others, we ought to do this sooner rather than later."
The Intelligence Committee has been unable to hold the required vote to release those transcripts to Mueller until the panel formally organizes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finalized the full slate of Democratic members two weeks ago, and Democrats were increasingly questioning whether McCarthy was intentionally dragging his feet.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-delay-in-naming-house-intelligence-committee-members-may-have-cost-mueller/ar-BBSYiQ6?li=BBnbfcL
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