Top House Democrats think Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings of no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians during the 2016 election should put an end to the issue, while others in the party continue to scream impeachment.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, the number three Democrat in the House, confirmed to CNN Tuesday that party leaders are trying to move on from the Russian collusion delusion to more important issues that Americans actually care about.

CNN’s John Berman asked Clyburn Monday morning to elaborate on reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging the Democrat caucus to shift focus from the Russia investigation “distraction” to “pocketbook issues” that directly impact voters.

“The fact of the matter is that is exactly what we ought to be doing,” Clyburn said. “All of last week when I was in my congressional district, I went from county to county having listening sessions and people are concerned about everyday issues.

“And I believe that the Mueller report has been done, that’s a chapter that’s closed,” he said.

Attorney General William Barr on Sunday summarized the key findings from the nearly two-year special counsel investigation into allegations the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to tilt the 2016 presidential election. In a letter to Congress, Barr explained Mueller found no evidence of collusion, as President Trump has repeatedly asserted, and Mueller’s report “does not recommend any further indictments that have yet to be made public.”

“The Special Counsel issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, obtained more than 230 orders for communication records, issued almost 50 orders authorizing use of pen registers, made 13 requests to foreign governments for evidence, and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses,” Barr wrote.

The Justice Department is currently working to sort out what information in Mueller’s report can be made public and what information is protected by laws, including those shielding grand jury testimony.

But for some top Democrats the results of Mueller’s report are suddenly unimportant, despite months preaching about how the special counsel’s investigation will provide the smoking gun to remove Trump from office.

You Might Like

• 
• 
• 

“This is not the end of anything!” Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee told MSNBC’s Joy Reid. “This is the – well, it’s the end of the report and the investigation by Mueller. But those of us who chair these committees have a responsibility to continue with our oversight.

“There’s so much that, uh, needs to be, you know, taken a look at at this point,” she said, “and so it’s not the end of everything.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and others also wrote a letter to Barr demanding the full Mueller report by April 2. Nadler has publicly discussed the idea of subpoenaing Bar or Mueller to testify in his committee if he doesn’t get his way.

“Your four-page summary of the Special Counsel’s review is not sufficient for Congress, as a coequal branch of government, to perform critical work,” the Democrats wrote, according to The Washington Examiner.

“The release of the full report and the underlying evidence and documents is urgently needed by our committees to perform their duties under the Constitution.”