Democrats subpoena Mueller report amid calls for impeachment

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena Friday for special counsel Robert Mueller's full report as Democrats intensified their investigation of President Donald Trump, but leaders stopped short of liberal demands for impeachment proceedings.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has insisted on a methodical, step-by-step approach to the House's oversight of the Trump administration, and she refuses to consider impeachment without public support, including from Republicans, which seems unlikely.

But in light of Mueller's findings, Democratic leaders are under mounting pressure from the party's rising stars, deep-pocketed donors and even a presidential contender to seize the moment as a jumping-off point for trying to remove Trump from office.

Speaking Friday in Belfast as Pelosi wrapped up a congressional visit to Ireland, she declined to signal action beyond Congress' role as a check and balance for the White House.

"Let me assure you that whatever the issue and challenge we face, the Congress of the United States will honour its oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States to protect our democracy," she told reporters. "We believe that the first article Article 1, the legislative branch has the responsibility of oversight of our democracy, and we will exercise that."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now signed on to an impeachment resolution from fellow Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, bringing new energy to the effort. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, a presidential candidate, said Friday the House "should initiate impeachment proceedings against the president."
Nadler said he was open to working with the department on accommodations, but he also said the committee "needs and is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence consistent with past practice."
But the committee's top Republican, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, said the subpoena was "wildly overbroad" and that Trump already had declined to assert executive privilege over the Mueller report in a move of "unprecedented openness."
"This is politically convenient," Collins said, allowing the chairman "to grandstand and rail against the attorney general for not cooperating on an impossible timeline."