Report: Jerry Nadler’s Response to Mueller Report ‘Sloppy and Disorganized’

Democrats have reportedly criticized House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler’s response to the Robert Mueller report as sloppy, disorganized, and heavy-handed, according to a report released Monday.

As Chairman Nadler will hold the first of several hearings on the Mueller report, many Democrats remain critical of his overall strategy to combat a recalcitrant Donald Trump administration.

Some Democrat critics of Nadler, who call the Judiciary hearings the “tip of the spear” of Democrats’ probes into the administration, say he failed to plan an effective strategy against Trump.

The Democrat critics contend that Nadler’s response to the hearing has been sloppy, disorganized, and often too heavy-handed. Some Judiciary Committee Democrats say that Nadler’s communication with them has been sub-par.

Nadler has reportedly scored few victories, outside of a report that Nadler reached a deal with the Trump Department of Justice to obtain key documents underlying the Muller report.

Attorney General William Barr and White House counsel Don McGahn have ignored Nadler’s subpoenas, even as Democrats reportedly plan to hold them in contempt on Tuesday.

One lawmaker said that the delays in contempt votes and other measures to censure Trump officials has given White House officials the impression that they can ignore subpoenas.

“I think that the Republicans are playing games and not complying with stuff. They just think, ‘Oh, well, let’s see what they do. … It can’t be that bad,’” the congressman contended.

The lawmaker said that Nadler should have been more clear regarding potential consequences should Trump officials ignore the subpoenas.

The lawmaker said:

You don’t show up for the hearing? Well, this is the second step; this is what I’m going to do. You get three warnings, and then the next thing is the move to contempt. And then the next thing is, we’re going to court. We should just have that lined up, so that it’s just like, boom, boom, and so they know what’s going to come.

“They have all hammer, no finesse,” said one Democrat source to the Hill. The Democrat charged that the Mueller report has been a “big missed opportunity and any of the other chairmen would have played it differently. Yes, they are in an impossible situation, which is why they need more finesse than hammer.”

One lawmaker said that, Nadle, by issuing 81 letters to Trump’s administration and inner circle, gave the impression that Nadler’s investigation was more of a fishing expedition than a “tailored, deliberate, and methodical” investigation.

Another Judiciary Committee member said that Nadler’s handling of the Mueller report said that the report has appeared “disorganized” at times.

“Nothing’s perfect, but then again what is,” the House Judiciary Democrat dismayed.