448 pages

As Robert Mueller said and implied over and over in yesterday’s testimony, read the report. Since the Mueller report’s release months ago, it’s amused and appalled me how many in Congress just haven’t read the whole thing. Politico interviewed a bunch of representatives in the House and Senate on whether they’ve finished the bedtime reading:

“What’s the point?” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). (Oh, just due diligence, getting answers on whether the nominal head of the Justice Department obstructed justice, reading up on the extent of Russia’s meddling in our elections, etc.)

“It’s tedious,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). (It’s part of your job and you frequently fly from Alaska to DC, so get on it.)

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) also said he hadn’t read the whole report. “It is what it is,” he said when asked why. (Some sage and helpful words there.)

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said he didn’t read the report and had no plans to start now. “We’ve been a little bit busy,” he said. (Sorry to bother you!)

“I didn’t have to read it. I lived it,” offered Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who was Hillary Clinton’s 2016 vice presidential running mate. (No, you didn’t.)

This is just a sampling and I’m sure there are many who have read the full report. Elizabeth Warren has read it, but she strikes me as someone who would read this on the beach (not an insult). Amusingly, Justin Amash read the report and was so appalled that he left the Republican Party.

Well, I read the whole GD Mueller report, and it’s mortifying that I’m more informed on these important issues than many of our elected officials.

I read most of it on a plane to and from San Antonio shortly after the report’s release. Yes, it was tedious, but I wanted to be informed on this subject when it comes up. I wanted to read the Thing itself rather than read about people yelling about the Thing.

I’m not trying to pat myself on the back. I’m a voracious reader and a lot of people are not. I’m not critical of citizens who didn’t have the time or desire to read a dry government report.

But I’m sure as hell critical of those in the Legislative Branch who didn’t read it. The Mueller report covers enormously important issues which, as a check on the Executive Branch, it is their job to investigate. I’m sure they’re busy but we all are. Don’t they think a comprehensive report on potential presidential obstruction of justice could fit into their schedule? I don’t particularly want to be represented by people who can’t read a book that is less than 500 pages.

You read that everywhere after they released the report: 448 pages, two volumes. You almost never read anything about the Mueller report without hearing those daunting statistics. The text almost groans on the page: “448 paaaaaages. Two vooooolumes. Ugh!” Like it’s War and Peace. After Mueller’s press conference in May, so many journalists presented his words as “BOMBSHELL!” but they were already in the report, which makes me think that a lot of the reporters—who are writers and presumably capable of reading—didn’t read it either.

Again, I’m not trying to be arrogant that I read a book. Maybe I just have more free time than other people? I feel like I’m just an average person: I have a job and a child and I’m not overwhelmed but I’m not idle. But I don’t have staff to lean on as these elected officials do. If I read it, so could they. It’s their job.