U.S. lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution calling for any final report coming from the Russia investigation overseen by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to be released to Congress and the public.
In a move expected to put pressure on Attorney General William Barr to release as much information as possible on the probe, the House of Representatives voted 420-0 on March 14 to back the nonbinding resolution.
Four Republican lawmakers voted only as present at the March 14 session.
"This resolution is critical because of the many questions and criticisms of the investigation raised by the president and his administration," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler.
"It is important that Congress stand up for the principle of full transparency,” the Democrat added.
Mueller has not said when he will complete the report and it remains to be determined what will be published and how much of it will be released to the public.
Under the terms of his mandate, Mueller is required to submit a report to the attorney general, who then decides on what comes next.
Barr said at his January confirmation hearing that he takes seriously the department regulations that say Mueller's report should be confidential.
Those regulations require only that the report explain the decisions to pursue or to decline prosecutions, which could be as simple as a bullet-point list or as detailed as a full-blown report.
Mueller's investigation into possible coordination between President Donald Trump’s associates and Russia has shadowed Trump's presidency since nearly its beginning.
Trump has said he "never worked for Russia" and he has called the investigation a "big fat hoax."
