UPDATE 1-Republicans block U.S. Senate Democrats' move on making Mueller report public

U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blocked a second attempt by Democrats to pass a measure aimed at prodding the Justice Department to release to the public Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 420-0 in favor of making the report public, with no Republican opposition. On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr informed Congress that Mueller had concluded that President Donald Trump's campaign did not collude with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. "There is no good reason not to make the report public," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

McConnell, noting that it took nearly two years for Mueller to conduct his investigation, said, "It's not unreasonable to give the special counsel and the Justice Department just a little time to complete their review in a professional and responsible manner." The legislation does not set a deadline for the release of the report, and merely expresses Congress' desire that it should be made publicly available. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney and Leslie Adler)