NYT (“Mueller Delivers Report on Trump-Russia Investigation to Attorney General“):
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has delivered a report on his inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William P. Barr, according to the Justice Department, bringing to a close an investigation that has consumed the nation and cast a shadow over President Trump for nearly two years.
Mr. Barr told congressional leaders in a letter late Friday that he may brief them within days on the special counsel’s findings. “I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend,” he wrote in a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
It is up to Mr. Barr how much of the report to share with Congress and, by extension, the American public. The House voted unanimously in March on a nonbinding resolution to make public the report’s findings, an indication of the deep support within both parties to air whatever evidence prosecutors uncovered.
Mr. Barr wrote that he “remained committed to as much transparency as possible and I will keep you informed as to the status of my review.” He also said that Justice Department officials never had to check Mr. Mueller because he proposed an inappropriate or unwarranted investigative step — an action that Mr. Barr would have been required to report to Congress under the regulations. His statement suggests that Mr. Mueller’s inquiry proceeded without political interference.
Well, we don’t know that. Indeed, President Trump’s numerous ranting tweets about Mueller and the investigation were certainly political and arguably constituted interference.
Beyond that, we don’t know much. I gather than no new indictments were issued but many have already been made public and several more are reportedly under seal.
The weekend should be interesting. Until we see the report or hear from Mueller himself, one presumes that Matt Borrs has it right: ” I definitely think the report I haven’t read supports the conclusions of the exact politics I hold and have been arguing for all this time. I love to be proven right!”
