Attorney General William Barr informed lawmakers that he received the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the matter of Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election.
In a letter sent to Senate and House Judiciary Committee leadership, he said that he may be able to release the principal conclusions of Mueller’s report to members of the committee by the weekend.
He also stated that he planned to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Mueller about what information from the report can be made public according to federal law and Department of Justice policies and practices.
Mueller’s report concludes a two-year-long investigation, but depending on what the report says and what is released that will likely not be the end of the matter.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) released the following statement:
The Department of Justice has notified me and Ranking Member Feinstein that the Mueller Report has been turned over to Attorney General Barr. This notification indicates that Attorney General Barr will pursue as much transparency as possible.
Importantly, the notification also indicates that there were no areas of disagreement between the Attorney General or the Acting Attorney General and Special Counsel Mueller regarding courses of action. This information is specifically required to be disclosed by the regulations governing Special Counsel reports.
I expect both Ranking Member Feinstein and I will be briefed more thoroughly about the report in the coming days.
I will work with Ranking Member Feinstein and our House Judiciary Committee colleagues to ensure as much transparency as possible, consistent with the law.
I have always believed it was important that Mr. Muellerbe allowed to do his job without interference, and that has been accomplished.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-New York) tweeted, “A.G. Barr has confirmed the completion of the Special Counsel investigation. We look forward to getting the full Mueller report and related materials. Transparency and the public interest demand nothing less. The need for public faith in the rule of law must be the priority.”
Some thoughts:
- A senior Justice Department official stated that Mueller said he plans no further indictments most importantly this means Mueller will not seek an indictment of President Trump. That does not mean he is off the hook as
indicting the President would violate Department of Justice regulations. That said, it is a positive sign for Trump that Mueller will not indict anyone else. - The report could provide fodder for House Democrats eager to impeach President Trump, or it could vindicate him. Both sides will likely find aspects of the report that they like. Even if the House finds a reason to impeach President Trump it is unlikely that the Senate will convict.
- It is remarkable that Mueller did not speak about the investigation.
- Also, I should note, President Trump with all of his talk about the Russia investigation being a witch hunt and constant criticism of Mueller did not fire him which was a subject of endless media speculation.
We will have to wait and see what the report says. Personally, I hope that they can release it in full and keep redactions to a minimum. Hopefully as a nation we can put this rearview as quickly as possible.