Mueller Pushed Twice for Barr to Release Report’s Summaries
By Michael S. Schmidt
May 1, 2019
WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, pushed Attorney General William P. Barr twice to release more of his investigative findings in late March after Mr. Barr outlined the inquiry’s main conclusions in a letter to Congress, citing a gap between Mr. Barr’s interpretation and Mr. Mueller’s report, according to a letter released on Wednesday.
The letter, from Mr. Mueller, revealed deep concern about how Mr. Barr handled the initial release of the special counsel’s findings.
Mr. Mueller’s office first informed the Justice Department of their concerns on March 25, a day after Mr. Barr released his letter clearing Mr. Trump but declined to release the special counsel’s findings themselves.
“We communicated that concern to the department on the morning of March 25,” Mr. Mueller said in a second letter to Mr. Barr two days later. “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation.”
Mr. Mueller added, “The summary letter the department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 and not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions.”
Mr. Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the summaries of his findings. Mr. Barr declined.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/politics/mueller-letters-barr.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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