The New York Times broke a story tonight that indicates some of the investigators on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team believe their findings in the investigation were more damaging to demagogue and Putin pal Donald "Not Exonerated" Trump than Attorney General William "Low" Barr's summary letter indicated. One could imagine the anger of the men and women who spent nearly two years of their lives developing the Mueller report, only to have a Rump appointee who auditioned for the job sugar-coat the findings in his four page letter to Congress. Quoting the Times report:
"Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.It was apparent from the time that Barr promised a "summary" that the Rump regime wanted to control the narrative, while stalling release of the report itself. Based on this reporting, it's clear that the summary was dishonest in its representation of the 400 page Mueller report by giving it a spin favorable to Rump. The House Judiciary Committee has approved a subpoena to force Barr to release an unredacted copy of the Mueller report. Again from the Times:
At stake in the dispute — the first evidence of tension between Mr. Barr and the special counsel’s office — is who shapes the public’s initial understanding of one of the most consequential government investigations in American history. Some members of Mr. Mueller’s team are concerned that, because Mr. Barr created the first narrative of the special counsel’s findings, Americans’ views will have hardened before the investigation’s conclusions become public." (our emphasis)
"The officials and others interviewed declined to flesh out why some of the special counsel’s investigators viewed their findings as potentially more damaging for the president than Mr. Barr explained, although the report is believed to examine Mr. Trump’s efforts to thwart the investigation. It was unclear how much discussion Mr. Mueller and his investigators had with senior Justice Department officials about how their findings would be made public. It was also unclear how widespread the vexation is among the special counsel team, which included 19 lawyers, about 40 F.B.I. agents and other personnel." (our emphasis)More in later posts as this story develops.
