Washington on edge for Mueller’s findings

WASHINGTON: US Attorney General Bill Barr is expected to hand Congress the key findings of the Russian meddling probe as Washington waits tensely to see if it implicates President Donald Trump in serious wrongdoing.

Chronic tweeter Trump, who was at his Florida residence for the weekend, remained uncommonly silent after spending two years repeatedly labeling Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation an illegal witch hunt — suggesting the White House has still not seen the report.

Meanwhile Democrats in Congress, many of who are hoping for evidence to support a presidential impeachment, were pressing hard to ensure its full contents are made public, and not just a summary prepared by the Trump-appointed Justice Department chief.

The secret report, the result of a 22-month investigation by Mueller into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and obstruction of justice, was handed to Barr on Friday with the announcement that no new indictments were forthcoming. That produced sighs of relief from the White House, where members of Trump’s family — Don Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner in particular — had been feared possible targets of the probe. With Mueller prevented by longstanding Justice Department policy from indicting the president himself, there were no hints on whether the report damns or clears Trump of criminal behaviour. In a brief letter to Congress on Friday, Barr announced that the long-awaited report had been submitted to him and that he would send its “principal conclusions” for Congress as early as this week.