MUELLER SUBMITS FINAL REPORT
Official says no new indictments sought in Russia probe
— Special counsel Robert Mueller turned in his long-anticipated report on the Russia investigation Friday, a milestone in the political and legal saga that has threatened President Donald Trump’s tenure and is likely to cloud his legacy.
The Justice Department said the report was delivered by a security officer Friday afternoon to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and then it went to Attorney General William Barr.
The comprehensive report marks the end of Mueller’s probe but sets the stage for political fights to come. The next steps are up to Trump’s attorney general, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts.
According to a senior Justice Department official, Mueller did not recommend any further indictments, likely bringing a measure of relief to the embattled White House. He charged 34 people over the last two years, the most of any special prosecutor since Watergate.
In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees, Barr wrote that Mueller “has concluded his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters.”
Barr said he may be able to advise the committees of Mueller’s principal conclusions “as soon as this weekend.” He also wrote that other information may be made available to
Congress, and that he remains “committed to as much transparency as possible.”
Barr wrote that there were no instances in which Justice Department leaders overruled a decision by the special counsel.
Trump flew to his resort in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, earlier Friday and had no immediate comment.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the “next steps” are up to Barr “and we look forward to the process taking its course. The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsel’s report.”
Democrats and some Republicans quickly demanded that the report be made public as soon as possible and that all of the material be sent to Congress without redactions. Many of the 2020 presidential contenders tweeted their demand for a full public review minutes after news broke of Barr’s notification to Congress.
“Attorney General Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller’s findings or evidence, and the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
Democrats have expressed worry that the Justice Department, the White House or congressional Republicans would release only portions of the report that defend the president and his aides.
“Congress and the American people deserve to judge the facts for themselves,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “Any attempt by the Trump administration to cover up the results of this investigation into Russia’s attack on our democracy would be unacceptable.”
Republicans said they were eager to see the report.
“The Attorney General has said he intends to provide as much information as possible,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.
“I expect DOJ to release the special counsel’s report to this committee & public w/o delay & to maximum extent permitted by law,” Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter.
Stephen Boyd, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, went to Capitol Hill to deliver the letter notifying Congress that Mueller’s report had been received.
Mueller did not step down as special counsel. He is expected to remain in place as the office wraps up its operations.
Even before he filed his report, the former FBI director had produced a vast public record of crimes, lies and misdeeds, one that is especially alarming because it involves a foreign adversary interfering in a U.S. election.
Mueller and his team ultimately charged 34 individuals, including 25 Russians. Seven people pleaded guilty, including several in Trump’s inner orbit.
They include Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser; Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman; Richard Gates, his deputy campaign chairman; and Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer and a senior executive in the Trump Organization.
No Americans were charged with conspiring with the Kremlin-backed operation, however, and Trump has consistently denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow.