Mueller report may be released in ‘weeks’
“No plans” to give White House a look before investigation is made public
WASHINGTON – Attorney General William Barr plans to deliver special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to Congress and the public in “weeks, not months,” a Justice Department official said Tuesday, offering the first indication of how soon the government would release more complete findings of the investigation.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said the department has “no plans at this time” to provide a copy of the report to the White House before it is made public.
Lawmakers intensified their demands for access to the special counsel’s full report. Leaders of six House committees said in a letter to the attorney general that they wanted to see the entire document by April 2. They asked him to turn over the evidence Mueller’s investigators gathered, saying the materials were “urgently needed by our committees to perform their duties under the Constitution.”
Barr issued a four-page summary of that report Sunday, declaring that Mueller’s 22-month investigation had not found that Donald Trump or his presidential campaign conspired with Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election.
On the separate question of whether Trump sought to thwart the investigation, Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that the president’s conduct did not constitute a crime after Mueller’s team declined to reach a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice.
Trump and his allies swiftly declared victory in the inquiry. Congressional Democrats said Barr’s summary only heightened their interest in obtaining a fuller account of how Mueller reached his conclusions.
A small team of Justice Department staffers is reviewing the report to determine which parts are based on grand jury testimony or would reveal information about other pending cases, subjects Barr said the department is required to keep secret, according to an official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday that he discussed the timing of the report’s delivery with the attorney general Monday night. Graham said he asked Barr whether the document could be delivered within weeks and Barr replied, “I think so.”
He said lawmakers should give Barr “a reasonable amount of time to go through the report” and determine which parts can be released.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Monday to Barr calling for the report’s release.
“A four-page summary ... with no underlying evidence or findings, is not adequate to accomplish our constitutional, legislative, and oversight responsibilities,” Feinstein said.
Democrats said they were particularly interested in Mueller’s decision not to determine whether the president committed obstruction and how Barr could have reached his own conclusion so rapidly.