Getty Robert Mueller with his wife, Ann Mueller.
In a letter dated March 27, Special Counsel Robert Mueller sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr saying in essence, the release of the report by Barr was not reflective of what the Special Counsel’s investigation determined.
The letter reads in part that the Special Counsel‘s report had already been redacted “to remove any information that could potentially be protected” by federal laws. Mueller wrote that the “documents are in a form that can be released to the public consistent with legal requirements,” and he asked Barr to do so. “… requesting that you provide these materials to Congress and authorize their public release…”
Muller wrote that the March 24 release “did not capture the context, nature and substance of this office’s work and conclusions.”
Mueller wrote that after Barr’s release, “…there is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation …”
House Judiciary has just received a copy of the letter Special Counsel Mueller sent to AG Barr
“I previously sent you a letter dated March 25 that enclosed the introduction and executive summary for each volume of the Special Counsel‘s report marked with redactions to remove any information that potentially could be protected by federal rules of criminal procedure … that concerned the decisions, or that related to a charged case. We also had marked an additional two sentences for review and have now confirmed that these sentences can be released publicly.
Accordingly, the enclosed documents are in a form that can be released to the public consistent with legal requirements and department policies. I am requesting that you provide these materials to Congress and authorize their public release at this time.
As we stated in our meeting of March 5, and reiterated to the Department early in the afternoon of March 24, the introductions and executive summaries of our two-volume report accurately summarize this office’s work and conclusions. The summary letter the department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this Office’s work and conclusions. We communicated that concern to the Department on the morning of March 25. There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to ensure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigation.
While we understand the Department is reviewing the full report to determine what is appropriate for public release – a process that our Office is working with you to complete – that process need not delay release of the enclosed materials. Release at this time would alleviate the misunderstandings that have arisen and would answer congressional and public questions about the nature and outcome of our investigation. It would also accord with the standard for public release of notifications to Congress cited in your letter …”