Attorney General William Barr released a public letter about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report before any civilian got a chance to read it. And as a newly released letter shows, Mueller wasn't exactly happy with it.
Multiple outlets reported Tuesday night on the existence of Mueller's letter to Barr, in which Mueller said Barr's 4-page conclusion letter "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the whole 448-page report. Barr in summary memo said that Mueller left him the decision of whether to pursue obstruction of justice charges against President Trump, and that he had concluded not to do so — something Trump spun as his "total and complete exoneration."
Publications released Mueller's full letter to the public on Wednesday, revealing that Mueller said his office "communicated" its concern with Barr's letter the morning after its March 24 release. But it appears that concern was not addressed, as Mueller sent this additional letter on March 27, saying that "there is now a public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation." Mueller also said that this confusion "threatens to undermine" his ability "to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigation."
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The letter arrives just as Barr appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about the Mueller report. Barr released a statement ahead of the testimony defending his actions and his conclusion that there was not enough evidence "to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."
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