Robert Mueller is officially done.
The special counsel submitted his long-awaited final report to Attorney General William Barr on Friday afternoon, marking the end of his historic investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion with President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Almost two years and dozens of indictments later, Mueller’s confidential report sets the stage for one of the most momentous occasions in U.S. political history, as lawmakers await Barr to summarize the special counsel’s findings and turn them over to Congress.
In a letter to top members of the House and Senate judiciary committees, the Trump-picked attorney general said he will consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein before giving an initial briefing to lawmakers.
Barr also reiterated his pledge to provide “as much transparency as possible," including making Mueller’s findings publicly available while still adhering to classification and national security protocols.
“I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend,” Barr said in the letter, which was addressed to House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), House Judiciary Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
But a Democratic judiciary aide didn’t buy Barr’s pledge of transparency.
“It’ll likely be some worthless, handpicked summary,” the aide told the Daily News of Barr’s upcoming briefing. “We’ll have to force them to do the right thing.”
The exact manner in which Barr’s summary will be handed over to Congress remains unknown, and the attorney general has near absolute purview of what parts of Mueller’s findings will — and won’t — be released. Barr can choose to not release certain details out of national security concerns.
As mandated by Justice Department regulations, Barr affirmed in his letter that neither he nor any other Justice Department officials overruled any charging decisions made by Mueller, meaning the public has seen all the indictments that came out of the investigation.
Jack Sharman, a former prosecutor who served as a special counsel for the congressional investigation that resulted in President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, said the only instance he could envision in which Barr or anyone else would have overruled a charging decision would be if it involved the President.
“I think it would have to have been some type of extraordinary circumstance like that for the attorney general to intervene,” Sharman said, noting that sitting presidents can’t be indicted under longstanding Justice Department policy.
Democratic leadership demanded complete transparency in light of the conclusion of Mueller’s probe.
“It is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (C-Calif.) said in a statement. “Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of Special Counsel Mueller’s findings or evidence.”
Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, the personal lawyers to Trump in Mueller’s investigation, issued a muted statement saying they’re “pleased” the inquiry is over and trust Barr will “determine the appropriate next steps.”
Earlier in the day, Giuliani told The News that waiting on the Mueller report had been like “waiting for a baby to be born.”
With Mueller’s report tightly under wraps, it’s anyone’s guess whether it answers the most explosive questions of his mandate: Did the President or his campaign coordinate with Russian government operatives to disparage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and sway the 2016 election in his favor? Additionally, did Trump at any point obstruct the various investigations into his campaign, including by firing FBI Director James Comey in May 2017 while he was overseeing the bureau’s early inquiry into the President?
It also remains unclear what federal prosecutors would be able to do if there is evidence of criminal conduct on Trump’s part, considering the policy of not charging presidents.
However, Congress could launch impeachment proceedings if lawmakers consider Mueller’s findings troubling enough. Additionally, it has been widely speculated that federal prosecutors in New York may indict Trump once he leaves office over his involvement in an illegal pre-2016 election scheme to pay off women who say they had sex with the President over a decade ago.
Several congressional committees, including Nadler’s judiciary panel, continue to investigate Trump’s Russia ties and possible abuses of power.
Mueller’s probe, which began shortly after Comey’s axing, resulted in guilty pleas from and indictments against 37 people and entities, including Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, his longtime confidant, Roger Stone, and his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
