Robert Mueller Delivers Russia Investigation Report to Attorney General

WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered a report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William Barr, after a weeks-long waiting game for word that Mueller’s probe was reaching its conclusion.

The details of the report are still confidential, after a two-year investigation that had led to dozens of indictments and has captivated the attention of the media and the public. President Trump has insisted that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and Russian interests, a refrain that he repeated often as he relentlessly attacked Mueller’s work as politically motivated and an overreach.

Reporters staked out outside Mueller’s office in recent days and others were at the Justice Department, watching for any signs. Mueller’s team has been notoriously mum on offering any public details of what the report says or even when it would be completed.

Multiple news outlets reported at 5 p.m. ET that the report had been delivered. Barr also informed Congress in a letter that the investigation was finished. Broadcast networks broke in for special reports, and cable news networks provided coverage throughout the day.

In a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, Barr wrote that there were “no instances” of Mueller’s proposed action by his team was “inappropriate or unwarranted.” He wrote that he was reviewing the report to determine what could be shared with the public and the committee.

“I remain committed to as much transparency as possible, and I will keep you informed as to the status of my review,” Barr wrote.

Mueller began his investigation in May, 2017, after he was appointed special counsel after Trump fired the FBI director, James Comey. Mueller, a former FBI director himself, remained an elusive public figure throughout the process, never giving any interviews and showing the progress of his work only as he issued indictments.

Those included a series of figures close to Trump, including his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn; his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen; and a former close associate, Roger Stone. But the White House has insisted throughout that the president would not be implicated and, in Trump’s words, that the investigation was a “witch hunt.”

Very quickly after the report was delivered, Democrats called for its public release.

“The Special Counsel’s report must be provided to Congress immediately, and the Attorney General should swiftly prepare a declassified version of the report for the public,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Nothing short of that will suffice.”

There were reports that Barr may brief Congress on the report’s contents as soon as this weekend.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “The next steps are up to Attorney General 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.”

Some of the key questions are what Mueller will conclude about whether members of the Trump campaign engaged in any form of collusion with Russian sources, given reports of extensive contacts during the election with figures linked to Vladimir Putin. Also, he reportedly has examined whether Trump himself attempted to obstruct the investigation, including in comments made to Comey when he was still serving in his post.

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