Posted on 02/22/2019 7:19:37 PM PST by yesthatjallen
Special counsel Robert Mueller will not deliver his report to the Justice Department on Friday or next week, a Justice Department official told The Hill.
The news comes amid broad speculation that Mueller's probe into Russia's electoral interference is wrapping up, with several news outlets reporting Wednesday that newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr was preparing to receive Mueller’s final report as soon as next week.
The highly anticipated report is expected to cap off a sprawling, nearly two-year investigation into Russia's attempts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election, a probe that has ensnared multiple former Trump campaign officials and associates.
Next week is already slated to be a busy week in Washington, with former longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen appearing for testimony on Capitol Hill and several other major hearings and votes set to take place.
President Trump is also slated to travel to Vietnam next week for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
It remains unclear when Mueller will ultimately wrap up and submit his final documentation, though Friday’s news indicates the end of the investigation is at least a week away.
A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment on Friday.
Mueller has been investigating Russian interference and potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow since May 2017, weathering constant attacks from Trump, who views the investigation as a “witch hunt” and has long denied allegations of collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin.
In the course of his investigation, Mueller has unveiled charges against more than two dozen Russians for hacking Democratic emails and committing fraud in an elaborate plot to use social media to meddle in the election.
The special counsel has also charged six Trump associates with making false statements, illegal foreign lobbying, financial violations and other crimes. However, none of the charges have alleged a conspiracy between the campaign and the Russians to interfere in the election.
Recent events signal Mueller could be close to completing the investigation. For example, several cases, including that of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, have moved toward sentencing.
The special counsel has also brought on federal prosecutors from other districts to assist in some cases, such as that of longtime GOP operative and former informal Trump adviser Roger Stone, a sign Mueller may ultimately look to pass off those prosecutions.
Still, legal analysts say some loose ends remain that lead them to believe the conclusion of the special counsel probe could be further off.
Special counsel regulations require that Mueller submit closing documentation to the attorney general explaining his prosecutorial decisions and reasons for declining to pursue certain charges. However, it remains unclear what shape his final report will take or how much of his findings will be made public.
During his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Barr said he would release as much of the final report as possible consistent with the law, though he stopped short of committing to release the report in its entirety — a detail that frustrated Senate Democrats.
It will ultimately be up to Barr to decide what parts of the report will go to Congress and what will be made public. Legal analysts say that any public version will be redacted to conceal sensitive national security and grand jury material.
Democrats are likely to subpoena the report if they believe Barr does not make enough information available to them.
In a letter sent to Barr on Friday, six Democratic House committee leaders underscored their expectation that the attorney general will release Mueller’s report to the public “without delay and to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
“To the extent that the Department believes that certain aspects of the report are not suitable for immediate public release, we ask that you provide that information to Congress, along with your reasoning for withholding the information from the public, in order for us to judge the appropriateness of any redactions for ourselves,” the Democrats wrote.
He’s like a kid who hasn’t started his term paper yet. He has nothing.
He will deliver it in October 2020, for maximum effect.
Why should he hurry? He is happy to bill the government without restrictions.
Trump should order an investigation into the democRAT coup attempt including all of their IRS and financial records. A tit for tat for sure, bur with a knockout punch approach.
Perhaps it’s in deference to President Trump’s summit with Kim next week.
Maybe the new AG said nothing is rocking the boat while DJT is attempting to De- Nuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
Possibly just a postponement for scheduling reasons.
Pretty sure the overpaid Mueller team has milked that cash cow dry.
Ensnared multiple former Trump campaign official and associates?
What a load of bullcrap.
Michael Flynn contacted his Russian counterpart in December 2016, after the election was over. As a member of the incoming administration, Flynn wanted to touch base with his Russian counterpart.
Then Flynn was accused of lying about the meeting, but even the FBI didn’t think Flynn had lied.
Manafort? His problems stem from him not registering as a foreign agent of Ukraine, work he did long before Trump ran for president. Had Manafort not briefly been Trump’s campaign manager....between the end of the primaries and the end of the GOP convention....he never would have been prosecuted for anything.
Roger Stone? He lied to Republican Devin Nunes while testifying before Congress. So what. Hillary’s people and Obama’s people lied to Congress all the time. Crickets.
I’m tired of this crap.
My prediction as well.
And that has what to do with Mueller's report being delayed forever?
What makes anybody think Robert S. Mueller III is EVER going to deliver this report? Better to keep it in suspense and never actually reveal, than to have it torn apart and discredited for factual and logical errors, by an unfriendly band of conservatives.
This way, the sword never is brought down, but the threat always remains.
This guy is getting on my nerves. How much has he cost the taxpayers. We deserve a total.
I don’t see any suspense whatsoever. Most everyone knows there was no Trump/Russia collusion and has known it for many months. It was all a fraud, all fabricated to undermine, compromise and overthrow Trump. In fact the only people guilty of that are Hillary Clinton, deep state and the usual swamp suspects who infest D.C.
Thank goodness Rosenweasel is no longer in charge of Mueller investigation into non-existent Russia collusion. All Mueller’s indictments of people associated with Trump are either for events before Trump even declared he was running -or- after he was elected (process crimes).
Figure on $500/hour or more for billable hours, for all lawyers hired by Mueller. No limit on how long they can keep investigating! For what? A non-existent Russia collusion? And soon on April 15th I must send the gov’t a check to cover part of this crooked political investigation. Disgusting!
They probably have a leaked draft so they can have their talking points ready to dispute and question the findings.
Surprise, surprise. NOT!
Stalling like Cohen. Mueller is trying to run out the clock and hopes President Trump is defeated in 2020. If President Trump is reelected, Mueller is toast. The extreme far left will kick his ass. They’ll probably send a squad of masked Aunt Teefah sappers after his ass.
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