{UAH} Allan/Frank/Edmund/Gook/Pojim/WBK: Mueller Objected to Barr’s Description of Russia Investigation’s Findings

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/us/politics/mueller-barr.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Image

Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, leaving Easter services in April. He ended his investigation and delivered his 448-page report to the attorney general in March.CreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press

By Mark Mazzetti and Michael S. Schmidt

• April 30, 2019

WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William P. Barr objecting to his early description of the Russia investigation's conclusions that appeared to clear President Trump on possible obstruction of justice, according to the Justice Department.

Read the Mueller Report: Searchable Document and Index

The findings from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, are now available to the public. The redacted report details his two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The letter adds to the growing evidence of a rift between them and is another sign of the anger among the special counsel's investigators about Mr. Barr's characterization of their findings, which allowed Mr. Trump to wrongly claim he had been vindicated.

It was unclear what specific objections Mr. Mueller raised in his letter. Mr. Barr defended his descriptions of the investigation's conclusions in conversations with Mr. Mueller over the days after he sent the letter, according to two people with knowledge of their discussions.

Image

Attorney General William P. Barr testifying before lawmakers in April. "If you are somebody who's being falsely accused of something, you would tend to view the investigation as a witch hunt," he said.CreditErin Schaff/The New York Times

Mr. Barr, who was scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the investigation, has said publicly that he disagrees with some of the legal reasoning in the Mueller report. Senior Democratic lawmakers have invited Mr. Mueller to testify in the coming weeks but have been unable to secure a date for his testimony.

"The special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney general's March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading," a Justice Department spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec, said in response to a request for comment made on Tuesday afternoon. "But he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsel's obstruction analysis."

A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.

Sent from my iPhone