WASHINGTON Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III complained to Attorney General William Barr that Barrs initial letter to Congress about the Russia investigation did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this offices work and conclusions, a Justice Department official said Tuesday.
Mueller also wrote that Barrs four-page letter on March 24, two days after Mueller had filed his final report, sowed public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal debate.
The special counsels protest, filed in a letter to Barr on March 27, reflects clear tension between the special counsel and the attorney general over Barrs handling of Muellers 448-page report into Russias interference in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.
The existence of Muellers letter was first reported by The Washington Post.
Barr is expected to be grilled today by Democrats at a hearing before the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee that will delve into his handling of Muellers report, as well as the attorney generals conclusion that President Trump did not obstruct justice.
Barr is also sure to be questioned about his comments at an April 18 news conference that put Trumps actions in a favorable light.
When he received Muellers letter on March 27, Barr spoke to Mueller by phone, according to Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec.
In a cordial and professional conversation, the special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading, Kupec said in a statement. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsels obstruction analysis.
Mueller sought to convince the attorney general to release portions of the report so the public could understand the special counsels reasoning. But Barr declined, saying it would be better to release the entire redacted report, not put it out in piecemeal fashion.
In Barrs earlier letter to Congress, he said Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its efforts to stoke division over social media or to hack Democratic computers and release troves of internal documents and emails.
He also wrote that Muellers report did not conclude that the president had committed a crime related to obstructing federal investigators but it also hadnt exonerated him of those allegations.
However, Barr wrote, he had made a determination that the evidence developed during the special counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.
The letter did not disclose that Mueller had concluded that the Trump campaign expected to benefit from the emails stolen from Democrats. The special counsel also laid out substantial evidence of multiple instances when Trump acted with the intent of constraining or undermining the investigation then underway.
In his report, Mueller did not conclude whether Trump had committed the crime of obstructing justice, noting that Justice Department guidelines bar sitting presidents from facing charges. However, he wrote, the special counsel would not be precluded from saying Trump was innocent of such allegations.
If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state, he wrote. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment.
