We really do need to see what the report says before we judge it. Still, it looks like Barr did cover up conclusions damaging to Trump. Congress, not Barr, should have made the obstruction determination (which Mueller really should have made).
Barr is way out of line when he indicated he doesn’t want to release embarrassing material about people not charged with crimes. This sounds like it will protect Trump and his family. Republicans had no qualms about releasing material about Strzok, Page and Hillary Clinton. This is just another Republican double standard.
March 4: Mueller tells Barr he's not going to exonerate Trump, leaving it up to Congress
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) April 4, 2019
March 24: Barr releases a panicked summary usurping Congress' power, all while pretending transparency
April 4: Barr now scrambling as it becomes clear his March 24 memo is a coverup
Staff on both sides of the aisle have been saying, for a while now, that they are confounded as to why Barr (ala Trump) opted to win a news cycle as opposed to getting ahead of the bad stuff.
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) April 4, 2019
The 5 questions I (still) have after reading the @washingtonpost and @nytimes reporting on the Mueller report/Barr memohttps://t.co/bcB8EakcMq
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) April 4, 2019
One thing that struck me. Our sources say Mueller team really upset that Barr hasn't shared full story on the obstruction evidence they gathered. https://t.co/X9Vu5spBhm
— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) April 4, 2019
New from me in @POLITICOMag on the cloud Barr has thrust over the Justice Department: https://t.co/O0Qnv1Wdsp
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) April 4, 2019
đ Shoes are dropping. Keep âem coming https://t.co/n8WvrjQaW3
— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) April 4, 2019
I've really tried to stay away from the Mueller beat. But everyone should realize that the leaks we're now getting about a deeply damaging report have a different standing from usual inside reporting: they have to be presumed true until proven false 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) April 4, 2019
NEW: House Judiciary Chairman requests all communications between the Justice Department and the Special Counsel regarding the Mueller report
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) April 4, 2019
—@mkraju reports pic.twitter.com/Cd7nxbtYl9
NEW: Nadler is calling on AG Barr to clear up discrepancies between Barrâs letter and the reports of Mueller summaries, requesting "all communications between the Special Counselâs office and the Department regarding the report"
— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) April 4, 2019
I believe three âgovernment officialsâ did say this to NBC. I donât for a minute believe Mueller didnât make a call because his subordinates may have disagreed on certain things. I believe Mueller simply thought the facts should be presented to Congress and the American people. https://t.co/PzqPxFgtPO
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 4, 2019
OTOH this is not a winners-losers, news-cycle scoreboard situation
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) April 4, 2019
this is about truth and reality, right and wrong
this is about what actually happened in 2016 and since
skilled public servants have investigated and produced an exhaustive account
we havenât seen it yet https://t.co/RL0jnc3U4s
Itâs obvious that Barr twisted the truth to protect his boss. The Trump/Barr plot to suppress the incriminating facts canât be allowed to succeed. Only releasing the full report will suffice.https://t.co/P5Pj18Y7Js
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) April 4, 2019
Crucial new revelation from WaPo: Mueller team prepared summaries of their findings *for the express purpose* of informing the public.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) April 4, 2019
One official says goal was for findings to be "shared in their own words â and not in the attorney generalâs summary."https://t.co/84xxzbWORB pic.twitter.com/r0HWQ8cj0S
A big deal confirming what has always seemed likely. I will be surprised if there was anyone on the team who expected Barr to insert himself into the process and reach his own conclusion. https://t.co/Z3tdngBG5G
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) April 4, 2019
The only way it makes sense for an attorney like Barr to so gravely and intentionally mischaracterize the contents of Mueller's findings is if he truly had no intention of ever releasing any of it. https://t.co/2uoK56woGV
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) April 4, 2019
CNN matching NYT and WaPo: "Mueller investigators frustrated with Barr's summary of investigation." Live coverage on @JohnKingCNN's show now
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 4, 2019
Once again, untrue. Neither apologized nor had reason to. As for the Mueller report, one way to clear up whatâs in it would be to release it. https://t.co/htv0mlImRX
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) April 4, 2019
The Mueller report was prepared with summaries that could be publicly released âimmediately,â which is one reason why members of Muellerâs team are upset with Barrâs characterization of their work, according to @washingtonpost. pic.twitter.com/BwCZtm8Naw
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) April 4, 2019
Shafer: "All of the cast members now seem to have assumed their predestined role in the Mueller report drama. Barr has summarized in his boss' favor. His boss has screamed exoneration. And the publicity-shy Mueller team has finally shown a little leg…" https://t.co/pkXu6Dcmb0
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 4, 2019
Yeah this is the thing I can't wrap my head around. I'm supposed to believe that Mueller's team would have put this material that needed to be redacted in the summary portions of the report? https://t.co/2h2qO1fghd
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) April 4, 2019
Sad! 