Attorney General William Barr stated Friday evening he has received Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on the Russia investigation.
The Washington Post reported that Barr has confirmed that the report was submitted by Mueller’s office at approximately 5 PM Eastern Time. Mueller — who served as FBI director under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — was appointed as Special Counsel in May of 2017, and his report took nearly two years to complete.
According to the Associated Press, Barr will be writing his own report summarizing Mueller’s findings, and will have final discretion over how much of the report to release to the public. Both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are likely to bring Barr forward to testify under oath about the report as soon as this weekend.
BREAKING: In letter to Congress, AG Barr says he may be in a position to advise cmtes. of Special Counsel Mueller's principal conclusions from the investigation as soon as this weekend.
— NBC News (@NBCNews)
The House Judiciary Committee — which is chaired by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) — may issue a subpoena for the report to the Department of Justice. Nadler has said in the past he would challenge any attempt by the Trump administration to claim executive privilege and redact parts of the final report.
There is no provision in the regulations for White House review, and it would be unacceptable for President Trump — the subject, if not the target of the Special Counsel’s work — to edit the report before it goes public,” Nadler tweeted last week.
Mueller’s investigation has already resulted in nearly three dozen felony indictments, including six people inside President Trump’s inner circle. Mueller has also secured multiple guilty pleas from high-level Trump associates, like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, and Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos. There is speculation that dozens of sealed indictments in DC federal court (Mueller’s jurisdiction) are also tied to the Russia probe, and that some of those sealed indictments may include members of President Trump’s family, like Donald Jr. and Jared Kushner.