Just in time for Attorney General William Barr's scheduled testimony to the Senate on Wednesday, on Tuesday evening we started getting reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had sent Barr a letter. Since then, we have been told repeatedly that Mueller's letter to Barr was on March 27, 2019. That's not the whole story. And now, for the rest of the story you might say.
The Special Counsel delivered his long-awaited Report to the Attorney General on March 22, 2019. That was a Friday. And by the way, that was the day of the first letter from Special Counsel Mueller to Attorney General Barr.
According to Mueller's March 27 letter (view a copy here: Download Special Counsel Mueller March 27 2019 letter to AG Barr.), he "reiterated" to the Department of Justice "early in the afternoon of March 24" that the Special Counsel's Introductions and Executive Summaries of both of the two Volumes of the Report were accurate summaries. We do not know how Mueller "reiterated" that, but presumably it was either in-person or over the telephone or by email, perhaps.
Barr's "summary letter" was released "late in the afternoon of March 24," Mueller wrote, and Barr's letter "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Office's work and conclusions."
"We communicated that concern to the Department on the morning of March 25." (Emphasis added.) Once again, presumably the "communication" came in person, over the telephone, by email, or in some other way.
So, within the space of about 12 hours from "early afternoon" on Sunday the 24th to "the morning of March 25" there were two communications from Mueller to Barr and the Department of Justice.
Then, on Monday, March 25 there came a third contact: Mueller sent Barr a letter which we have not yet seen. Special Counsel Mueller says that he enclosed with that letter "the introduction and executive summary for each volume," with proposed redactions.
Apparently nothing happened on Tuesday, March 26th.
Not having heard anything back, Mueller again wrote to Attorney General Barr and again enclosed the introduction and executive summaries of both Volumes of the Special Counsel's Report, and again with proposed redactions. This was Special Counsel Mueller's letter of March 27, 2019. And this time Mueller specifically requested that Barr "provide these materials to Congress and authorize their public release at this time." (Emphasis added.)
"At this time." To say again, that was March 27, 2019.
It took Barr a month to provide any parts -- redacted, as we know -- of the Special Counsel's Report to Congress and to authorize public release of any other parts -- likewise redacted, as we know -- of the Special Counsel's Report.
In the interim, in testimony to the Senate on April 10, 2019, Attorney General Barr reportedly testified that he had no idea what redactions Special Counsel Mueller would have in mind. Of course, as of April 10th, Barr had received at least four messages from Mueller relating to exactly that subject, and not just about redactions but proposing which ones to make, set out in two communications, and two letters in writing.
Four. That we know of "at this time."
Barr and his redactions. What pieces of work.
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