Dear Chairman Graham, Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Ranking Member Collins:
I write to notify you pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 600.9(a)(3) that Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters. In addition to this notification, the Special Counsel regulations require that I provide you with “a description and explanation of instances (if any) in which the Attorney General” or acting Attorney General “concluded that a proposed action by a Special Counsel was so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued.” 28 C.F.R. § 600.9(a)(3). There were no such instances during the Special Counsel’s investigation.
The Special Counsel has submitted to me today a “confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions” he has reached, as required by 28 C.F.R. § 600.8(c). I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.
Separately, I intend to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public consistent with the law, including the Special Counsel regulations, and the Department’s long-standing practices and policies. I remain committed to as much transparency as possible, and I will keep you informed as to the status of my review.
Finally, the Special Counsel regulations provide that “the Attorney General may determine that public release of” this notification “would be in the public interest.” 28 C.F.R. § 600.9(c). I have so determined, and I will disclose this letter to the public after delivering it to you.
Sincerely,
William P. Barr
Attorney General
*
FYI or to refresh memory from the guardian:
What was Mueller’s brief?
Mueller was appointed on 17 May 2017, to serve as special counsel for the Department of Justice. The appointment was prompted by the firing of the FBI director, James Comey, eight days earlier; the recusal of the then attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from matters pertaining to the Russia investigation; and a perceived need to protect and advance open investigations into Russian election tampering and the Trump campaign.
An official letter of authorization signed by the acting attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, authorized Mueller to investigate (quoting from the document):
How long did it take? How much did it cost?
Mueller turned in his report 650 days after his appointment. By the end of last December, the investigation had cost about $27m, Politifact estimated – a fraction of the cost of special prosecutor investigations in decades past. Accounting for the estimated $48m that Mueller’s team has clawed back from tax cheats, the net cost of the Mueller investigation could be negative.
Bill recaps the top stories of the week, including the release of the Mueller Report and President Trump’s feud with deceased Senator John McCain.
meanwhile, the earth is melting!!! BBC: Sir David Attenborough is to present an “urgent” new documentary about climate change for BBC One. The one-off film will focus on the potential threats to our planet and the possible solutions. The broadcaster says “conditions have changed far faster” than he ever imagined when he first started talking about the environment 20 years ago. The documentary will show footage showing the impact global warming has already had. It will also feature interviews with climatologists and meteorologists to explore the science behind recent extreme weather conditions, including the California wildfires in November 2018. Last December, Sir David called climate change “humanity’s greatest threat in thousands of years” at the opening ceremony of the United Nations climate change conference. He said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of “much of the natural world”. Earlier this year he spoke to Prince William at the World Economic Forum about how people must care, respect and revere the natural world. Sir David, 92, said that when he started his career in the mid-1950s, he did not think there was anybody who thought “there was a danger that we might annihilate part of the natural world.” “It may sound frightening, but the scientific evidence is that if we have not taken dramatic action within the next decade, we could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies,” he says in the documentary. The BBC said the film would “deliver… Read more »
Pat…..did the pic not show up, or was it just that it was a fonky pic £
(I can’t find the question mark)
New device and had no pics yet so took one in a hurry ?
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out
lol
new thread
sturge, it wasn’t there. now it is and now it’s posted. thanks, we’ve been missing you. also, BTW, thanks for suggesting “the left hand of darkness” by le guin. am enjoying it.
NEW THREAD
What will the report say that we don’t know? Inquiring minds want to know. What we know is that SFB surrounded himself and was advised by a gang of criminals and big league tax cheats. We know his advisors (and his chip off the old block) had contacts with Russian actors during the election. We know that 37 people were indicted, including his top and closest advisors. Just as with Capone I’m waiting for the tax evasion shoe to drop.
So what’s this new device sturg? One everything MUST have?
The Left Hand of Darkness is one of the greatest novels ever written. LeGuin deserved a Nobel for Literature, and TLHoD should have been cited as her best.