Here’s what to look for in tomorrow’s redacted Mueller report
Everyone wants a piece of the Mueller report pie. According to Newsweek, several entities have already filed suit under FOIA, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and BuzzFeed, which first published the Steele dossier in its entirety.
District Judge Reggie Walton, a President George W. Bush appointee, ruled against BuzzFeed’s request for a preliminary injunction as told by Politico, but he made a very telling public statement which will now become part of the record: “The Attorney General has created an environment that has caused a significant part of the public … to be concerned about whether or not there is full transparency.” We can count on this issue being litigated further in the future because of Barr’s lack of transparency.
While awaiting release of the report, Politico has updated and re-published a list of 25 issues that may come to light even in a redacted report, some of which we’ve seen and some we have not. As Palmer Report wrote last night, former White House Counsel Don McGahn’s cooperation with Mueller could shed light on several issues, and Politico agrees. In their piece, Politico confirms that Trump did indeed attempt to fire Mueller, and the only reason it didn’t happen was McGahn’s threat to quit.
Politico also states that Trump tried to get McGahn to “convince” Jeff Sessions to undo his own recusal, even though McGahn and his entire staff recused themselves from the Russia investigation as well. It should be relatively easy to see why McGahn left. He was being constantly pressured to take unethical, and in some instances illegal actions, all in the name of doing Trump’s bidding. McGahn at least earns some respect for that, and it will be interesting to see if any of this information remains unredacted.
The piece in Politico also points to how George Papadopoulos’s involvement began as a campaign aide to Ben Carson, and culminated in pleading guilty to lying to the FBI. Carter Page’s recruitment by Russia, as well as Trump’s connections to Russia – including the members of his team who actually spoke to or met with Russians – clearly ties Trump to Russia, whether Barr admits that or not. Remember, Barr carefully worded his summary to conclude that Trump did not collude with the “Russian government” but is silent as to Trump and his team’s relationships with Russian individuals with unofficial ties to the Russian government.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years