Donald Trump’s Schedule to Release the Mueller Report Is Never

Michael Reynolds/CNP via ZUMA

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This is my daily reminder that we still have no idea what’s actually in the Mueller report. All we have so far is a short memo that was written and approved by President Trump’s attorney general and released to a credulous press as a supposedly full and fair summary. So when will we see the actual report?

Mr. Mueller’s full report has yet to be released, and it remained unclear if it ever would be. House Democrats have demanded that it be sent to them by next Tuesday, but the Justice Department outlined a longer schedule, saying that it will have its own summary ready to send to lawmakers within weeks, though not months.

Wait. What was that again?

The Justice Department outlined a longer schedule, saying that it will have its own summary ready to send to lawmakers within weeks, though not months.

So the answer is “never”? The most that William Barr plans to make available is his own carefully curated version of the Mueller report? And even that will take several weeks? This is epic hubris, the exercise of raw power just because nobody can stop him. It’s very hard not to conclude from this that Mueller’s report has some pretty damaging details in it that will never see the light of day if Trump has his way.

This should be an outrage to everyone, regardless of party, but instead it looks like it will just fly under the radar. Trump says the Mueller report is a complete exoneration, and that’s the story they’re sticking with. Nobody will ever be allowed to know anything different.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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