April 4, 2019

Trump Lashes Out After Reports That Mueller Investigation Is More Damaging Than DOJ Claimed

“Fake News.”

Shawn Thew/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at a New York Times story revealing that several members on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team are apparently dissatisfied with the attorney general’s portrayal of their findings. The investigators, the Times reported, “have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.”

Trump, without evidence, accused the paper of fabricating its sources. He then repeated his false claim that the Times had previously issued an apology to him for inaccurate and “very bad” reporting on him.

In his tweet, the president did not mention the two additional stories—from the Washington Post and NBC News—that backed the Times‘ initial reporting. Those subsequent reports went even further, citing multiple sources who said Barr specifically omitted the special counsel’s own summaries of the 400-page report. A senior law enforcement official also told NBC that Mueller’s finding, in NBC’s words, “paint a picture of a campaign whose members were manipulated by a sophisticated Russian intelligence operation.”

Trump’s tweet came shortly after the Department of Justice released a statement defending Barr’s initial summary. Meanwhile, Democrats this week took formal steps toward officially subpoenaing the full report.

When asked about reports that some on Mueller’s team are frustrated with Barr’s memo, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday offered the following solution for the president: “Release the Mueller report, as soon as possible.”

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate