Critical Part Of Mueller's Report That AG Barr Didn't Mention - The Atlantic

Barr’s summary does not describe how Mueller investigated or came to explain the many interactions the campaign had with various Russians during the election.

Mueller’s mandate, given to him by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, empowered him to investigate not only any “coordination” between the campaign and Russia, but any “links” between them as well. Barr’s summary does not describe how Mueller investigated or came to explain the many interactions the campaign had with various Russians during the election.

Mueller was empowered to probe the campaign's links to Russia as well as any coordination - which is why his counterintelligence findings are so key. If all we do is apply criminal standards to investigative findings, we are missing the point.

National-security and intelligence experts have said that Mueller’s decision not to charge Trump or his campaign team with a conspiracy is far from dispositive, and that the underlying evidence the special counsel amassed over two years could prove as useful as a conspiracy charge to understanding the full scope of Russia’s election interference in 2016.

A counterintelligence probe would ask more than whether the evidence collected is sufficient to obtain a criminal conviction - it could provide necessary information to the public about why the president is making certain policy decisions.

Trump’s consistent praise of Putin, his pursuit of a massive real-estate deal in Moscow while Russia was waging a hacking and disinformation campaign against the United States in 2016, and the secrecy that continues to surround his conversations with his Russian counterpart have given some in the national-security community pause.

The full article is available here

The William Barr Summary Of The Mueller Report and "Did Not Establish" - The Atlantic

When prosecutors say that an investigation "did not establish" something, that doesn’t mean that they concluded it didn’t happen, or even that they don’t believe it happened.

It means that the investigation didn’t produce enough information to prove that it happened.

Without seeing Mueller’s full report, we don’t know whether this is a firm conclusion about lack of coordination or a frank admission of insufficient evidence.  The difference is meaningful.

The full article is available here