Justice Department Defends Process for Handling Mueller Report

The Justice Department defended its handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report after media reports that Mueller’s team wrote summaries that they intended to be made public.

Every page of Mueller’s confidential report was marked with a notice saying it may contain grand jury material that by law has to be kept secret, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement.

'The department continues to work with the special counsel on appropriate redactions to the report so that it can be released to Congress and the public,' Kupec said.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that members of Mueller’s team prepared summaries for different sections of the report with a view that they could be made public, citing one U.S. official briefed on the matter.

Members of Mueller’s team have complained to associates the evidence related to possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump 'was alarming and significant,' according to the Post story, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Some members of Mueller’s team also told associates that Attorney General William Barr failed to adequately portray their investigative findings, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Some of the findings were more damaging for Trump than Barr has indicated, according to the report.

Trump on Thursday attacked Democrats for continuing to investigate him.

“According to polling, few people seem to care about the Russian Collusion Hoax, but some Democrats are fighting hard to keep the Witch Hunt alive,” Trump tweeted. “They should focus on legislation or, even better, an investigation of how the ridiculous Collusion Delusion got started - so illegal!”