The pressure increases for Robert Mueller to speak

But in retrospect, this has left other people – who do not necessarily follow his plan for life – tell his story themselves.

That left out the long-standing assumption that Mueller's remarks in his report would speak for themselves, to the detriment of the political advantage of President Donald Trump, who calls for a blanket exemption that the report does not confer. .

& # 39; Blessed & # 39; to serve

Even as an FBI director, Mueller never sought the limelight, was reluctant to promote himself and avoided the press whenever he could. His regular appearances at Capitol Hill were noted for their information economy and discretion.

Mueller always left his job – his indictments, his reports and the conduct of his trained subordinates – to talk about his career in a career in which he primarily chose to exchange the benefits of corporate law for government work.

"I am blessed and exceptionally fortunate to do what I love and this opportunity comes in the form of a service," Mueller told students at his former preparatory school, St Paul & # 39; s , in 2004.

Soon, Mueller, a longtime Republican, was at the center of a political storm.

He ignored the imprecise daily flow of attacks by Trump and his propagandists in the conservative media for two years.

The decision prevented the investigation from being dragged into political crossfire. But that also gave the Trump machine a free field to create a poisonous atmosphere around the Mueller probe and isolate the president from its vital political base.

Subsequent events raise the question of whether Mueller's courteous and unobtrusive approach is inappropriate at a time when a president is tweeting and spreading unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

Over the past two years, Mueller has been a ghostly presence, dominating Washington's waking hours, but never heard.

The only public words uttered by Mueller about the investigation during his almost two-year tenure are the words "no comment" four times, when a NBC journalist approached him the month latest.

One of the few occasions when Mueller's spokesman went into the fray was that of the cancellation of a BuzzFeed report accusing Trump of perjury.

And when he had finished, Mueller communicated his findings to his superiors and did not hold a press conference or appeared at the public unveiling of the report by Barr last month.

The rules governing the appointment of Mueller do not require him to speak to the American people. But he has mechanisms to do it if he wishes.

However, the Comey press conference had staged an edifying show, after it had decided not to impeach Clinton's email survey, which had dragged the office into a damaging political mess that he had not yet escaped.

In some ways, Mueller could not win. But politics hates emptiness.

Barr and the White House fill the void

The aggressive interventions of Barr and the White House have created an unstoppable account of exoneration that has mitigated the political impact of an investigation that – if she had not found any crimes punishable Prosecution – had painted a devastating picture of lies, apparent abuse of power and duplicity in the West. Wing.

Mueller's loneliness and deference to authority is what makes his letter to Barr questioning the manner in which the Attorney General wrote the report of the special council so extraordinarily.

"There is now a confusion in the public opinion about the critical aspects of the results of our investigation," Mueller wrote in a letter dated March 27, 2019.

"This risks undermining a central goal for which the ministry has appointed the special advocate: to ensure public confidence in the results of investigations."

In a way, it was Mueller who broke his silence. He took advantage of his reputation – and by putting his arguments so forcefully and on paper, he knew that they would eventually emerge. This is an extraordinary step for a man known for his respect for authority.

Democrats now want a public accounting from Mueller – especially after Barr's controversial appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Strange friendship

Barr and Mueller, two titans of the Washington legal elite, have known each other for decades and have always contrasted. The former leader of the FBI is less partisan. Barr courted the controversy during George H.W. Bush's first tenure as Attorney General.

The first sign of a crack in their strange friendship came with an unsolicited letter to the Justice Department in 2018 in which Barr, while admitting that he had not seen Mueller's testimony, was unwelcome. attacked his theory of obstruction as "a fatal misconception".

Given what happened next, the letter is often considered by Barr as a hearing for the then Attorney General's position, Jeff Sessions.

By the time of his confirmation hearing in January, Barr stood as the ideal person to pilot Mueller's report until a successful landing.

"I have known Bob Mueller personally and professionally for 30 years," he said. "We have worked closely together during my previous term in the Justice Department under President Bush, and we have been friends ever since."

It would not be surprising if this friendship was put to the test – although Barr kept his promise to publish the Mueller report, albeit in a redacted version.

Barr has now taken rank after making sure that his work on Mueller's work – particularly on the fact that the special advocate does not decide if Trump had prevented justice – became the first dominant assessment.

"Bob Mueller is the equivalent of a US prosecutor who was executing the powers of the Attorney General, under the supervision of the Attorney General," Barr said Wednesday.

"His work ended when he sent his work to the Attorney General, at that time it was my baby and I made the decision to make it public or not," he said. added.

Barr also seemed irritated by Mueller's letter, which had leaked on the eve of his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"You know, the letter is a bit underhand and I think it was probably written by a member of his staff," Barr said.

The great irony of Barr's appearance is that the uproar that he fomented makes it almost inevitable that Mueller be called to testify in the most public forums.

Although Senate Republicans are ready to move on, Democrats in the House call for a new urgency for Mueller to meet the legislators.

Barr said Wednesday that he would have no objection to Mueller testifying. But it is possible that pressure from the White House and another twist in the special advocate's drama mean that more fights are coming before such an appearance.