The potentially dangerous Mueller report paves the way for a new political struggle

In his letter, Barr stated that the special advocate had not established a criminal plot between the Trump campaign and Russia. And he said that Mueller had not come to a "one way or another" conclusion as to whether Trump's conduct in office was a hindrance to justice.

"It was a lot more serious than Barr suggested," said someone who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity.

On Barr's letter, Trump immediately seized on Twitter to declare "No collusion, no obstruction, complete and total EXONERATION".

Although Trump's assertion is false – Mueller did not come to a conclusion on the obstruction, for example -, his allies and himself started using Barr's summary as a political cudgel to dismiss not only Mueller's work, but also any future investigation into the president's conduct.

However, the news that Mueller's full report may contain unflattering revelations about the president and his behavior has created a potential political problem for the White House and Trump's re-election campaign.

After initially calling for the release of the full report, Trump seemed to temper his enthusiasm this week by writing on Twitter that "there are not many testimonials or documents that can satisfy Jerry Nadler or Shifty Adam." Schiff "- a reference to Nadler and Representative Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Referring to the Democrats more generally, he also tweeted: "NOTHING WILL NEVER SATISFY!"

In this context, Mueller's team began to complain. Some members of his office were particularly disappointed that Mr. Barr did not release the summary information prepared by the Special Advisory Team, according to three people who knew their reactions well.

"The team was immediately unhappy when she saw how the Attorney General had characterized his work," according to a US official informed of the matter.

Two officials familiar with the file added that the summaries prepared by the Mueller team were intended to be ready for quick public consultation, as the redactions could have been done fairly quickly.

Department of Justice officials challenged this qualification, saying the summaries contained sensitive information that will likely require drafting.

Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Thursday in a statement that every page of Mueller's confidential report bore the mention that it could contain confidential information about the grand jury, adding that it " could not be made public. "

"Given the extraordinary public interest in this case, the Attorney General decided to immediately publish the findings of the report and its conclusions, without attempting to summarize it, on the understanding that the report itself would be made public after the drafting process, "she says. ". . . He does not believe that the report should be published "in series or piecemeal". The Department continues to work with the Special Adviser on the appropriate drafting of the report so that it can be shared with Congress and the public. "

A spokesman for the special council declined to comment.

Democrats blame Barr

While the White House has publicly given Barr considerable leeway to treat the Mueller Report as he sees fit, congressional Democrats have been increasingly critical of his role, wondering if he was trying to protect the president by his letters and his public statements while continuing his examination. and write excerpts from the Mueller report.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Reiterated Thursday her request that Barr publish the Mueller report and linked it in her mind to a six-year Democratic request to the Treasury Department Trump's tax returns.

"Show us the Mueller report. Show us the tax returns, "said Pelosi at a press conference, seemingly addressing the president momentarily. "We do not leave because you said" no "the first time."

Every day that passes, the report remains secret, the pressure on Barr increases, partly because of the requirements of transparency of Congress and anonymous statements of officials on the work of the Attorney General.

According to several law enforcement officials and former law enforcement officials, Barr has particular difficulty following the rules of justice drafted as a result of the law. 39; Kenneth Starr inquiry into President Bill Clinton, in an attempt to limit the amount of information available. this can be made public.

Some senior justice officials also fear repeating what they regard as errors made in 2016 by FBI director James B. Comey when he discussed the details of Hillary Clinton's investigation of the use. a private mail server. Because these officials maintain that Comey has talked too much about people who are not accused of crimes, they are now arguing internally for Barr to be more circumspect in public statements and disclosure of information.

Some people familiar with the discussions said that the Special Council office was frustrated by Barr's limited description of their work; others say that the Department of Justice is frustrated by Mueller's decision not to determine whether the president has attempted to obstruct justice. On both sides, it is frustrating that the Special Councils Regulation seems to make these differing views more difficult to resolve.

Trump's lawyer, Rudol W. Giuliani, said the frustrations of Mueller's team came from "disgruntled" staff members.

"They are a sneaky and unethical bunch of fugitives," he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday night. "And they are rabid democrats who hate the president of the United States."

Giuliani added: "I am absolutely convinced that the report will confirm the conclusions. The conclusions: no obstruction, no Russian collusion of any kind. This will confirm it.

For almost two years, Mueller's team of 19 lawyers and nearly 40 agents, analysts and other FBI professionals worked in almost absolute silence, rarely speaking to public documents filed in court. The fact that some people have confided to the partners these days testifies to their level of distress.

Some members of Mueller's team seem caught off guard by the way in which the president used Barr's letter to claim total victory, as limited information about their work was made fictitious in the highly polarized political environment of the world. countries, according to people close to their answers.

Their frustrations come as polls show that many Americans have already drawn conclusions about the findings of the special advocate – even though only a few words of the report have been made public.