This week was dominated by news of the Mueller report, which was  delivered to Attorney General William Barr last Friday, but has yet to  be given to Congress or the American people. On Sunday, AG Barr sent a  four-page letter to Congress, which he characterized as a “summary” of  the Mueller report, but later in the week, in a second letter, wrote it  “did not purport to be, an exhaustive recounting of the Special  Counsel’s investigation or report” which was revealed to be nearly 400  pages long.

Barr’s Sunday letter said that Mueller did not find evidence Trump or  his campaign knowingly colluded with Russia, but on obstruction of  justice charges, Mueller did not render an opinion. Barr and deputy  attorney general Rod Rosenstein however concluded not to proceed with  criminal charges, and Trump instantly weaponized the information to  falsely claim he was fully exonerated, and pivot to attacking Democrats  and the media, with the help of his allies. The media was caught on its  heels, as some of the initial reporting incorrectly cited the Mueller  report, including the front page of Monday’s New York Times.  Trump aides who had been jailed or investigated by Mueller’s team were  given media opportunities to declare themselves as victims of an  overaggressive prosecutor. By Friday, bowing to public pressure, Barr in  a second letter said he would release a redacted version of the Mueller  report by mid-April or sooner.

Read the full list here: https://theweeklylist.org/weekly-list/week-124/