Will Mueller’s report be made public? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
WASHINGTON — This is not a story about when special counsel Robert Mueller will finish his investigation, or when he’ll submit his final report. Speculation has floated for weeks that he’s close to finishing, but no one knows for sure. This is about what will happen once he’s done and what happens after Mueller and his team of prosecutors disband.
The big picture: When the investigation is over, Mueller will submit a report to Attorney General Bill Barr, and Barr will submit a report of his own to Congress. Neither report must be public, but both can be. Pending prosecutions and investigations, such as the criminal case against longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone, will continue; Mueller’s office has been partnering with other federal prosecutors who can take over. Mueller will no longer be the most watched man in America, and he could return to the lucrative job he left in private practice — or at least go to an Apple Store or the airport without having his picture taken.
What has to be reported?
Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017 by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. His office, which at its peak had 16 lawyers, plus more assigned on limited details, operates under US Department of Justice regulations. Throughout the investigation, he has been required to report his status and major developments to the senior DOJ official overseeing his work — he reported to Rosenstein while former attorney general Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia probe, was in office; then to former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker; and now to Barr.
View the complete March 11 article by Zoe Tillman on the BuzzFeed News website here.