Mueller objected to Barr’s description of Russia probe’s findings on Trump

Bloomberg

Special Counsel Robert Mueller expressed frustration over how Attorney General William Barr characterised his findings and analysis regarding whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, according to a letter Mueller sent to Barr.
Mueller contacted Barr to express his displeasure after Barr issued a four-page letter characterising the main findings of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Justice Department confirmed.
“The summary letter the department sent to Congress and released to the public did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions,” Mueller wrote, according to The Washington Post, which reported on the disagreement between the two men.
Mueller wrote that Barr’s letter created “public confusion” about important parts of the results of the special counsel’s 22-month probe. “This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the special counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations,” Mueller wrote, according to the Post.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement that Barr called Mueller after receiving the special counsel’s letter.
“In a cordial and professional conversation, the special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney general’s March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading,” Kupec said. “But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsel’s obstruction analysis.”
The disagreement ratchets up tensions over the handling of Mueller’s final report, as the attorney general prepares to testify for the first time about the Russian investigation before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Barr’s characterisation of Mueller’s findings stood uncontested until a redacted version of Mueller’s report.