On Friday, Robert Mueller, head of the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election, submitted his report on what the special has discovered in its two-year investigation.
The report was handed off to the US Department of Justice, where attorney general William Barr will most likely be compiling the report that he will give to Congress. Barr has said that he may be able to release his report, in writing, to Congress as soon as this weekend, but it remains to be seen exactly how long it will take.
It is likely that the report that Barr gives to Congress will subsequently be made public, as the Justice Department announced that the “principal conclusions” of the report will eventually be made public. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have said they will issue subpoena’s to make the report public if necessary.
In the course of Mueller’s investigation, there have been 37 charges filed against defendants, seven guilty pleas and one trial conviction. According to an unnamed Justice Department official, Mueller is not recommending any further indictments, which means it is not likely Mueller will be recommending charging president Trump or his associates with further charges.
Throughout the special counsel investigation, which began in May 2017, Trump has derided the efforts by Mueller as a witch hunt that only came about because of Democrat’s anger with the results of the 2016 election. Trump has stated that the release of the Mueller’s report will be seen by his supports as an affront to the nation if it says anything negative about Trump.
