The Justice Department has defended Attorney General William Barr’s limited summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, saying it had to be pared-down to protect sensitive information. Members of Mueller’s team have reportedly said the summary did not adequately portray their findings. The letter stated that Mueller “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” but stopped short of clearing the president of obstruction of justice. “Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the attorney general decided to release the report’s bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately—without attempting to summarize the report—with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process,” a Justice Department spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec, said in a statement.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that some of Mueller’s investigators believe Barr’s letter left out some details in the report. Trump slammed the report on Twitter, calling the Times a “Fake Newspaper” that has “no legitimate sources.”