The White House today said President Trump has not been briefed on special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on the Russia investigation, adding it is up to the Justice Department how to handle the long-awaited document.
“The next steps are up to Attorney General William Barr, and we look forward to the process taking its course. The White House has not received or been briefed on the special counsel’s report,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
Mueller’s report was submitted to Barr while Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
He has yet to comment personally on the report since its release.
The Justice Department notified leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees before announcing the end of a 22-month-long saga focused on allegations that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with agents of Russia to improve his chances in the election.
In his letter to Judiciary Committee chairs and ranking minority members, Barr said he is ‘committed to as much transparency as possible.’
‘I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend,’ he wrote.
Barr added that he plans to consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to decide what information ‘can be released to Congress and the public.’
The damage to Trump and those in his circle has been extensive.
A half-dozen former Trump aides have been indicted or convicted of crimes, mostly for lying to federal investigators or Congress.
Others remain under investigation in cases that Mueller’s office handed off to federal prosecutors in New York and elsewhere.
Dozens of Russian intelligence officers or citizens, along with three Russian companies, were charged in cases that are likely to languish in court because the defendants cannot be extradited to the United States.
Only a handful of law enforcement officials have seen the report, according to a Justice Department spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec.
Even though Mueller’s report is complete, some aspects of his inquiry remain active and may be overseen by the same prosecutors once they are reassigned to their old jobs within the Justice Department.
For instance, recently filed court documents suggest that investigators are still examining why the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort turned over campaign polling data in 2016 to a Russian associate whom prosecutors said was tied to Russian intelligence.