Those waiting for Robert Mueller’s final report—an all-encompassing, A-Z catalog of the special counsel’s findings ranging from Paul Manafort’s money laundering to ... Donald Trump’s money laundering—are going to be disappointed. Not because Mueller hasn’t found anything, but because it’s unlikely there will be such a report. Previous investigations, like Iran-Contra or Whitewater, did eventually include a suitable-for-your-coffee-table review, but those came years after most of the principles had departed. What’s likely to issue from Mueller’s office is indictments. Then more indictments. Then still more indictments. Then, a letter—likely delivered to Bill Barr, or whoever comes after Bill Barr displeases Trump, or whoever serves as AG in the Harris/Gillibrand/Beto administration—announcing that the investigation is winding down. That final letter might also detail whether or not Mueller feels there are others who should have gotten some paperwork except for inconvenient Justice Department guidelines. That’s about it.
That final letter, if it comes, may never be seen outside of the AG’s office. If it lands on Barr’s desk, he can issue it, redact it, bury it in a time capsule set to 2068, or shred it and eat it with cheese. But even if it is issued, it’s very unlikely to contain the kind of “big picture” review that many seem to be expecting.
And among that “many” is Donald Trump. Trump spent both Thursday night and Friday morning warning that not only is this investigation being conducted by the conflicted best friend of James Comey and his crew of angry Democratic refugees from the the Clinton Foundation, but that Mueller’s final report … won’t be the final report.
With over four hours of “executive time” on Friday morning, Trump has been repeatedly tweeting about how Rudy is so going to blow Mueller out of the water with his alternate-world refutation of this partisan witch hunt—as soon as he figures out how the Internet works.
Everyone agrees that this whole affair, starting with November 8, 2016, should never, never, never-ever happen again. However, the idea that there will be a future president of the United States is comforting.
What will be in the “Counter Report?” Considering that Trump has retweeted and repeated comments from neo-fascists, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and the many circus cars of the “Trump train,” it could be almost anything.
However, as The Atlantic reported just one day ago, the idea that Rudy Giuliani is working on Chapter 12 of his epic anti-Mueller poem might be news to Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani said it’s been difficult in the past few months to even consider drafting response plans, or devote time to the “counter-report” he claimed they were working on this summer as he and Trump confronted Mueller’s written questions about the 2016 campaign.
In fact, what the White House told the Atlantic was that the “no response plan has been produced.” A big part of that was because Trump took three weeks to respond to questions that “would normally take two days.” Trump’s “87 pages” claim is likely to come from the same ‘deep source’ as all the other numbers he uses to prove America is “winning.”
Mostly the White House seems to be populated with two groups: People who are whistling in the dark, trying to pretend the Mueller investigation doesn’t exist, and those like Sarah Sanders who have taken on the role of repeating “witch hunt” whenever they are poked. What’s not happening is any serious discussion of what Mueller is likely to do, or how the White House should respond.
And what Mueller is likely to do is file not reports, but indictments. Many more indictments.
Then Giuliani will get to see what a judge thinks of his “counter report.”