On Thursday William Barr is going to release a report that is based to some degree on the report Robert Muller prepared and submitted to the DOJ. It’s not clear whether it will be a redacted version of the actual report, or some completely different animal that claims to describe the contents of that report with quotes from the original. What it will not be is the Muller report in full.
Whenever we refer to the report we should call it what it is, the Barr report.
I’m planning to call my local talk radio station—they broadcast Limbaugh and a cast of local right wing zealots—and make that point. I’m also writing letters to the editors of all the local newspapers. I’ve already left emails for the general manager and news editors of the two semi-local TV stations news programs asking to be accurate in their reporting, that if it ain’t the entire Muller report, then it’s Barr’s report. You should do the same. I think the media is beginning to feel that they’ve been taken for a ride by Trump et al and all they need is a little push to do a better job. Let’s give it to ‘em.
It goes without saying that Congress should be given the complete Muller report. When Ken Starr released his report he did so in it’s entirety. That’s the current gold standard. If Barr does less than that, he should be called out by the mainstream media for it.
Excellent diaries here have reported chapter and verse on Barr’s inclination to obscure the facts of investigations and to downright lie about them. We need to hang that around his neck. I hope elected Democrats do so. I’m not at all confident that they will get their messaging right on this either, but hope burns eternal.