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BREAKING NEWS (Reuters): Mueller Probe Financed Through September reuters.com/article/us-usa…
1/ Mueller already extended his grand jury through early July, which led many of us to wonder (different from predicting) whether the Mueller investigation would last through the summer. I said this; @PreetBharara said this; many people did. That at least looks more *likely* now.
2/ The fact is, *nobody* knows what's going to happen here. Maybe the report drops tomorrow; maybe it drops in 2020. All I know is that every *sign* we have tells us the investigation has a long way to go—I've listed 20 such signs in threads—and those who say otherwise are wrong.
3/ I'll add that I've been in the group—much-maligned—who *don't* think AG Barr is going to deep-six Bob Mueller, and who *don't* think it was wrong to confirm him, given the other option(s) Trump would've put before us. This is a *sign*—only a sign—Barr is acting professionally.
4/ The main impact of this—I hope—will be for media to a) stop falsely reporting that we know Mueller is almost done, b) stop aiding and abetting those seeking to pressure Mueller in any way, and c) get out of the *prediction* game altogether when speaking of Mueller's timeline.
5/ When I criticized @KenDilanianNBC, I said Mueller hadn't leaked. Reuters: "Representatives of key congressional committees involved in Trump-related investigations say they have received no guidance from Mueller’s office regarding his investigation’s progress or future plans."
6/ Besides laying out to Ken—and others reporting a story (on Mueller being almost done) that had proven false *six times before*—that the info we had didn't support a quick conclusion to the probe, I *also* said past stories had used White House sources and Trump-ally attorneys.
7/ But the December stories (from Ken and others) claiming—it turned out incorrectly—that the DOJ would have a *final report in hand from Mueller* by mid-February were *also* claiming DOJ sources at a time when a scruples-free Trump ally, Matt Whitaker, had just become Acting AG.
8/ My point is, if Mueller hasn't leaked—and he hasn't—and if no one in Congress knows anything, Ken's sources were either White House sources (proven false in the past), Trump-ally lawyers (proven false in the past), or Trump allies at the DOJ (who *no one* should have trusted).
9/ So another thing we should take from this is that the sourcing on the biggest issue in US politics right now—when Mueller will report back to the DOJ and when America will learn what Mueller found—needed to be far tighter than it was: it *had* to come from Mueller, and didn't.
10/ What holds for Mueller's timeline holds for his findings, too—let's have no more speculating about whether Mueller is focused on collusion (in any statutory guise), obstruction, financial crimes, or anything else. Let's publish the info we have and wait on what we don't. /end
