Thread by @julianzelizer

So nobody outside DOJ actually knows what the report says. The details of the investigation remain a mystery. Yet everyone has reached their conclusions. /1

Based on Attorney General Barr’s letter, we know that Mueller’s team found the Russians did interfere in the election. This is a different message than the president has often delivered, as he sometimes dismissed and often downplayed the interference. /2

Remember this?
washingtonpost.com/politics/ahead… /3

We know that Mueller did not find evidence of the @realDonaldTrump campaign conspiring or colluding with the Russian government to influence the election, a significant conclusion. This will bolster President Trump's standing and offer a powerful talking point throughout 2020 /4

But we don’t know what Mueller surmised regarding the many proven contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians with ties to Putin. Nor do we understand why Mueller thought those officials lied or mislead investigators about the contacts./5
vox.com/2018/8/21/1776…

We know that Mueller couldn’t say the president did not obstruct justice. Only the Attorney General, who once wrote a memo to DOJ criticizing Mueller for “proposing an unprecedented expansion of obstruction laws,” reached this conclusion. /6
cnn.com/2019/03/24/pol…

Given Mueller’s unwillingness to reach a conclusion on an issue that was a basis for the impeachment of Presidents Nixon and Clinton, this seems problematic. /7

Putting aside politics--where POTUS is coming out ahead in the post-report spin—this feels like a rush to judgement. Democrats and Republicans need to be open to Mueller's findings. But we don't yet know what they are. At a minimum, the public needs to see this report. /end

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