Attorney General William Barr (shown above right) is preparing to announce the release of the special counsel report on election meddling as early as next week, according to reports on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump has been under investigation by the special counsel team over allegations of election meddling.
Now, it appears special counsel Robert Mueller (above left) could release the report on the investigation as soon as next week.
Barr is reportedly planning to submit a summary to lawmakers soon after the confidential report is released, sources told CNN.
The sources don’t make clear when exactly the report is expected to be released.
There are also other factors that might influence the timing of the release. President Trump is planning to travel overseas for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which may impact timing as to not interfere with diplomatic efforts.
Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has also said he hasn’t been told the report is near completion, according to Fox News on Wednesday.
Related: James Clapper Expects ‘Anti-Climactic’ Mueller Report
Mueller and his team are looking into possible crimes committed by the president or his associates related to the presidential election of 2016. The investigators are particularly focused on whether they colluded or not with Russian interests to sway the election.
But the special counsel team itself has also faced scrutiny over allegations of bias against the president.
Former National Intelligence Director James Clapper said he expects the special counsel report will be “anti-climactic” during a recent interview Wednesday.
He warned that investigators might not even reach a definitive conclusion on the election meddling accusations.
The special counsel regulations dictate that the team will submit a confidential report to the attorney general once the investigation is over. But those rules don’t require the findings to be shared with Congress or the public. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called for the report to be made public.
Senate Judiciary Committee members even introduced a bipartisan bill to ensure that the report is made public.
Related: Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Addresses Concerns Over Mueller Memo
Barr said during his recent nomination hearing that he would make the report as transparent as possible. But he warned he would follow internal rules and respect whatever agreement the former attorney general and special counsel had in place regarding the final report.
The special counsel team has taken down a handful of former associates of the president since launching its investigation in May 2017. But it has yet to connect the president himself directly to any collusion allegations.
Political consultant Roger Stone became the latest former associate to be arrested in the probe, but he has denied the allegations against him.
He faced charges of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering.
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