I've covered the Justice Department for three decades, and seldom have I seen a story like the one published in The New York Times this week under the headline, "Some on Mueller's Team Say Report Was More Damaging Than Barr Revealed."
The job of prosecutors is not, as the Times headline suggested, to pen "Damaging" narratives about people they couldn't indict.
"The prosecutor must recognize that the grand jury is an independent body, whose functions include not only the investigation of crime and the initiation of criminal prosecution but also the protection of the citizenry from unfounded criminal charges," the Justice Department rules say.
We know from statements the Justice Department made Thursday that grand jury subpoenas and testimony were so essential to the Mueller probe that nearly every one of the 400 pages of his final report contained some form of grand jury or classified information that needs to be redacted - i.e., protected from being used to level "Unfounded criminal charges" against those not indicted.
You'd think the Mueller prosecutors might have taken note of the admonishment.
The bigger lesson here should be clear, both to the Mueller team members and the reporters who facilitated their anonymous griping.
In the American justice system, if you don't indict, you cannot incite.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/437496-note-to-team-mueller-if-you-dont-indict-you-cant-incite
The job of prosecutors is not, as the Times headline suggested, to pen "Damaging" narratives about people they couldn't indict.
"The prosecutor must recognize that the grand jury is an independent body, whose functions include not only the investigation of crime and the initiation of criminal prosecution but also the protection of the citizenry from unfounded criminal charges," the Justice Department rules say.
We know from statements the Justice Department made Thursday that grand jury subpoenas and testimony were so essential to the Mueller probe that nearly every one of the 400 pages of his final report contained some form of grand jury or classified information that needs to be redacted - i.e., protected from being used to level "Unfounded criminal charges" against those not indicted.
You'd think the Mueller prosecutors might have taken note of the admonishment.
The bigger lesson here should be clear, both to the Mueller team members and the reporters who facilitated their anonymous griping.
In the American justice system, if you don't indict, you cannot incite.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/437496-note-to-team-mueller-if-you-dont-indict-you-cant-incite
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