STOP REPEATING THAT MUELLER REPORT IS IMMINENT!

[Grasswire2]

The story from CNN is misleading.

Look for the word "could" and think about it.

Geez.

CNN's click bait.

What IS coming is a section of the Manafort sentencing report on collusion.

Calm down. Remember "Fitzmas"?

[link:http:// https://www.emptywheel.net/2019/02/20/questions-to-ask-before-reporting-a-breaking-mueller-report/|

[underpants]

1. MUELLER REPORT IS IMMINENT!

[Grasswire2]

3. oh, you! LOL nt

[Cirque du So-What]

4. And also coming soon

[Grasswire2]

6. ha! nt

[Iliyah]

2. What happened to the conference from the DOJ?

Again, I do not trust Barr.

Secondly, it may be a partial report (I read on DK).

[Grasswire2]

5. reportedly, it is a section of the Manafort sentencing report, on collusion.

That's what is coming.

[OliverQ]

7. Where are you hearing this?

[bluestarone]

8. Probably right!

Wouldn't surprise me if this is what's coming!

[brooklynite]

9. It's not clickbait when when they spend an hour discussing the story

If you want to discount their news gathering skill, have fun.

[Grasswire2]

18. I am, and I will.

I also dispute the reporting of Ken Dilanian from NBC who has been hinting at the same false prediction in the last couple of weeks.

I rely on my own experience as a career editor in parsing words such as "could"....

....and the reporting of former prosecutor/journalism professor/NYT best-seller Seth Abramson who is deeply immersed in the study of the Mueller investigation and says that it's far from over.

Marcy Wheeler's reporting today that the "report" expected soon is part of the Manafort sentencing report is useful, too.

[Cetacea]

27. Yes

Nary a word from other news sources. On edit: Everyone now reporting on speculation on what will happen to the report but as far as I can tell tell the Justice Dept has not confirmed that Mueller is finished...


Mueller doesn't leak. It's possible that if he does it's for reasons unknown to us.

[Grasswire2]

31. I have considered that possibility.

As long as Trump thinks it's imminent, his lid may stay intact.

As far as the phrase "according to an attorney close to the Mueller team" is concerned, we have been advised by legal experts that this is likely DEFENSE attorney for someone.

[honest.abe]

10. Why do you give an opinion from "emptywheel" more credibility than CNN or MSNBC?

Not that I totally trust them either but I never heard of emptywheel.net.

[watoos]

11. Why?

I know that CNN and msnbc are right wing corporate controlled news outlets.

I know nothing about emptywheel.

[WeekiWater]

16. Marcy Wheeler has been really close to this from the beginning.

I take what is posted on emptywheel with a grain of salt but Marcy Wheeler does try to do good work, seems to be very smart, and has even been interviewed by Mueller after outing one of her sources.

https://www.ctpost.com/opinion/article/Blogger-broke-a-cardinal-rule-of-journalism-by-13058228.php

Some of her reasons for outing her source were highly questionable and don't rise to the level of basic journalistic standards.

[honest.abe]

39. Thank you for that.

For some reason I have never come across her or her website.

[Grasswire2]

28. It's kind of astounding that people on a Dem discussion board have never heard of Marcy Wheeler. nt

[honest.abe]

38. Sorry.. I am guess Im just out of the loop on some things.

My apologies.

[LanternWaste]

12. Did Fitztmas contain 34+ indictments prior to wrapping up?

Did Fitztmas contain 34+ indictments prior to wrapping up?

(six former Trump advisers, 26 Russian nationals, three Russian companies, one California man, and one London-based lawyer. Seven of these people (including five of the six former Trump advisers) have pleaded guilty)

[Achilleaze]

14. Fitzmueller is no Fitzmas

[angrychair]

15. Because the center of this web is missing

From that list.

There is no doubt that trump, Pence and Don jr, at the very least, are up to their eyeballs in this but it appears as if the report is being cut short by a trump sycophant in order to stop the investigation and give cover to trump et al.

[Grasswire2]

19. "it appears as if" is conjecture.

There is no evidence that the report is being cut short by a trump sycophant.

[angrychair]

24. Circumstantial evidence

By all outward appearances Mueller is still actively conducting his investigation (see: Stone, Rodger)

Grand Jury is still hearing evidence (recent 6 month extension)

Vast majority of staff for Mueller’s office are still on payroll.

Before his nomination, Barr was openly critical of the investigation and outwardly supportive of trump

Barr was abusive and refused to clearly answer many of the questions related to trump and the investigation.

Barr’s approval to be AG by Senate was along party lines.

Literally days after being sworn in as AG, he announces that the investigation will be ending and a final report is being created.

That was a quick and dirty synopsis of the situation. Even from the things I’ve stated it’s hard to not see it any other way.

[Grasswire2]

29. Do we have a statement from Barr telling his plan to do so?

NO.

We have a report from CNN "according to people familiar with his plan."

Huge distinction.

[angrychair]

33. So I give no deference

Or benefit of doubt to trump appointees.

Many of them have left their positions under ethics scandals or are under indictment or both.

All appearances suggest that Mueller was still conducting an active investigation and that the grand jury was still hearing evidence.

Coming just days after becoming AG seems like a hell of a coincidence if it is just a natural progression of this process and not forced by an AG that publicity stated before becoming AG that he was against it.

[Cetacea]

35. Meanwhile, Mueller maintains his silence on his ongoing investigation. eom

[cbdo2007]

13. So you're part of the "Fake News! Fake News!" bandwagon??

I don't see other people on our side trying so hard to discredit reputable news sources.

[Grasswire2]

21. well, you are wrong about that

I even run a social media site advocating for protection of the White House press corps and have been doing so since 2004..

And fight for protection of Jim Acosta, CNN, particularly.

But CNN has not been accurate here, and people are running wild as a result.

[cbdo2007]

23. They have been saying the Mueller report would wrap up in February

For the past 3 months. So I dont see this as being that shocking or that much of a stretch that it actually might wrap up soon.

Also Rosenstein said he would stay until the report is released and he just announced he would leave for sure in mid March.

CNN has been building a narrative this whole time and have been tipped off to many reputable pieces of this including Stones arrest the day before.

You just seem like you are trying really really hard to get people to not believe this, which doesn't seem that unreasonable of a report.

[Grasswire2]

30. who is your "they"?

Seriously.

Who is "they"?

[cbdo2007]

36. the google news is your friend

search for mueller report february and there are plenty of articles that come up from 2-3 months ago citing February as the proposed time frame

but you're right, it may not happen in our lifetimes

[Cetacea]

32. No. MSNBC reported that during the holidays.

And they cited a source "close to the Mueller team" which I find dubious.

[jberryhill]

17. But you just repeated it

[TwilightZone]

20. Your source is no more certain about their assertions than CNN or NBC are about theirs.

Perhaps you should stop posting it as fact and not as the opinion that the author clearly notes that it is.

[Grasswire2]

22. Time will tell, won't it?

The FACT is that CNN used the word "could" knowingly, and then people went nuts.

[TwilightZone]

25. Yes, but you're claiming that this blog post is fact, when it clearly is not.

It's opinion, as the author clearly notes, repeatedly. It's been updated a couple of times and the author *clearly* notes that the story could, in fact, be true. Or, at the very least, parts of it could be true based on interpretation.

That, however, hasn't stopped you from using it as some kind of solid proof that others' opinions are demonstrably false or that the other stories must, therefore, be false.

Don't look now, but you're doing exactly what you're accusing everyone else of.

[Grasswire2]

26. ridiculous

The article in mention is this: twenty questions you should ask yourself before reporting blahblahblah.

THAT is the recommendation of not only Marcy Wheeler, but also previously of Seth Abramson, expert on the subject.

He wrote a list of 25 tweets on why the investigation is not concluded.

But your mileage may vary. YMMV.

Go ahead with the rush.

[dweller]

34. but but but

it's just a voice inside my head... and I can't make it stop 😜


✌🏼️

[MineralMan]

37. The Mueller Report is IMMANENT!

Is that OK to say?

https://www.google.com/search?q=immanent

[Garrett78]

40. The more times we hear that the Mueller report is imminent, the more weary the public becomes.

The more desensitized people will be to the findings. The more frustrated people will become with the investigation, as opposed to the target of the investigation, even though far less complex investigations have taken many years to complete.

This is why Trump and Republicans and members of the media talk far more than Democrats about timelines. It's all about controlling the narrative and public perception.

This is, what, the umpteenth time we've been told a report is imminent?