Is this true? Mueller requested funding through Sept (2019) but then suddenly ended probe

[triron]

a few weeks after Barr came in?

Link to tweet

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. Well, do you see any actual media reporting on it?

Or just a couple of random people on Twitter?

[triron]

4. Yep.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-mueller/mueller-probe-already-financed-through-september-officials-idUSKBN1QS2QB

[dewsgirl]

2. I get so gahh! when I see people bashing Mueller, he was

shutdown and God knows what else.

[triron]

3. Yep.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-mueller/mueller-probe-already-financed-through-september-officials-idUSKBN1QS2QB

[2naSalit]

5. I recall seeing

Rachel Maddow, and probably Lawrence O'Donnell, pointing that out last Spring.

[Hoyt]

6. He said at least twice that he was not shutdown or otherwise pressured. He wimped out.

[empedocles]

10. Shep Smith 'said' he was not forced out, but . . .

[Igel]

14. That may be true.

But unless Shep Smith = Robert Mueller, then it's also true that Robert Mueller said he wasn't forced to stop.

The two things could well be true. (The Mueller fact I observed, but I haven't seen or heard Shep Smith, as far as I know, since ... 2004. No cable.)

[ritapria]

15. You are spot on Hoyt

Mueller wimped out.... For over 2 years he was deified by the Cable Nets …...When he finally spoke , Most were sorely disappointed …..Some people won't give up on the Ghost of Fitzmas Past

[pnwmom]

19. That's not how he said it. What he said was compatible with the idea

that Barr simply told him the investigation was over. Once it was over, Mueller had no option except to close up shop.

[empedocles]

20. Mueller was well aware of the precarious nature of his appointment from the beginning.

Seems likely that was why he issued his famous 'talking indictments' early, with all sorts of incriminating evidence - knowing he could be 'canceled' out at any time [and why he 'adhered' to the flimsy, famous internal memo on not indicting a sitting President, which would certainly result in his cancellation to do otherwise].

[Hoyt]

21. Then he should have said he was interfered with, but he didn't. He wimped out.

[dem4decades]

7. Did Mueller pass along major areas of his investigation to SDNY.

[lame54]

8. We all know he did

[napi21]

9. I know he extended the term of his Grand Jury...in case they werte needed.

I wouold think the funding would be the same...IF NEEDED

[Skittles]

11. I thought it was a GIVEN that Barr shut it down

doesn't take much to figure that one out - heck, THAT is why he was hired

[Meadowoak]

13. Exactly.

[tymorial]

12. There would be no indictment of the president under Barr. He made that clear.

It was part of his pitch to Trump for the job. Further, though Mueller was leading an independent investigation, he ultimately reported to the attorney general. He did not report to congress and as such everything would go through the DOJ which falls under the executive.

Given the character of Barr, what sense did it make to continue? Mueller certainly could have continued the investigation but to what end? We saw what happened with the report. It was summarized and redacted. Congress had to fight to see it. Mueller answered to the DOJ and not Congress.

And quite frankly at the end of the day we are to blame for Mueller answering to the AG and not Congress. After Clinton was impeached we were afraid of another Ken Starr like political assassin. We advocated allowing the independent counsel law to expire. The new rules under which the special counsel operate were specifically designed to give the DOJ more control over an independent investigation. It gave the executive more power.

Granted, no one ever imagined a president like this. That being said, we definitely had a huge hand in eliminating congressional oversight for an independent investigation.

I know this is unwanted information but sometimes the truth doesnt care.

[Igel]

16. Yes, it's true.

And yes, it was reported on. At the time when the budget was being submitted. Which is to say, over a year ago.

Mind you, it's not like many people were paying attention to this kind of picayune detail when the world needs saving. But the world is composed of details, all of which form sub-subsystems that unite to form subsystems and which, in turn, form systems that contribute to the whole.

If I recall correctly, the special prosecutor was, under the regulations that gave him any authority in addition to a rank-and-file American citizen, to submit his budget in August for the upcoming fiscal year. Presumably he did so, because otherwise there'd be no funding for him in October. And it was obviously approved. Unless he had asked for something outrageous, it would have been funded. (A line item "$180 billion for a personal trip to Mars to view Mons Olympus in my personal Mars rover while sipping Beaujolais nouveau and snacking on caerphilly." would have attracted attention. I mean really, Welsh artisanal cheese when there's Wisconsin cheddar?)

That means in August 2018 he submitted a budget for the following fiscal year--which would end in September 2019.

What that budget said wasn't reported, to my knowledge, but it was the budget for the entirety of the fiscal year since that's the time chunk the budget was required to cover. Perhaps he included a monthly breakdown and zeroed out everything after March or whenever he finished up. Perhaps he didn't anticipate in August being done in March. Perhaps he left "just in case" budget room. But in any event, it's better (pretty much always) to ask for more than to ask for less and come back, hand out, and saying, "Oops, I forgot to ask for an appropriation for the last 6 months."

There's nothing suspicious about this particular fact, it was all according to Hoyle.

[triron]

17. Guess this does make sense.

[stopdiggin]

18. the narrative that Barr "shut down" Mueller

appears not to be true -- or at least Mueller took pains to say that it wasn't true. Barr absolutely IS guilty of substantively mischaracterizing what the Mueller report SAID in his initial summary released to the public. And Mueller made sure that his objection to that mischaracterization (and attempt to "spin" the content) was made public, in a rare move of "outside regular channels," as well.

[triron]

22. Hmmm. I would suggest it's premature to say Barr did not shut it down.

Perhaps it was done indirectly. Mueller saw a wall in his way and capitulated.

[stopdiggin]

24. that is of course possible

but what is fairly definitive, is that Mueller said he wasn't shut down. If Mueller was shading the truth about the circumstances -- then that adds another layer of dishonesty, and certainly casts Mueller in a different light. If Mueller "folded" because he saw things becoming (more) difficult -- then that's on his head -- and makes his testimony to the people essentially untrue.

[kentuck]

23. They should subpoena Mr Mueller for some more questioning.

They should ask him if Mr Barr ordered him to finish his investigation.

A lot of people believe that to be the case.

It is a very important question.

[Quemado]

26. It's obvious that Barr shut the investigation down prematurely. Look at the chain of events.

May 2017 - Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints Robert Mueller as special counsel to the Russia probe.

July 2017 - January 2019 - 37 individuals (including Roger Stone) and companies were either arrested, indicted, or made plea deals.

November 2018 - Jeff Sessions fired as AG. (Note: the Sessions' firing is the first action Trump takes to shut down the investigation.)

January 2019 - Roger Stone arrested following indictment. He would be the last individual or company indicted as part of the Mueller investigation.

February 2019 - Barr took office as AG.

March 2019 - Barr issued his B.S. summary of the Mueller report.

May 2019 - According to the Palmer report (https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/shut-down-mueller-william-barr-told/17706/), "...it was revealed in federal court hearings that Robert Mueller’s grand jury was still intact, even though Mueller and his team were off the job. This raised questions about why Mueller would quit when there were more indictments still coming, as grand juries only remain empaneled for the purpose of bringing additional indictments. The second big clue was that Mueller’s longstanding and apparently crucial Supreme Court fight against a foreign government-owned mystery company is still ongoing and near nearly complete, raising the question of why Mueller would file his “final report” without this important information, when he was so close to obtaining it."

[Firestorm49]

27. I didn't realize their was any doubt that Barr shut it down.

I believe that he shut down several SDNY investigations at the same time.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

28. DoJ - new name, new management: Barr's Dirt Services ...

"We do it all! If we can't dig it up or make it up, we'll bury it!"