Mueller Prosecutor Denies Aspects of Report That DOJ Limited the Scope of Russia Probe
The New York Times reports that former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein secretly limited the scope of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential…
The New York Times reports that former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein secretly limited the scope of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
According to the report, former law enforcement officials said that Rosenstein secretly prohibited Mueller from looking into President Donald Trump’s financial ties to Russia and did not tell officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — which reportedly meant there was no investigation into the matter.
However, one of Mueller’s prosecutors, Andrew Weissmann, disputed the notion that there was a secret order that restricted the investigation.
“NYT story today is wrong re alleged secret DOJ order prohibiting a counterintelligence investigation by Mueller, ‘without telling the bureau,'” Weissmann said in a tweet.
He added, “Dozens of FBI agents/analysts were embedded in Special Counsel’s Office and we were never told to keep anything from them.”
The Times also reported that Rosenstein did not believe there was enough evidence to launch a counter-intelligence investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia and instructed Mueller only to conduct a criminal investigation into whether anyone violated the law regarding the 2016 election interference.