Prime Only Members-Only Article
Editor's Brief

The Bigs Got Played, Part Two

|
April 3, 2019 7:59 p.m.
THE BACKCHANNEL
FREE EDITION
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
NEW!
A FREE email newsletter from Josh Marshall An email newsletter from Josh Marshall

Entirely unsurprisingly, it now turns out that Bill Barr seems to have significantly mischaracterized the Mueller Report in the quickie summary he released ten days ago. The Times has a story just out about complaints from members of Mueller’s team that Barr had “failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated.” But of course the Times itself was near the top of the list of news organizations who accepted Barr’s spin more or less at face value. It’s worth remembering the lede of the Times initial report on the Letter: “For President Trump, it may have been the best day of his tenure so far. The darkest, most ominous cloud hanging over his presidency was all but lifted on Sunday with the release of the special counsel’s conclusions.” And this new article seems based largely on sources around Barr.

There’s also this.

This is a members-only article
Small Team. Big Results.
We’re proud of what our small newsroom has accomplished and it’s not hyperbole when we say that without our members, none of this would be possible.
Free memberships available for students and those experiencing financial hardship.
Already a member? SIGN IN
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: