'Alternative Mueller Report' could shed new light on Trump-Russia probe

The Department of Justice has located a document known as the "Alternative Mueller Report" — and officials are reviewing it for possible release sometime next year.

"A top deputy to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Andrew Weissmann, revealed in a book he published last year that the team he headed prepared a summary of all its work — apparently including details not contained in the final report made public in 2019," Politico reported Thursday night. "The reference prompted the New York Times to submit a Freedom of Information Act request for the document in January and to follow up in July with a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Lawyers from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan told Judge Katherine Polk Failla in a letter Thursday that officials have figured out what document Weissmann was alluding to and have begun reviewing it for possible release."

In response to the NYT's lawsuit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Jude wrote in the letter: "Since Plaintiff filed its complaint, Defendant has located and begun processing this record and intends to release all non-exempt portions to Plaintiff once processing is complete. Defendant estimates that primary processing of the record will be complete by the end of January 2022 at which time Defendant expects to send the record to several other DOJ components for consultation."

Weissmann wrote in his book that "for posterity," he directed team members to "write up an internal report memorializing everything we found, our conclusions, and the limitations on the investigation."

In Mueller's office, Weismann supervised "Team M" — which was focused on former president Donald Trump's one-time campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Another team, known as "Team R," was focused on Trump's ties to Russia.

"It's unclear whether investigative teams other than Weissmann's also prepared compilations that were not contained in Mueller's final report," Politico reports.

Read the full story.