For nearly two years, Robert Mueller has been a silent participant in American government. Tasked by the Justice Department with investigating Russia’s attack on the 2016 election, he communicated with the public only through court filings—indictments, motions, plea deals. When was the last time in this country that a person was so often in the headlines and so rarely in front of the cameras? Sightings—Robert Mueller at the Apple Store, Robert Mueller at the same airport gate as Donald Trump, Jr.—were enough to make news. On Friday, Mueller concluded his investigation and maintained his silence. It was left to William Barr, the new Attorney General, to tell Congress that he’d received a report from Mueller, and would be reviewing it in the coming days to determine what Congress and the public can be told of its findings.
While Mueller was working, Democrats often interpreted his silence as a great strength, a sign that his investigation was far removed from the everyday scrums and tweet drama of Donald Trump’s Washington. Will that interpretation hold in the days and weeks ahead? Minutes after Barr disclosed his receipt of the Mueller report, leading Democrats—including much of the 2020 field—demanded its immediate release. As my colleague David Rohde noted on Friday, if Barr refuses to make the report public, House Democrats have vowed to subpoena Mueller himself. Surely, there will be debate about Justice Department policies and practices if it comes to that. For Mueller to testify would be an extraordinary step. But he was appointed in extraordinary circumstances, because senior Justice Department officials realized that public trust in government was at stake. Many Americans were expecting Mueller, when he was done, to be forthcoming about what he found. Preserving public trust now means breaking the silence, in one form or another.