Politico published a downer on Friday. “President Donald Trump’s critics have spent the past 17 months anticipating what some expect will be among the most thrilling events of their lives: special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on Russian 2016 election interference,” the article began. “They may be in for a disappointment.” That’s the conclusion reporter Darren Samuelsohn came to after speaking with defense lawyers involved in the case and “more than 15 former government officials with investigation experience.”



The logic behind Samuelsohn’s theory is that Mueller’s report may never be released to the public—and even if it were, it may not contain any bombshells because the special counsel’s “by-the-books, conservative style” may cause him to “lean more toward saying less than more.” In short: Don’t get your hopes up, Trump critics.

There are reasons to expect otherwise. If this were a normal criminal investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller would likely end it as quietly as he ran it. Prosecutors don’t typically comment on what they find during a criminal inquiry unless they use it to bring charges, and for good reason. Investigators often trudge through intimate details of people’s lives, uncover embarrassing secrets, or find evidence of wrongdoing that falls short of criminal activity. Generally speaking, it would be deeply unfair for prosecutors to reveal what they learn outside of a courtroom.

But the Russia investigation is more than that. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have resisted efforts to learn the full extent and effect of Russian election meddling in 2016. Party leaders refused to create a Watergate-style committee or a 9/11-style commission to find the truth, while House Republicans have spent the last year trying to discredit and shut down the Justice Department’s inquiry into the matter. By the time a Democratic president or Congress is able to order a full-scale inquiry, it may be too late. Memories fade. Documents go missing. Evidence disappears.

As a result, the special counsel’s inquiry may be Americans’ best chance to understand an attack on their democracy. Mueller could wrap up his work sooner, later, or not at all. I wrote in April that if he is unable to complete the investigation because of political interference by the Trump administration, he has a duty to go public with his findings. That reasoning applies even if he wraps up the probe of his own accord. Mueller’s silence is ethically, legally, and politically smart while the investigation is ongoing. But to keep quiet after it ends would be incompatible with a democratic society.