Washington (CNN) Roughly three weeks ago the special counsel's team told Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that Robert Mueller would not be reaching a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, according to a source familiar with the meeting.

The source said that conclusion was "unexpected" and not what Barr had anticipated.

Barr released a four-page summary on Sunday of Mueller's principal conclusions, writing that the special counsel "did not draw a conclusion -- one way or another -- as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction."

"Instead," Barr explained, "for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact concerning whether the President's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction."

News of Mueller's decision to punt on the crucial question of whether the President's actions amounted to obstruction of justice was particularly notable given that he never received a sit down interview with Trump to assess his state of mind, despite having considered issuing a subpoena for his testimony.

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