Highly redacted memo raises questions about Mueller probe

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Highly redacted memo raises questions about Mueller probe

Is Special Counsel Robert Mueller wrapping up the Russia investigation? Insight and analysis from the 'Special Report' All-Stars.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," December 5, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

DOUG BURNS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It is a climax and a turning point.  The investigation has gone on for some period of time. And now, to invoke the old cliche, it's sort of time to fish or cut bait and see exactly what the conclusions are.

NEAL KATYAL, FORMER ACTING SOLICITOR GENERAL: You do not file a document that looks like this if your investigation is in the final stages.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BRET BAIER, ANCHOR: A lot of analysis about the Michael Flynn sentencing document that was filed by the special counsel. Among the pages, "The defendant also provided useful information concerning" -- blacked out. In the document we do see, quote, "Given the defendant's substantial assistance and other considerations, a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration is appropriate and warranted.

What does this tell us? What doesn't it tell us? And where are we? We're back with our panel, Tom Rogan, commentary writer for the "Washington Examiner," Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist," and Charles Lane, opinion writer for "The Washington Post." Mollie, for all the folks who say, this is all coming to a head. It could be over soon. Looking at this document, we can't read a lot because we don't see it all, but it doesn't seem like that.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": It's impossible to know, and it is frustrating, the lack of information that we get in this document. But I think it's worth remembering that the reason why we know about this phone call that he had with the Russian ambassador is because a member of the Obama administration leaked that information to the media.  That was a criminal leak. It damaged national security, and no one has been held accountable for it.

It is important to remember that the Obama administration rather viciously set this Russia narrative through leaks. That was one of them. There was also the very quick leak of the information that James Comey had briefed Donald Trump on a particularly ridiculous aspect of the discredited dossier, and there were also the leaks about Jeff Sessions completely innocuous meetings with Ambassador Kislyak as well. That really set the narrative. It undermined the administration. It is how so many members of the administration were hounded, and it set up justification for a sprawling special counsel. It is important to remember how we got here.

BAIER: It seems also that the special counsel, despite these redactions, is putting out through court filings more of the picture. We are going to get another one eventually about Paul Manafort as well, Chuck.

CHARLES LANE, OPINION WRITER, "WASHINGTON POST": Speaking of pictures, they could hang this in the national gallery, it looks like modern art from the 1960s. Those black lines across.

I'm not actually sure how much more we are going to find out about anything underlying this. He does have in the Manafort thing, he has got some quarrel going on with Manafort now as to whether Manafort lied. They're even talking about retrying him on eight of ten counts. This latest revelation has the same structure as a lot of them in the past. The special counsel does something. It's not entirely clear what it means.  People start declaring what they think it means based on very insufficient information, and then it all goes quiet again for a while.

I think the big change now, this information is arriving at a time of the Democrats are going to take over the House. And what is really going to be significant, I think, in this story is how they pick up the committee investigations that are derived off of this story.

BAIER: Tom?

TOM ROGAN, COMMENTARY WRITER, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": We know that we don't know is the ultimate thing, as with this. It reminds me of Angleton, a CIA spy, who said it is the wilderness of mirrors. But ultimately, I think one of the interesting things here, we do know that Mike Flynn had the preexisting relationship with the Turkish government that was listed in this filing. We know that President Erdogan has been very interested in trying to get his hold on Cleric Gulen. We don't know exactly the details of that, but there are areas here speaking to foreign policy reaching beyond Russia that could come up. So we'll see.

BAIER: It is just interesting to see the Logan Act mentioned, reaching out to foreign governments. Here is an incoming national security advisor. It is like he was out of government dealing with foreign governments.

HEMINGWAY: That is why it is important to remember how we got here. That was a leak. The leak included that they were looking into the Logan Act.  They also leaked that they were worried about the blackmail, something that doesn't appear, to our knowledge, in this sentencing agreement. There is a lot that has not been -- there are a lot of people who have not been held accountable and their role in setting up this narrative which is turning out to not have -- we've gotten to the sentencing now, and we don't have evidence of Mike Flynn being a traitor. That's important.

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