There's a ton of speculation that Mueller could drop something big as soon as today by Sonam Sheth and Allan Smith on Aug 31, 2018, 1:17 PM 
- There is mounting speculation that special counsel Robert Mueller will come out with something substantial in the Russia investigation as soon as Friday.
- Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's lead defense lawyer, has for some time called for Mueller to release a final report by September 1, and said speculation that Mueller will make a big release on Friday "makes sense."
- John Dowd, Trump's former defense attorney who is in frequent touch with the president's legal team, said Friday that Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are not authorized to release a report because the information contained in it is protected by executive privilege.
All eyes are on special counsel Robert Mueller amid mounting speculation he could come out with something substantial in the Russia investigation before Labor Day. Mueller is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether members of President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the race in his favor. MSNBC host Chuck Todd first raised the possibility of significant developments in the Russia probe when he suggested during Thursday's edition of "Meet the Press Daily" that there could be a major release from Mueller on Friday. "I'll be honest with you, I'm not missing work tomorrow," Todd said. "I wouldn't miss work tomorrow." The anchor added that people who worked with Mueller on the probe would have ended it if they had not found evidence of collusion, adding that he also believes Mueller will likely lay low between Labor Day and the November midterm elections to avoid accusations of political interference. On Friday morning, Axios reported that speculation of such a Friday revelation was "hot among the president's legal team." The publication listed possible evidence Mueller has at his disposal — such as Trump's tax returns, bank records, and Trump Organization records — that the public is not yet aware of. The speculation 'makes sense' to Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal defense attorney, told Business Insider on Friday that he had no inside information as to whether Mueller will make a big release on Friday. But he said speculation that the special counsel may do so "makes sense." Giuliani has for some time called on Mueller to issue his final report by September 1 so that it is not released too close to the midterm elections. Mueller has given no indication that he will release a final report anytime soon. But his team reportedly told Trump's lawyers earlier this year that they expected to wrap up a report on the obstruction of justice portion of their investigation by the end of the summer. John Dowd, who led Trump's defense team until Giuliani took the helm earlier this year, said of the investigation: "The sooner it's over, the better." Dowd is in frequent contact with Giuliani and other members of Trump's legal team. Asked about the special counsel's decision compile a report on his findings in the obstruction case he has been building against the president, Dowd said Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein do not have the authority to release such a report in the first place. "Who says he's going to release a report?" Dowd said. "Mueller can't release a report because any information he gathered for it is protected by executive privilege. He needs permission from the White House to release it." Mueller likely decided to write a report on his findings because current Department of Justice (DOJ) policy says a sitting president cannot be indicted. Once the report is complete, he will submit it to Rosenstein, who has final say over whether to make the information in it public, and whether to refer it to Congress to consider impeachment. Dowd said Friday that Rosenstein is not authorized to release the report either because he also functions within the executive branch.  Legal experts told Business Insider that such a claim of executive privilege would be unlikely to hold up in court for several reasons. Among other things, they pointed out that Trump has publicly commented — via interviews and tweets — on several events that are central to Mueller's obstruction case.
"You can't claim executive privilege over something when the president already tweeted it out to his 50 million Twitter followers," said Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who spent 12 years at the DOJ. Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago, said that while the White House could theoretically claim that certain information in the report is protected by executive privilege, a court would likely strike that argument down. "What the White House would essentially be saying, then, is that a prosecutor can obtain information from the president or the White House, but they can't do anything with it," Mariotti said. "That's a very weak argument." Giuliani told The Daily Beast on Thursday that while Mueller prepares his report, Trump's legal team is preparing a "counter-report" that will seek to delegitimize Mueller and the Russia probe. Giuliani added that the report will contain two sections: the first will question the legitimacy of the Russia investigation by highlighting the purported conflicts of interests Trump's lawyers claim federal investigators face, and the second will address the specific claims of Trump-Russia collusion and obstruction of justice. In the aftermath of the convictions last week of Trump's former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen and ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort, Democratic aides told Business Insider they were awaiting Mueller's report before making any further determinations on what their strategy regarding the president and his possible impeachment will be. One Democratic Senate aide, who requested anonymity to provide Democratic thought on the matter without speaking directly for their boss, said Cohen's plea deal and Manafort's guilty verdict don't change any calculations for the time being, but do set the stage for possible actions after Mueller's report is released. "The smart thing to do is to let the investigation play out — and do everything we can to protect its independence — and then make a determination based on Mueller's report and any charges they recommend," they said. SEE ALSO: CNN doesn't intend to reveal other source in bombshell Michael Cohen story as Trump rages at network
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