- There are some varying estimates of how much text in the special counsel Robert Mueller's final report on the Russia investigation was redacted.
- Of the 448 pages that comprise the document, roughly 6% of the text was redacted, according to the investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica. The Wall Street Journal reported about 12.4% was blacked out.
- ProPublica's reading looks at all hidden text inside the page margins. For its part, The Journal determined about 2,050 of the 16,500 lines in the report are redacted, or about 12.4%.
- Attorney General William Barr selected the redactions. They include information that went before a grand jury but did not result in criminal charges, details that could compromise intelligence sources and methods, information pertaining to ongoing criminal investigations, and any details that could hurt the personal privacy or reputation of any third parties.
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The total redactions in the special counsel's final report on the Russia investigation comprise a relatively small portion of the 448-page document.
According to an estimate from the investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica, 6% of the report — meaning all blacked-out text within the page margins — is redacted. The Wall Street Journal's reading said that of the 16,500 lines of the Mueller report, 2,050 lines, or approximately 12.4% of the document, are redacted.
Attorney General William Barr selected the redactions, most of which contain information that is either pertinent to ongoing criminal investigations, details examined by a grand jury that were not pursued further, and information that could compromise the privacy or reputation of third parties.
Read more: Read full, redacted report from special counsel Robert Mueller
The Mueller report found the Trump campaign engaged in multiple contacts with Russian operatives during the 2016 US presidential election and that Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, but it did not find enough evidence of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to bring charges. Mueller's team also found that Trump exerted effort to hinder the special counsel's investigation. Ultimately, Mueller and his prosecutors chose not to pursue obstruction of justice charges against Trump, citing a number of legal hurdles.
Mueller makes clear that his findings do not exonerate Trump on the matter of obstruction of justice, contradicting the president and his allies. There are another 14 criminal matters Mueller referred to other prosecutors. Only two of them are known to the public.
Barr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, declined to prosecute on the case of obstruction, saying there was not enough evidence. He has been accused of amplifying Mueller's decision not to pursue obstruction charges. Top Democrats have said they will request the full, unredacted Mueller report, plus the underlying documents connected to the investigation.
