Recently released emails from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office show his team members cavorting with mainstream media reporters outside the office.
Peter Carr is the chief spokesman for Mueller’s team. Emails obtained from the Special Counsel and released Tuesday by Freedom Watch reveal Carr’s out-of-the-office rendezvous and text conversations with the media elite in D.C.
Likewise, Carr admits he is not allowed to use his private cell phone in the office but freely communicates with reporters off hours and weekends on his iPhone, according to texts. But Carr’s cell phone is not listed as an official contact number for the Special Counsel’s media relations office. And according to texts, Carr has only divulged the number to select media clientele.
And is his phone secure? Is discussing details about Mueller’s sensitive and classified Trump investigation in a Starbucks secure?
Carr has made a career as Mueller’s media flack since May 2017, when Mueller was appointed to probe Trump and the White House. Fielding thousands of media requests, mostly via email, Carr offers a patented “no comment” in response to the majority of all press inquiries, per the records released by Freedom Watch. That is to be expected, given he is the spokesman for a group that is investigating alleged crimes.
But Carr’s offsite meetings with media elite are raising eyebrows. Add to the fact Carr also conducted private calls with top media players, according to the released emails. Yet there are no transcripts of Carr’s conversations with the New York Times, Politico, the Washington Post and many others. And there are no records pinpointing how many private meetings the Special Counsel team had with Big Media. Or what was discussed.
Coincidentally, the news organizations linked to the private sit downs with the Mueller team are the same ones that have published leaked Intel and scoops from Mueller’s grand juries.
We are not alleging Carr is leaking grand jury Intel but the Special Counsel has a serious optics and confidentiality problem here. And grand jury leaks have been rampant from Mueller’s team. Someone is leaking. And leaking a lot. These are crimes, however, not simply traditional beltway leaks.
Carr, no doubt, is an affable and quite capable spokesman, having previously proven his worth as GOP Sen. Orin Hatch’s spokesman. But the appearance of impropriety — or conflict of interest — used to be enough to shut down a practice when it comes to criminal investigations — especially a probe seemingly intended to remove the President of the United States from office. And Carr’s emails sure seem to easily meet that standard and likewise easily blur many other lines.
We asked Carr yesterday to explain why he has conducted such meetings.
Carr said via email:
“Thanks, Mike. I appreciate your reaching out. I’d point you to emails similar to one on August 25, 2017, to Eric Tucker at the AP:
‘I’ve been providing an educational briefing for interested reporters – not for attribution, just to help interpret the regulations and other public documents – about how the Special Counsel’s Office operates, what our rules are, etc.'”
That explanation, however, doesn’t pass the smell test, according to Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch who sued Mueller for the emails in a FOIA legal battle. Klayman, who also founded Judicial Watch, said Carr’s meeting with Big Media lays a foundation for grand jury leaks.
And raises many questions about Mueller.
Klayman commented on the “secret” media rendezvous Tuesday night on CrowdSource the Truth’s Patreon show where the Mueller email cache was unveiled. A segment from the full show is below:
Klayman questioned Mueller’s tact in allowing Carr to conduct private sit downs with Big Media and noted, according to emails, Carr had not met with any Conservative media.
The entire collection of emails that were turned over to Freedom Watch is available for DOWNLOAD HERE to investigate and share among citizens and citizen journalists.
See for yourself. You be the judge.
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