DOJ officials reportedly discussed Mueller's findings with the White House for several days ahead of the report's release

Reuters

• Justice Department officials discussed the special counsel Robert Mueller's findings in the Russia investigation several times in the days leading up to when the final report is released, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
• The revelation comes as the DOJ prepares to release the report to Congress and the public on Thursday.
• Last week, Attorney General William Barr refused to tell Congress whether DOJ officials had discussed the Mueller report with the White House prior to its release.

The White House and the Justice Department discussed the special counsel Robert Mueller's findings in the Russia investigation several times before the final report is released on Thursday, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The discussions were first reported by ABC News.

The revelation comes as the Justice Department prepares to make a redacted version of the highly anticipated report available to Congress and the public after nearly two years of frenzied speculation about the investigation.

According to The Times, Justice Department officials and White House lawyers had "numerous conversations" about Mueller's findings in recent days. The talks have reportedly helped President Donald Trump's legal team prepare its rebuttal to the report and its public relations strategy once a redacted version is released Thursday.

The Times' report sheds new light on Attorney General William Barr's refusal to tell Congress, during a budget hearing last week, whether the DOJ had discussed Mueller's findings with the White House ahead of the report's release.

Barr is scheduled to hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday to give an overview of the report, talk about the redaction process, and take questions before it is made public.

Barr said last month that he will redact four categories of information from the report:

• Information that went before a grand jury but did not result in criminal charges.
• Information that could compromise intelligence sources and methods.
• Information that could pertain to other ongoing investigative matters.
• Information that would "unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties."

Last week, Barr told Congress that he will include color-coded notes for each redaction that will explain why that piece of information was left out of the version of the report delivered to Congress and the public.

In March, Barr also revealed that nearly every page of the report contains at least some information that needs to be redacted.

Previous special prosecutors - like Whitewater independent counsel Ken Starr and Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski - went to court to get a judge's permission to release as much information to Congress and the public as they could.

But Barr said he will not do the same and will work according to current Justice Department policy and legal guidelines.