The public could soon see an 'alternative' version of the Mueller report that's been kept under wraps, new court filing says

• The DOJ may soon release an "alternative" version of the Mueller report, Politico first reported.
• Prosecutors told a judge that they're in the initial stages of reviewing the document for release.

The Justice Department is in the process of reviewing an "alternative" version of the Mueller report that's been kept under wraps, according to a new court filing.

The Manhattan US attorney's office notified District Judge Katherine Polk Failla on Thursday that the department has "located and begun processing" the document, which is sometimes referred to as the "Alternative Mueller Report." Politico first reported the news.

Andrew Weissmann, a longtime former federal prosecutor who served as one of special counsel Robert Mueller's top deputies during the FBI's Russia investigation, revealed the existence of the report in his book, "Where the Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation."

Weissmann expressed deep dissatisfaction with the final report that was released to the public in April 2019 and accused Mueller of having let down the public.

"There's no question I was frustrated at the time," he told The Atlantic last year. "There was more that could be done that we didn't do."

Weissmann wrote in his book that "for posterity," he had all the members of Mueller's team "write up an internal report memorializing everything we found, our conclusions, and the limitations on the investigation, and provided it to the other team leaders as well as had it maintained in our files."

The New York Times filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking that document after Weissmann's book was released, which prompted the processing of this document.

In Thursday's letter to Judge Failla, the Manhattan US attorney's office said it "has located and begun processing this record and intends to release all non-exempt portions to [The Times] once processing is complete." The department "estimates that primary processing of the record will be complete by the end of January 2022," at which time it "expects to send the record to several other DOJ components for consultation."

The plaintiff and defendant asked that the court postpone an initial status conference that was scheduled for December 10 and give them permission to submit a joint status letter by February 14 proposing the next steps in the case.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.