Now we know why the pre-spin was so important for Trump World.

While the Mueller report does not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Russians and the Trump campaign, the picture it paints is, frankly, devastating: its narrative exposes a cascade of lies, coverups, and corruption, while providing a clear road map to the president’s attempts to obstruct the investigation. At times it reads like an open invitation to Congress to launch impeachment proceedings.

It’s that bad.

Many of us had come to doubt whether Attorney General William Barr was a reliable narrator here, but his attempts to pre-empt the report turn out to be both bizarre and inept. His press conference this morning undoubtedly won him plaudits from his audience of one in the White House, but effectively destroyed his reputation as an honest broker.