The 448-page Mueller report has been public for two months, so it might seem strange that the Justice Department’s original instructions to special counsel Robert Mueller, outlining what he was assigned to investigate, are still a secret. But they are. And now, it turns out those instructions were more extensive than previously known. Until now, it was widely understood that there had been two “scope memos” from the DOJ to Mueller. Now, it turns out there was a third, as well.

When Mueller was first appointed, on May 17, 2017, the appointment document, signed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, authorized Mueller to investigate three areas: “i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; [and] iii) any other matters within the scope of [obstruction of justice laws].”