OPINION: Tensions rise as Washington looks to Mueller

The clearest signs yet that the monastic special counsel Robert Mueller may be about to file his final report with Attorney General William Barr have sent Beltway insiders to a state of nervous alert.

But there is no report yet.

So White House lawyers, Trump campaign flacks, key congressional offices and newsrooms are left counting the hours, poised to shape the end game of the most important investigation into a President's behavior in at least 20 years.

For everyone involved, it's like waiting for a jury in a big trial...