In a redacted report released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) Thursday, special counsel Robert Mueller described 10 instances in which Donald Trump engaged in potential obstruction of justice and suggested that Congress might prosecute the acts as crimes, though Mueller stopped short of recommending such a prosecution. Over almost 450 pages, portions of which remained hidden from public view owing to justice department redactions, Mueller described in unprecedented detail Russian efforts to tamper in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign’s receptivity to some of those efforts.
Five key things to look for in the Mueller report Read moreMueller said his investigation discovered “multiple links between Trump campaign officials and individuals tied to the Russian government” and that the campaign had sometimes been receptive. “The campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts,” Mueller wrote. The report was delivered in two volumes, with Volume I devoted to the Russian efforts and Volume II devoted to alleged obstruction of justice by the president. Among the 10 episodes of conduct by Trump that Mueller investigated as potential obstructions of justice were:
The latest major Trump resignations and firings Read more“The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the report says. While the Mueller report declines to recommend a prosecution by the justice department of the president, Mueller noted that Congress might do so. “We concluded that Congress can validly make obstruction-of-justice statutes applicable to corruptly motivated official acts of the President without impermissibly undermining his Article II functions” laying out executive power, the report reads. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday morning before the release of a redacted version of the report, attorney general Barr sought to draw a “bottom line” under the report, making broad claims that it cleared the president of suspected wrongdoing, while admitting that he disagreed with some of Mueller’s findings and pleading for Trump’s behavior to be considered in “context”. “In assessing the president’s actions discussed in the report it is important to bear in mind the context,” Barr pleaded. “There is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks.” Democrats cried foul at Barr’s decision to preview the contents of the Mueller report before copies of the report were made available to Congress or the public. Barr, who insisted he was “committed to ensuring the greatest degree possible of transparency”, acknowledged that justice department officials met with White House lawyers repeatedly in recent weeks to discuss the contents of the report, in a process that helped the president’s team prepare a rebuttal. In his news conference, Barr repeatedly claimed that Trump and his campaign associates had been cleared of suspected wrongdoing connected with Russian tampering in the 2016 presidential election. “We now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign, or the knowing assistance of any other American,” Barr said. Mueller’s report said that contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives spanned business connections relating to the plans for a Trump property development in Moscow, along with invitations for campaign officials including Trump to meet Russian officials including the president, Vladimir Putin. However, the special counsel did not establish that there was an overarching conspiracy between Trump’s team and the Russian government, and found insufficient grounds to bring charges for incidents including the notorious Trump Tower meeting of June 2016. Barr said the White House had “fully cooperated” with the Mueller investigation, eliding Trump’s refusal of Mueller’s request that the president sit for questions about his conduct and his campaign. But while painstaking, Barr’s defense of Trump left open questions about misconduct that the report could reveal, apart from the episodes of potential obstruction of justice by Trump. In describing potential cooperation by Trump campaign associates in the dissemination of emails stolen from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Barr said that no such dissemination had been carried out “illegally” – but Barr did not rule out such conduct. Democrats had warned that Barr’s decision to hold a press conference before Congress or the press had seen the report amounted to a diversion tactic. As Barr spoke, Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House judiciary committee, released a letter requesting Mueller’s testimony before his committee “as soon as possible”. The House intelligence committee likewise requested Mueller’s testimony. After Barr’s press conference, Trump tweeted a stylized illustration of himself standing in fog, reading: “No collusion. No obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats – Game Over.” “I’m having a good day too,” Trump said within earshot of reporters at a White House event as the Mueller report was released. “It’s called no collusion, no obstruction.” View image on Twitter Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump 152K 3:57 PM - Apr 18, 2019 87.8K people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacySince the report was handed on 21 March to the recently appointed US attorney general, Barr has been busily obscuring parts of it from public and congressional view. Barr has insisted the redactions are necessary for legal reasons involving material gathered secretly by a grand jury and evidence in other continuing criminal cases. But Democrats remain suspicious, given the fact that Barr was handpicked by Trump to head the justice department and the speed with which he rushed out a four-page summary of the Mueller report – a summary that was generally favorable to Trump. Criminal charges brought by the justice department were ruled out after Barr said that he and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, had decided there was insufficient evidence to establish that Trump had committed obstruction of justice. It remains a possibility, though unlikely, that Democratic leaders in the House will see material in the report that merits the framing of impeachmentcharges against the president. The Mueller report could also provide political ammunition against Trump as the president seeks re-election in next year’s presidential contest. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/18/mueller-report-william-barr-trump-russia-investigation
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