What did we learn from the Mueller Report?
The Mueller report makes unmistakably clear that Americans were attacked by foreign military units: specifically Russian “Military Units 26165 and 74455.” And it reminds us that the president and members of his campaign invited and welcomed those attacks, even if it did not arrange them, and that they were eager to profit from the proceeds of those attacks.
What's really in the Mueller Report?
Key Findings of the Mueller Report
- The Special Counsel investigation uncovered extensive criminal activity. ...
- Russia engaged in extensive attacks on the U.S. ...
- The investigation "identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign" and established that the Trump Campaign "showed interest in WikiLeaks's releases of documents and welcomed their potential ...
What does the Mueller Report *really* say?
The Mueller Report states that if the Special Counsel’s Office felt they could clear the president of wrongdoing, they would have said so. Instead, the Report explicitly states that it “does not exonerate” the President [10] and explains that the Office of Special Counsel “accepted” the Department of Justice policy that a sitting ...
What prompted the Mueller investigation?
The investigation actually started well before Mueller came on board — the FBI began it in the summer of 2016, prompted by the hacking and leaking of Democratic National Committee internal emails.
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When did Mueller's investigation end?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller ended his years-long Russia investigation in March — and lawmakers on Capitol Hill were eager to make his final report public.
How many pages are there in Mueller's report?
The public was able to get its first detailed look at Mueller’s bombshell report in mid-April. Barr released the 448-page “limited” redacted document after giving a brief interpretation of the findings. The major takeaway, according to Barr, was that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
What was the purpose of the Russia probe?
The probe was intended to examine Russian election interference and whether President Trump's campaign colluded with Russian officials during the 2016 election — and has since resulted in charges for several former Trump campaign associates, though none have directly related to collusion.
When will Mueller testify?
He'll testify for several hours of hearings before two House panels on July 24.
When did Mueller report to Barr?
When the investigation — which began in May 2017 — concluded, Mueller first released his final report to Barr, who has been overseeing the special counsel since he took office in February.
Did Mueller report exonerate Trump?
Although Mueller noted his report did not "exonerate" Trump on obstruction, Barr wrote, the "report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the Special Counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public.".
What did Mueller write to Barr?
This was first reported on April 30, 2019. Mueller thought that the Barr letter "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the findings of the special counsel investigation that he led. "There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation". Mueller also requested Barr release the Mueller report's introductions and executive summaries. The March 27 Mueller letter made no mention of media coverage.
What did Mueller testify about?
In July 2019, Mueller testified to Congress that a president could be charged with crimes including obstruction of justice after the president left office. In 2020, a Republican-appointed federal judge decided to personally review the report's redactions to see if they were legitimate.
Why did Mueller not indict Trump?
Democrat Ted Lieu asked Mueller whether the reason he did not indict Trump was that Department of Justice policy prohibits the indictment of sitting presidents. Mueller originally confirmed that this was the reason. However, later that day, Mueller corrected his comments, stating that his team did not determine whether Trump committed a crime. Additionally, Mueller answered Republican Ken Buck that a president could be charged with obstruction of justice (or other crimes) after the president left office.
What is the scope of the Mueller investigation?
According to its authorizing document, which was signed by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 17, 2017, the investigation's scope included allegations that there were links or coordination between President Donald Trump 's presidential campaign and the Russian government as well as "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation". The authorizing document also included "any other matters within the scope of 28 CFR § 600.4 (a) "; enabling the special counsel "to investigate and prosecute" any attempts to interfere with its investigation, "such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses ".
How many pages are there in the Mueller report?
The report was submitted to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019, and a redacted version of the 448-page report was publicly released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 18, 2019. It is divided into two volumes.
When did Barr send a letter to Congress?
After the Special Counsel concluded its investigation on March 22, Barr sent Congress a four-page letter about the Special Counsel's conclusions on March 24. On April 30, it was reported Mueller sent a letter to Barr on March 27, that expressed concerns about his four-page letter to Congress. Barr called Mueller to discuss about the letter and its contents.
What was the Russian interference in the 2016 election?
The Mueller report found that the Russian government "interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion" and "violated U.S. criminal law".
When was Mueller appointed?
Mueller was appointed in May 2017 shortly after Trump fired Comey. Mueller was authorized to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether any Trump associates coordinated or colluded with the Russians, whether Trump obstructed the investigation and any other crimes that were uncovered during the investigation.
How many witnesses were interviewed in the Mueller report?
After years of investigating, 500 witnesses interviewed and a metric ton of ink spilled, Congress and the public is set to get its first real look at special counsel Robert Mueller’s report Thursday morning.
What is Mueller's report?
What is the Mueller report? The report is a summation of the findings from the special counsel investigation. It is expected to contain the details of the investigation, from its interviews with key witnesses and other evidence amassed throughout the process and the Mueller team’s conclusions – or lack thereof.
When did the FBI start investigating Russian meddling?
The probe was started after the FBI received information from a foreign diplomat that a Trump campaign aide knew about Russian hacks against Democrats months before the stolen emails showed up on WikiLeaks’ website. When he was appointed, Mueller took on the question of Russian interference, along with his other mandates mentioned above.
Did Mueller report establish a criminal conspiracy?
According to Barr, however, a few main points should be clear in the report. One, the Mueller investigation did not establish that there was a criminal conspiracy between any Trump campaign associates and Russian officials to interfere in the 2016 election, Barr said. He also said Mueller’s report goes through in detail about whether or not Trump obstructed justice, but the report does not make a final conclusion on the matter either way.
Will Barr redact the report?
No. Barr will redact, or black-out, some portions of the report in order to comply with a handful of federal laws and internal Justice Department guidelines. Barr laid out four categories of redactions: Grand jury material, classified information, details about ongoing investigations, and information that harms the “privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.” They will be color-coded as well.
Did Trump interfere with Russia?
Trump consistently denied that he or anyone on his team colluded with Russia to interfere in the election, and he has rejected further the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia attempted to interfere in the election at all, including while standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after Mueller’s appointment. He likewise denied the possibility he had obstructed justice.
Why is the Mueller report redacted?
The redactions of the Mueller Report appear to conceal the extent to which the Trump campaign had advance knowledge of the release of hacked emails by WikiLeaks. For instance, redactions conceal content of discussions that the Report states occurred between Trump, Cohen, and Manafort in July 2016 shortly after Wikileaks released hacked emails; [18] the Report further notes, “Trump told Gates that more releases of damaging information would be coming,” but redacts the contextual information around that statement. [19]
Why was Flynn fired?
After National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was fired in February 2017 for lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, Trump cleared his office for a one-on-one meeting with then-FBI Director James Comey and asked Comey to “let [Flynn] go;” he also asked then-Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland to draft an internal memo saying Trump did not direct Flynn to call Kislyak, which McFarland did not do because she did not know whether that was true. [14]
How many episodes of obstruction of justice are there in the Mueller report?
The pattern of conduct and the manner in which the President sought to impede investigations—including through one-on-one meetings with senior officials—is damning to the President. Five episodes of obstructive conduct stand out as being ...
How many indictments did the Special Counsel's investigation produce?
The Special Counsel investigation uncovered extensive criminal activity. The investigation produced 37 indictments; seven guilty pleas or convictions; and compelling evidence that the president obstructed justice on multiple occasions. Mueller also uncovered and referred 14 criminal matters to other components of the Department of Justice.
What is the Mueller report?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress represents a critical opportunity for the legal community to help the American people understand what is in his March 2019 Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.
What was Russia's interference in the 2016 election?
Russia engaged in extensive attacks on the U.S. election system in 2016. Russian interference in the 2016 election was “sweeping and systemic.”. [1] Major attack avenues included a social media “information warfare” campaign that “favored” candidate Trump [2] and the hacking of Clinton campaign-related databases and release ...
Who ordered the firing of Mueller?
In June 2017 President Trump directed White House Counsel Don McGahn to order the firing of the Special Counsel after press reports that Mueller was investigating the President for obstruction of justice; [12] months later Trump asked McGahn to falsely refute press accounts reporting this directive and create a false paper record on this issue – all of which McGahn refused to do. [13]
Overview
The Mueller report, officially titled Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 United States presidential election, allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Donald …
Background
On May 9, 2017, President Donald Trump dismissed former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, who had been leading an ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into links between Trump associates and Russian officials. This investigation, code named Crossfire Hurricane, began in July 2016 after the Australian government advised US aut…
Findings
Volume I starts on page 1 of the report and focuses on Russian interference and allegations of "conspiracy" or "coordination" between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, "not the concept of 'collusion'".
The Mueller report found that the Russian government "interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion" and "violated U.S. criminal law". The report relayed two met…
Events before public release
Barr assumed oversight of the investigation on February 14, 2019, after being approved by the Senate and sworn in as Attorney General. Barr had been previously critical of the investigation before Trump announced his intent to nominate Barr for Attorney General on December 7, 2018. Barr's predecessor, Jeff Sessions, resigned on November 7, 2018, writing that it was at Trump's re…
Public release of redacted report
On April 18, 2019, a redacted version of the special counsel's report was released to Congress and the public. About one-eighth of the lines are redacted. The report is 448 pages long across two volumes and four appendices. It contains about 200,000 words and over 1,100 footnotes. About 11% of the text is redacted. 40% of the pages had at least one redaction, and there were over 900 redacted text blocks in all.
Reactions
Trump has vacillated in his view of the report, initially saying, "The Mueller report was great. It could not have been better," then one month later characterizing it as a "total 'hit job'", then one month later as "a beautiful report".
The Mueller report reported that Donald Trump's campaign staff, administration officials, and family members, his Republican backers, and his associates lied …
Subsequent actions with Congress
On April 18, Barr said: "the president confirmed that, in the interests of transparency and full disclosure to the American people, he would not assert privilege over the special counsel's report".
Congressional committees had wanted more answers about the process and findings of the Special Counsel investigation. The Associated Press described …
Possible future releases
A less-redacted version of the report "with all redactions removed except those relating to grand-jury information", which is required to be redacted by federal law, is expected to be available two weeks after the initial public release, to "a bipartisan group of leaders from several Congressional committees".
On April 19, 2019, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler issued a subpoena for the full…