Must Read In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry

[webfact]

In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry

By Sarah N. Lynch and Andy Sullivan

 

The Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election is pictured in New York, New York, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

 

Thursday's release of the 448-page report after a 22-month investigation was a watershed moment in Trump's tumultuous presidency and inflamed partisan passions ahead of his 2020 re-election bid in a deeply divided country.

 

Democrats said the report contained disturbing evidence of wrongdoing by Trump that could fuel congressional investigations, but there was no immediate indication they would try to remove him from office through impeachment.

 

Mueller built an extensive case indicating the Republican president had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding he had committed a crime, though he did not exonerate the president. Mueller noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law.

 

"The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President's corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law," the report stated.

 

Mueller also unearthed "numerous links" between the Russian government and Trump's campaign and said the president's team "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts," referring to hacked Democratic emails.

 

But Mueller, a former FBI director, concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump's campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

 

Trump appeared to be in a celebratory mood, saying at a White House event with wounded U.S. troops he was "having a good day" following the report's release, adding, "It's called no collusion, no obstruction." Trump, whose legal team called the report "a total victory," has long described Mueller's inquiry as a "witch hunt."

 

The report, with some portions blacked out to protect sensitive information, provided fresh details of how Trump tried to force Mueller's ouster, directed members of his administration to publicly vouch for his innocence and dangled a pardon to a former aide to try to prevent him from cooperating with the special counsel.

 

"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 stated.

 

The report said that when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump in May 2017 that the Justice Department was appointing a special counsel to look into allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia, Trump slumped back in his chair and said, "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked."

 

Attorney General William Barr told a news conference Mueller had detailed "10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offence." Barr concluded last month after receiving a confidential copy of Mueller's report that Trump had not actually committed a crime.

 

Trump was wary of FBI scrutiny of his campaign and him personally, the report said. "The evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the president personally that the president could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns," the report stated.

 

Any impeachment effort would start in the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but Trump's removal would require the support of the Republican-led Senate - an unlikely outcome. Many Democrats steered clear of threatening impeachment on Thursday, although a prominent liberal congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, directly brought it up.

 

The House, when it voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, included obstruction of justice as one of the charges. The Senate ultimately decided not to remove Clinton from office.

 

The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said he would issue subpoenas to obtain the unredacted Mueller report and asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23.

 

Nadler told reporters in New York Mueller probably wrote the report with the intent of providing Congress a road map for future action, but the congressman said it was too early to talk about impeachment.

 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff added that whether or not the actions of Trump and his campaign rose to the level of criminality, "they are unquestionably dishonest, unethical, immoral and unpatriotic, and should be condemned by every American."

 

ELECTION MEDDLING

The inquiry laid bare what the special counsel and U.S. intelligence agencies have described as a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, denigrate 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump, the Kremlin's preferred candidate. Russia has denied election interference.

 

In analysing whether Trump obstructed justice, Mueller looked at a series of actions by Trump, including his attempts to remove Mueller and limit the scope of his probe and efforts to prevent the public from knowing about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between senior campaign officials and Russians.

 

In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to tell the Justice Department's No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed, the report said. McGahn did not carry out the order. McGahn was home on a Saturday that month when Trump called him at least twice.

 

"You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod," McGahn recalled the president as saying, according to the report.

 

It also said there was "substantial evidence" Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017 due to his "unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation." The FBI headed the inquiry at the time.

 

Mueller cited "some evidence" suggesting Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn's controversial calls with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, but evidence was "inconclusive" and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct.

 

The report said Trump directed former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to ask Sessions to say the Russia investigation was "very unfair."

 

Barr, a Trump appointee, seemed to offer cover for Trump's actions by saying the report acknowledges "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 fuelled by illegal leaks."

 

"President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates," Barr said.

 

Mueller's team did not issue a subpoena to force Trump to give an interview to the special counsel because it would have created a "substantial delay" at a late stage in the investigation, the report said. Trump refused an interview and eventually provided only written answers.

 

The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognising that a president can be criminally investigated.

 

Mueller said evidence he collected indicates Trump intended to encourage his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, not to cooperate with the investigation and that the evidence supports the idea that Trump wanted Manafort to believe that he could receive a presidential pardon.

 

The report said the special counsel's team determined there was a "reasonable argument" that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., violated campaign finance laws, but did not believe they could obtain a conviction.

 

The report cited Trump's repeated efforts to convince Sessions to resume oversight of the probe after he had recused himself because of his own prior contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

 

Barr said he gave the president's legal team an advance look at the report. Barr was blasted by Democrats for giving this "sneak peek" to the president's team and for giving a news conference before the report was released trying to shape the narrative in favour of Trump.

 

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Andy Sullivan; Additional reporting by David Morgan, Doina Chiacu, David Alexander, Susan Cornwell, Richard Cowan, Amanda Becker, Jan Wolfe, Nathan Layne, Karen Freifeld and Makini Brice; Writing by Will Dunham, Editing by Alistair Bell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-04-19

[thaibeachlovers]

Can we expect an apology from those TVF posters ( you know who you are ) that claimed Barr would redact anything unflattering to Trump?

 

Will be interesting if the Dems do try and impeach, given there probably isn't enough there there to convince Senate GOP members to uphold such.

[helpisgood]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"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 stated.

I think that any praise at all goes to those on Trump's team that had the good sense to not commit a crime, which appears to have been mostly obstruction of justice. 

 

Just because the report states that certain of Trump's actions, by themselves, do not appear to have arisen to a crime that could be prosecuted at the evidentiary standard of beyond a reasonable doubt, the report from what we have seen from the OP does not put Trump in a good position, to put it generously. 

 

Mueller, as stated below and who was reporting directly to the Justice Dept. (DOJ), would be more deferential to that internal DOJ memo opining that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted.  As I have stated in an earlier post, that memo does not have to be followed by any court as an established precedent.  At best, the memo would be "persuasive" in a court.  So, let's see what happens, as Trump likes to say.  There are many other prosecutors and jurisdictions out there, and Congress.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognising that a president can be criminally investigated. 

The below excerpt from the OP regarding Manafort looks especially bad:

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Mueller said evidence he collected indicates Trump intended to encourage his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, not to cooperate with the investigation and that the evidence supports the idea that Trump wanted Manafort to believe that he could receive a presidential pardon.

Lastly, and this may be getting ahead of ourselves for now, impeachment is well-known to be a "political" act.  Mueller did not need to state that Trump, et al., was currently (operative word here) indictable, internal memo or not, to cause serious problems for Trump with Congress.  Plus, Congress can use the Mueller Report as a helpful guide for the issuance of subpoenas for testimony and documents that may reveal some more unsavory misconduct. 

 

This is not a great day for the Trump Presidency. 

 

[Cryingdick]

57 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Can we expect an apology from those TVF posters ( you know who you are ) that claimed Barr would redact anything unflattering to Trump?

 

Will be interesting if the Dems do try and impeach, given there probably isn't enough there there to convince Senate GOP members to uphold such.

 

The house is an unknown and the senate is 100% rejection.

[thaibeachlovers]

10 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

I think that any praise at all goes to those on Trump's team that had the good sense to not commit a crime, which appears to have been mostly obstruction of justice. 

 

Just because the report states that certain of Trump's actions, by themselves, do not appear to have arisen to a crime that could be prosecuted at the evidentiary standard of beyond a reasonable doubt, the report from what we have seen from the OP does not put Trump in a good position, to put it generously. 

 

Mueller, as stated below and who was reporting directly to the Justice Dept. (DOJ), would be more deferential to that internal DOJ memo opining that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted.  As I have stated in an earlier post, that memo does not have to be followed by any court as an established precedent.  At best, the memo would be "persuasive" in a court.  So, let's see what happens, as Trump likes to say.  There are many other prosecutors and jurisdictions out there, and Congress.

 

The below excerpt from the OP regarding Manafort looks especially bad:

 

Lastly, and this may be getting ahead of ourselves for now, impeachment is well-known to be a "political" act.  Mueller did not need to state that Trump, et al., was currently (operative word here) indictable, internal memo or not, to cause serious problems for Trump with Congress.  Plus, Congress can use the Mueller Report as a helpful guide for the issuance of subpoenas for testimony and documents that may reveal some more unsavory misconduct. 

 

This is not a great day for the Trump Presidency. 

 

Well, any that were paying attention at the last election knew exactly what Trump was, so none of the above is a surprise ( unless one was asleep for the duration of the campaign ).

Some of us knew from the start that he wasn't a particularly honourable chap, but he wasn't elected because he was a smooth talking, two faced, fork tongued run of the mill politician that has a fake smile on their face when they are out campaigning and forget all their promises soon as elected. It did help though, that the Dems had the worst possible candidate running against him. Bernie would have been a shoo in.

 

As for "This is not a great day for the Trump Presidency" it's probably no worse than many of the days since he was elected.

His presidency has just been one of attacks from the opposition/ resistance. The amazing thing is that he managed to get anything done at all. Most people faced with what he had to put up with would have walked away from it. 

[Cryingdick]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Well, any that were paying attention at the last election knew exactly what Trump was, so none of the above is a surprise ( unless one was asleep for the duration of the campaign ).

Some of us knew from the start that he wasn't a particularly honourable chap, but he wasn't elected because he was a smooth talking, two faced, fork tongued run of the mill politician that has a fake smile on their face when they are out campaigning and forget all their promises soon as elected. It did help though, that the Dems had the worst possible candidate running against him. Bernie would have been a shoo in.

 

As for "This is not a great day for the Trump Presidency" it's probably no worse than many of the days since he was elected.

His presidency has just been one of attacks from the opposition/ resistance. The amazing thing is that he managed to get anything done at all. Most people faced with what he had to put up with would have walked away from it. 

 

I wonder how many threads we are going to have on one topic before it's over? Trump openly admitted he plays dirty and knows all the sleazy tricks from being a NYC property developer that basically outsmarted the tax codes and pulled some moves. He hasn't lost a single vote out of this and the dems haven't gained one.

[bristolboy]

3 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I wonder how many threads we are going to have on one topic before it's over? Trump openly admitted he plays dirty and knows all the sleazy tricks from being a NYC property developer that basically outsmarted the tax codes and pulled some moves. He hasn't lost a single vote out of this and the dems haven't gained one.

Another way to put it is he hasn't gained a single vote out of this nor have the Democrats lost one.

[bristolboy]

"As he wrote in his report, Mueller only declined to indict the president because the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the executive branch, claimed that he could not. Instead, Mueller made the case for obstruction in his meticulous report, providing a road map to Congress, which he expects to consider impeachment proceedings. There appears to be more than enough proof of criminality for the House of Representatives to draw up articles of impeachment."

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/mueller-report-proves-trump-obstructed-justice.html

[Cryingdick]

1 minute ago, bristolboy said:

Another way to put it is he hasn't gained a single vote out of this nor have the Democrats lost one.

 

If that is the case he wins again. lol

[Cryingdick]

1 minute ago, bristolboy said:

"As he wrote in his report, Mueller only declined to indict the president because the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the executive branch, claimed that he could not. Instead, Mueller made the case for obstruction in his meticulous report, providing a road map to Congress, which he expects to consider impeachment proceedings. There appears to be more than enough proof of criminality for the House of Representatives to draw up articles of impeachment."

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/mueller-report-proves-trump-obstructed-justice.html

 

They should just hold a vote in the house on it. Then it can be quashed in the senate if the house actually goes for it.

[bristolboy]

2 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

If that is the case he wins again. lol

So you think he wasn't expecting a boost after the conclusion of the Mueller report was released? Really?

[bristolboy]

2 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

They should just hold a vote in the house on it. Then it can be quashed in the senate if the house actually goes for it.

Actually, I agree. Just a big waste of time.

[Cryingdick]

Just now, bristolboy said:

So you think he wasn't expecting a boost after the conclusion of the Mueller report was released? Really?

 

It doesn't matter if things remain the same the dems are already DOA.

[Puchaiyank]

Like a room filled with foul smelling gas...this too shall soon pass...????

[darksidedog]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

unquestionably dishonest, unethical, immoral and unpatriotic, and should be condemned by every American."

 

But will probably only be condemned by those who are able to see the man for who he is. Those who are blinkered will sadly continue to stand by him.

[bristolboy]

2 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

It doesn't matter if things remain the same the dems are already DOA.

Once again resorting to that same tired dodge.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

"As he wrote in his report, Mueller only declined to indict the president because the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the executive branch, claimed that he could not. Instead, Mueller made the case for obstruction in his meticulous report, providing a road map to Congress, which he expects to consider impeachment proceedings. There appears to be more than enough proof of criminality for the House of Representatives to draw up articles of impeachment."

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/mueller-report-proves-trump-obstructed-justice.html

The Dems have been calling to impeach him long as I can remember ( Maxine's constant refrain ). Just do it, then they can all get back to actually doing their job.

[Cryingdick]

Just now, bristolboy said:

Once again resorting to that same tired dodge.

 

Trump can lose several states and still win. He doesn't have a high bar to break 270.

[Cryingdick]

Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

The Dems have been calling to impeach him long as I can remember ( Maxine's constant refrain ). Just do it, then they can all get back to actually doing their job.

 

I agree. Don't drag it out in the house with grandstanding put it to a vote for once and all.

[bristolboy]

Just now, Cryingdick said:

 

Trump can lose several states and still win. He doesn't have a high bar to break 270.

And he can lose several states and lose, too.

[Boon Mee]

Well, the quote that's sometimes attributed to Stalin: "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime" might well have been employed by Mueller but as it turns out, Trump's honestly and honorability was and is too much for attempted coup to overcome. 

[Paul Henry]

If Trump had been HONEST, TRUE, and Presidential he would not have a reason to impede the Mueller investigation. Keep filling the swamp with his lap dogs who will spin the facts and like POTUS lie to fool the gullible Trump supporters and rednecks

[neeray]

12 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Well, the quote that's sometimes attributed to Stalin: "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime" might well have been employed by Mueller but as it turns out, Trump's honestly and honorability was and is too much for attempted coup to overcome. 

555. No emoji, just 555 !

 

"honestly and honorability" 555

[Cryingdick]

8 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

If Trump had been HONEST, TRUE, and Presidential he would not have a reason to impede the Mueller investigation. Keep filling the swamp with his lap dogs who will spin the facts and like POTUS lie to fool the gullible Trump supporters and rednecks

 

The underlying charge never existed. You realize that right?

[BobBKK]

6 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

The underlying charge never existed. You realize that right?

This is the point they keep avoiding. All the rest is political noise and whining.

Dems 'shut up' please and try and win the election not get rid of the guy who won it! They are handing trump 2020 on a plate.

[Dumbastheycome]

31 minutes ago, neeray said:

555. No emoji, just 555 !

 

"honestly and honorability" 555

And this is the country that is currently still pursuing the persuasion of being the worlds legitimate High Sherrif.

The country that the UK after fading achievement of  Brexit pins it's hopes of glorious success on trade.

All the while it's screwing itself over by  maintaining a Pissident.

 

[lannarebirth]

3 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

It doesn't matter if things remain the same the dems are already DOA.

The Democrats are only DOA if they embrace a candidate that isn't much different than the Republican candidate; like Biden.

 

 

 

 

[Cryingdick]

1 minute ago, lannarebirth said:

The Democrats are only DOA if they embrace a candidate that isn't much different than the Republican candidate; like Biden.

 

 

 

 

We shall see. I think Bernie is the one and he loses by a wide margin.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

We shall see. I think Bernie is the one and he loses by a wide margin.

For sure he could have been the one, but I think he was done when he revealed he's a millionaire, but time will tell.

[lannarebirth]

Just now, Cryingdick said:

We shall see. I think Bernie is the one and he loses by a wide margin.

 

If it is Bernie, he has the capacity to win over Red state voters. Trump does not have capacity to win over Bluestate voters. Weld may have that capacity but I think he's going to get lost in the noise.

 

Both Bernie and Yang have correctly identified what needs healing in America. It is not Blacks, it is not the LGTBQ, it is not whatever other "identity" group, it is the poor white voter, who has been shit on for 150 years. Just a pawn in their game.