The most significant thing is that the American public has become hugely invested in this report as both drama and as "The Answer." Whatever it does or does not actually say, its presumed extreme importance indicates the breakdown of our ordinary political processes, largely due to the lack of character and courage of legislators across the political spectrum over recent decades. The health and welfare of our republic should never rest on the shoulders of one person or even one investigation.
Ultimately though, the responsibility falls on the American people's preference for entertainment and drama over the nitties and gritties of politics and policy, over the hard work entailed in thinking about complexity, rather than the ease of a bumpersticker worldview espousing certainty. I would suggest that whoever is unhappy with what the report says or doesn't say and wants to lash out with blame begin doing so by looking in the mirror.
3
With the inconclusive findings of the Mueller report I fear we are slowly and inexorably sinking into the throes of a new civil war. If this republic doesn't survive we have only ourselves to blame.
3
This afternoon, Attorney General Barr noted the special counsel report raises a number of presidential actions of potential obstruction of justice, and states that while the special counsel would not prosecute for obstruction of justice, the president was not exonerated from those charges. AG Barr also notes that he and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein conclude that upon review of evidence developed by the special counsel, there is insufficient basis to establish obstruction of justice charges. He also notes they made this determination with the understanding that the standard for successful prosecution is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Barr also notes that in due time, after the AG office removes certain material developed through the grand jury, remaining material from the report will be made public.
To summarize Barr's summary of the special counsel report, after two years, since it is on the fence about whether Trump obstructed justice, without clear and convincing evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of such obstruction, the special counsel decided not to prosecute Trump but notes Trump is not exonerated from such a charge.
This is hardly a ringing endorsement for President Trump.
8
Barr's principle conclusion is that the federal government's principle law enforcement agency is unable or unwilling to stop Trump's blatant abuse of power and inappropriate relationship with a principle foreign adversary. God help us all.
3
The worst and most discouraging aspect of this unbelievable part of this mess is the response of the Republican Party. Its leaders are not stupid men. They know that there is overwhelming evidence that Trump and his campaign gleefully welcomed the Russian attacking our system and co-operated with them, regardless of specific charges against Trump. Remember that nobody ever called the FBI. Remember Trump’s repeated denials that Russia ever did anything. Remember his pathetic performance in Helsinki and his servile posture toward Putin in general. Remember all those lies about all those meetings with Russian actors.
And now the Republican Party has made a cynical decision to violate their most basic trust and to essentially make themselves complicit in the cover-up of a treasonous enterprise. What is the argument that that Party has any right to further participate in our experiment in democracy?
5
Even without the Mueller report there is enough evidence ti impeach Trump, but until the Senate majority locates its lost conscience there is no possibility of conviction. Meanwhile Trump's "base"is so enamored that they don't care.
This is how democracy dies.
4
Of course the entire Mueller report must be made available to the public. It is their report, their money and it is written in their interest. Collusion or not is NOT a problem anyway. The thing is however, that it should never make you forget that Trump and family is ONE BIG MORAL BLACK HOLE.
5
President Trump’s declaration of “no collusion” and vindication is premature. Without knowing the contents of the Mueller report, neither side on the political spectrum can be certain how much damage the report may cause the Trump presidency.
The report can still cause considerable political damage even if it does not call for indictment of the President. Assuming there was no direct collusion (i.e. express cooperation between Russia and Trump’s campaign), there remains the question of whether the Russians played Trump and his campaign. The absence of collusion does not rule out the possibility of President Trump and his people being unwitting dupes in Russia’s strategy to sow discord among Americans and to drive a wedge between America and its’ European allies. Such a finding, while not resulting in criminal indictments, would be politically devastating.
If this were one of the findings of the Mueller report, will the Attorney General withhold the report from the public and give Congress a sanitized summary of the “principal findings”?
3
I think not. What I’ve seen happen is that more information does not in fact clear up any confusion but adds to it. We have had a good test of the truth by Mr Mueller and his band of lawyers so let’s let that be the end of that. Now the atty gen will parse the information into a report so let’s let that be the end of that.
What I fear if this thing get drawn into the press and parsed and also in Congress and further parsed we will never be able to see the end, the truth, the half-truths, and not the untruths of the matter. We will be here for the future over and over again. Hillary Clinton, a horrid candidate, lost, get over it. Donald Trump, a horrid candidate, won, get over it.
1
It is clear that Russian individuals favored Donald Trump to an extent that they committed crimes in order to make his presidency possible. In this case, the answer to the question "Cui bono?" is Donald Trump--and the Russians, in their own estimation.
We anxiously await the news whether this convergence of interests was coincidental or according to plan.
2
I wonder if people want to READ the Report, or flip rapidly through in search of whatever they think might tell them they were right all along?
Don't expect the King's horses and men to blaze a trail of transparency here. It's going to be a long slog to find the truth that's already hiding in plain sight-- clear Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.
3
The only question worth asking now is whether there's a bigger fool in Washington than Adam Schiff.
1
How so? Please explain.
2
My, my. A lot of shrieking in the comments. I have said and continue to say, let’s us all just wait and see what happens. I trust Mueller. Give Barr a few days to read the thing. Shriek when there is some reason to do so. For now, just be patient and wait.
1
I think Trump should treat the Mueller Report like Obama treated his birth certificate. Hold it back while you opponents make fools of themselves - and then drop it on them on a Friday night. Oops - nothing there.
I agree with this op-ed 100%.
2
If Barr refuses to release the entire report a claim of cover up will be a justifiable charge. How many voters will vote for a Dem on the promise that h/she will declassify and release it all...perhaps many curious and/or patriotic fencesitters?!
2
We paid for it . We get to read it
2
In my earnest examination of conscience I believe I'm far more liberal than anyone who takes their news regularly from Murdoch's empire.
But really, the so-named and theoretic liberal side of the American media has gone absolutely insane over Mueller's refusal to bring forward any *more* indictments. We on the blue side of the political spectrum - if I even know what that means anymore - have fallen deeply into what the biblical scholars decades before called "Fear and Loathing."
This now, is it.
Yesterday I watched the anchors on MSNBC foaming at the mouth in rage, and those on Faux News giddy over this.
Have we not a modicum of fact-seeking logic within us to accept the strong probability that despite how we seethe daily at the disgusting antics of the deranged individual in the White House - it's entirely possibly that the adults in the room don't think he or his henchmen have an IQ high enough to conspire (collude is not the legal term) with Russian operatives?
Why do we refuse to believe that, instead, they are unwitting ego maniacal idiots who the Russian machine sought to manipulate, and then walked away from, giggling.
Oh the jokes they must have told over shots of Putin's vodka (yes he has his own brand) in Moscow.
Can we not believe our system of laws has worked and settle down.
The same nation that put an intelligent, scholarly black man into office - twice - seated this ninny.
This too shall pass.
2
YES.
2
The American people have the right to know that our president is a crook confirmed.
1
Let’s pray it’s leaked to the Times and/or the Post just like the Pentagon papers.
2
It is the most absurd thing that a few men in suits in Washington think that they need to keep secrets from the rest of us because they can handle it and we can't! We have read all the gory details in this Newspaper and a dozen other newspapers and platforms for years now, and it seems the truth would be the most useful information, because a few men in suits will never convince the rest of us that they know better than we do! Sorry, boys.
22
I helped pay for it. I want to read it.
2
So, if you must,shield names and orgaizations for security reasons, why not do just that and leave these rest un-redacted.
President Trump, prior to his election, had never in his life had a job working for anybody else, other than his doting (and crooked) father. now, he works for the American people, but he doesn't seem to know how to be responsible to anyone other than himself. as far as he is concerned, it appears President Trump thinks he is King Donald I, which is exactly the kind of malfeasance the framers were worried about. couple that with his murky relationship with Deutche Bank, Russian oligarchs and their money, international mobsters, and his secretiveness about his business dealings and obligations, and it seems there's plenty to make Americans suspect him of treason... or, of just being a dupe. through it all, he insists he he innocent of anything at all, yet with all his tweets and rallies, he acts guilty as sin, making him America's first Chico Marx president, constantly asking the public: who you gonna believe, me or your own lying eyes? of course the American public should see the Mueller report. the question is, will be be Barred?
2
THE MUELLER REPORT
We wonder, will Barr let us see it?
As of now, he will NOT guarantee it.
But the full-length report
Is of such great import
That Barr, we implore you to free it!
4
Mr. Trump, You can rest on the laurels of the possible conclusion of Mueller's report of "no collusion" on your part for now. However, as our
Commander-in-Chief, it is your highest duty to get on with the mission of counterintelligence to stop Russia's meddling in the 2020 elections as well as to acknowledge and end their on-going efforts to destabilize our nation's democracy.
It is time for you to put the sovereignty of our nation first and not your own self preservation and preoccupation with the validation of your election. You should have been working hand-in-hand with our intelligence agencies since the beginning of your administration in 2017 to get to the bottom of Russia's threat to the U.S. national security.
Be a real leader for once and begin immediately to actively defend the American people and not just yourself now that the report may have landed you in the clear. Thank you.
12
What was uncovered?
What were his conclusions?
What was his reasoning?
Why the lies?
All paid for by the taxpayers.
All of the gravest concern to the fate of the nation.
Vital the full report is released.
Vital no dark shadow of ignorance hangs over further public debate.
1
After having spent thousands of my tax dollars into the Mueller Investigation, the least I am entitled to is a full transparent report - not a redacted version of a redacted version. Nor do I want to see my tax dollars sunk into another round of investigations until this President goes to win the Presidency once again in 2020. And the irony is he cannot be indicted because he is President! Ah, Justice! Obviously not for the citizens!
1
In this nation he who owns endless money receives whatever justice they want to purchase.
First a judicial coup with the Gore unsuccessful election. Then stack the highest court in the land with forget blind, but sighted justices that see just what you instruct them to see.
Now lets just finish by changing the Constitution with the Koch brothers framing the nations future.
Then just pay taxes and send your children to work for our Military Welfare state.
Rome wasn't built in a day you know.
Trickle up America. After all you might be rich someday too...
1
That we have to even ask shows how broken Washington DC is and how we have allowed it to happen.
The majority of politicians are not your friends folks.
1
Everything is indirect in the USA. Indirect suffrage . Indirect justice.
Indirect corruption as well. Of course.
Now is the time to call Trump a coward, yellow, scared - all the names that he would liberally use were the Mueller Investigation Report about anyone else. John McCain was not a hero. Guilty people plead the Fifth. Lock up Hillary. Public shaming is the coin of the realm since he declared his candidacy and what is good for the goose...
If you're not a yellow coward, release the whole thing now.
Let's be clear, he acts impulsively and from rage, so let us raise our voices in shaming him to release the entire report from a place of rage and fury. He will hide behind executive privilege. He will cower behind the skirts of his Attorney General. He will pull the covers of separation of powers up over his head while he lies trembling in a fetal position lest his base see he has wet the bed.
Let us rise-up and insult him, badger him and taunt him to do the right thing. I don't mean just the late night monologues or the Sunday pundits, but the elected politicians at all levels, the nightly news producers and the clown following Roger Stone with the placard that reads "THIS IS A SIGN."
I would love for our country to return immediately to a modicum of political civility where friends can discuss issues without vitriol, but we may have to get dirty first before we can clean-up. Let's use Trump's modus operandi on Trump.
1
The American people demand nothing less than releasing the whole Mueller report to the American people !
ANYTHING less will be seen as a cover up
1
I still want to know why a server at Russia's Alfa Bank was communicating in 2016 with a server in Trump Tower. I no longer believe in Trump/Russia coincidences.
Slate first reported in 2016 how two cybersecurity experts looking for malware activity stumbled onto it. This 2018 New Yorker piece covers the mystery in detail, and it remains an unanswered question.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/was-there-a-connection-between-a-russian-bank-and-the-trump-campaign
1
I imagine that many people will be pushing hard for the report to stay private: “The country needs healing”; “We don’t want to start a civil war”; “We can handle the truth but the American public cannot”.
It’s this sort of patronizing attitude that will enrage the American public. We already experienced it 1x in 2000 with the Bush v Gore debacle. No more “Father Knows Best”.
1
Bottom line: because of Mueller's conservative idiosyncrasies as an investigative prosecutor, the majority of reputable experts have been telling us since since Day 1 not to expect an indictment of the sitting president. This should surprise no one that's been paying attention. Because of that professional conservatism, he has no intention of being the spoiler for the philosophical idiocy that a sitting president can't be indicted.
That also in no way suggests that he and his family shouldn't be. My money's on this: considering Mueller set the stage by by pulling the drain plug on the swampiest of Executive Swampfests in this nation's history by indicting the unprecedented slew of Clown Car Bozos that he did, he was writing on the wall.
This report is an indictment in itself, and an invitation to proceed. It was never intended to be an end-all. NOW, the real test is nigh, whether there is still an America built on the foundation we used to think it was, or if that America has caught the last train for the coast.
Snakes may rot from the head down, but we've learned the hard way in the last 3 years that this one had its tail in its mouth when it died.
10
There are reasons why this Fake President, with his continuous, contemptuous cries of “witch hunt” and other slanders made against the nation’s premier law enforcement professionals, could not simply keep quiet and wait for the Mueller Investigation to conclude. Those reasons involve multiple layers of criminality and corrupt behavior. Trump’s hour of reckoning is approaching! Hang in there America. Justice will be done.
1
This is really getting tired and old. There isn't a politician alive that doesn't deal with lowlife individuals. No matter what this report divulges, it is the hatred towards Trump, and him being president that will keep the investigations going until something is uncovered to maybe find reason to push impeachment. All the while, nothing other than this is getting accomplished in Washington. Pitiful
It seems to us that Congress never wanted to meddle in the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) role that govern the release of information contained in a report produced by the Office of Special Counsel (“OOSC”).
The Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994 (28 CFR 0 to 600) regulates the role, investigative powers and production of the OOSC. As noted by the Attorney General in a clarification letter circulated in 1999 to the DOJ “These regulations seek to strike a balance between independence and accountability in certain sensitive investigations, recognizing that there is no perfect solution to the problem. The balance struck is one of day-to-day independence, with a Special Counsel appointed to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute matters when the Attorney General concludes that extraordinary circumstances exist such that the public interest would be served by removing a large degree of responsibility for the matter from the Department of Justice.”, the concept of an OOSC is both sensitive and problematic when contemplated within the confines of our Constitution. Thus the attempt by the legislative branch to call for the complete release of the OOSC report is both unfeasible nor mandated by its own legislation.
While we would like to see the OOSC’s complete report, we recognize the privilege provided to the DOJ in this instance by Congress. If Congress wants to see the complete report, it should pass legislation that overrides the DOJ’s privilege.
1
Still waiting for a righteous Republican to ride in and save the day while Democrats continue their quest for purity.....
In order to have a reasonably complete historical record, I agree that release of the full report is important. That having been said, I would argue that we have already made up our minds on the corrupt, stupid, or saintly behavior of Trump and his accomplices since 2016 unless we've been living under a rock since then; it is fantasy to imagine that anyone needs the report to help make up her/his mind. If the report contradicts what we already know, then it has been tampered with. If it tells us anything we don't know, (1) I will be amazed beyond words, and (2) such a disclosure demands further investigation by Jerry Nadler and his committee. It is for that reason that we must see the evidence used, not just the conclusions of the report.
10
"What do all these men have in common?"
You left out that most of them committed felony tax evasion. Why does an ambitious man surround himself with felons? Because he has no respect for the law and requires their felonious talents.
I think it is time for another story about Roy Cohn's modus operandi, and his relationship with Donald Trump.
1
Even those of us who loathe Trump...should be generally happy with these tame results...Who wants a literal Russian spy as President?
Brace yourself for disappointment, Mr. Bookbinder. Mueller is no fool. He knows how bitterly divided the country is. If he has any patriotism (and I think he does), he knew the country needed a report that either nailed Trump hard or completely exonerated him. Anything in between would simply fuel partisan combat without end. He isn't likely to make the mistake Comey made, of saying that what Clinton did didn't *quite* constitute a crime. Right now it looks like Mueller's report is going to exonerate Trump, at least on collusion with Russia.
Don't believe me? Consider the fact that Trump is calling for release of the full report. You want the same thing Trump does. That ought to give you pause.
2
"If there was in fact “no collusion,” as the president so often claims, it apparently was not for lack of trying."
It would be very good if the report were released. It would end all speculation and doubt; put a cap on the rumor mill. Trump himself, just a few days ago, said he wanted the report made public. So what's the problem?
Mueller, if I understand correctly, did not find sufficient proof of a "conspiracy," proof that would have justified indictments and court cases.
But there may have been collusion/collaboration. Taxpayer dollars paid for the Mueller report. Why can't the taxpayers see what they paid for? Why can't we see for ourselves if there was a "witch hunt?"
Or does AG Barr get to decide who the adults in the room are, and who sits at the kiddie table?
Who elected him God? Who elected him at all?
16
"The responsibility for holding to account any bad actors identified in the report, President Trump included, now falls on the American people and Congress." We are so lucky to have decent people holding positions of authority. I love that the new Attorney General stated in his confirmation hearings that he would follow the law. It is, as I understand it, not permitted that those investigated but not charged be publicly shamed as the American people and Congress would love to witness. The rule of custom and the law is that one is innocent until found guilty. We should count ourselves a very lucky people indeed to have such an admirably sensible system run by men and women of integrity. Congress would love to get out the tar and feathers. They have shown themselves to be hungry for a good lynching. Witness how disappointed many were to learn that Jussie had not be lynched. AG Barr has stated that the procedure to share findings is in executive session but of course Pelosi demands that those investigated but not indicted be paraded down Main Street as in a Moscow show trial, to be followed by public apologies, resignations, and, no doubt, dramatic suicides. Anything to satisfy to insatiable public hunger for revenge and purification. We become coarser and coarser, do we not? Mueller and Barr seem to have good sense. Let us hope those hungry for more can be persuaded to go on a diet.
David, every step of the way in this investigation we've seen a president, and his sychophants, lie about virtually everything. They have only been forthcoming once they were caught lying. The president himself would not even testify in person because his lawyers knew he couldn't stop himself from lying. Moreover, you want to protect this president who lashes out without proof at everything and everybody. The Attorney general does have the right to redact portions of Mueller's report where national security interest are of concern, but Congress is still entitled to see the whole report and they will!
2
@Aurora You misunderstand. My opinion is irrelevant. I want Barr to follow the law, not my urges. Barr has said he wants to release as much as he can under the law. That decision will require him to weigh the Justice Department's longstanding protocol of not releasing negative information about people who aren't indicted against the extraordinary public interest in a criminal investigation into the president and his campaign
I just want to point out one more time, that the idea that one can rise above the law by becoming president is patently absurd. If he did these crimes to get into the White House there is no way we can stand by and play by broken rules. That simply will not do. I look forward to reading the full report.
8
@Dore
We shall all "stand by". Americans always do.
What majority of people really want is to get enabled to try Trump for high crimes and/or misdemeanors. Or at least deceitfulness and incompetence. And, when I say majority of people, I mean globally. An American President is supposed to be the leader of the free world. Our government needs to show leadership to the free world by releasing an unedited Mueller report.
6
It appears that Barr is holding back already - not a promising sign of transparency.
4
Not releasing the full Mueller Report would be the ultimate obstruction of justice and those responsible for it must be held fully accountable for that crime. Anything less would forever call into question the strength and integrity of our democracy.
7
A million UK citizens protest in London about Brexit. The Gilets Jaunes in France protest in the hundreds of thousands each weekend against their government's policies. The United States, which has a demonstrably inadequate and dangerous president and an acquiescent Senate, is undisturbed. There was a louder protest about The Bachelor finale.
9
Pay attention to the man behind the curtain. Trump calling for the full release of documents to "the public" is nothing more than smoke - Barr was put in place precisely because he is a Trump loyalist who will obstruct justice to protect his Don.
It will be up to Cy Vance to get the Trump criminal enterprise to justice.
Luckily that gang that couldn't shoot straight is still in Laurel and Hardy mode - they will be stuck in the same doorway for the next 22 months.
4
The Trump camp reaction to "no new indictments" was, "see, we did nothing wrong, we told you so, no collusion."
They might want to pump the brakes on this premature celebration. The sudden reversal of fortunes I think will be fleeting once Mueller is allowed to reveal what he knows.
5
Otherwise uninvolved American citizens were interviewed as part of the Mueller probe. Their rights to not be publicly named or have potentially embarrassing episodes of their lives spilled into the media outweighs the political desire of some to find something, anything to point to. Any report must redact the names and other identifying information of these people.
1
Even if there is no evidence that Trump colluded with Russia, there is a strong case to be made for obstruction of justice. Trump may have attempted to obstruct justice on behalf of Flynn, Manafort, and Stone, rather than for himself, but that would still constitute a crime.
3
Excellent explanation of the importance and purpose of Mr. Mueller’s report. The phrase referring to the fact that the President and his advisors sought to benefit from a foreign adversary during his campaign is documented fact, and this behavior is unacceptable in our democracy.
5
This piece is the best summary I have seen on why the Mueller report should be released.
13
Russia, and perhaps other adversary nations, have invaded our election, our presidency, and undoubtedly our Congress. The citizens of America have the highest need to know every detail of Mr. Mueller’s report. The only redactions should be the names of our intelligence personnel, and the personal data such as address and phone of other persons named.
If the Attorney General, in any way, fails to deliver this report to the public, we can safely assume that Mr. Barr is also on Putin’s payroll.
15
It's disingenuous to focus solely on Trump while realistically the real revelation thus far is that none of his family or associates faces indictment, none of whom are protected by office....
5
@Dennis Holland:
What? Manafort, Flynn, Cohen and other of Trump's "family or associates" have already been indicted, convicted and/or pleaded guilty.
Additionally, Mueller has referred a number of cases to the Southern District of New York and other jurisdictions. Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Cadet Bone Spurs himself could very well end up in the slammer in New York, where the Attorney General is investigating them for various forms of business and charity fraud. State convictions can't be pardoned by the "president."
Don't gloat too soon. This isn't the end; it's only the beginning of the end.
16
There is every possibility the Mueller report says something like:
There is enough to charge the President, but he is the President, and I will not pursue an indictment due to DOJ advice.
This is entirely possible. The world wants to know.
7
@EC
There is every possibility that the Mueller report says something like:
There is enough to charge Clinton and Comey and others for creating this mess and I have handed that evidence to the DoJ for them to pursue.
This is entirely possible. The world wants to know.
5
@West Coaster
Sure.
Let's find out.
Release the whole report.
1
@West Coaster No. Mueller has not spent 3 days on inquiring about Hillary Clinton or Comey because there is nothing to investigate about. please don't be confuse and don't try to confuse others. Mueller reports says that the Clinton emails story was a fake. Please update your knowledge.
1
"Despite continued attempts by the president to impede the investigation"
.
Name one. Really. Just one.
.
If Trump wanted to impede the investigation, he could have stopped it dead in its tracks. If exercising his constitutional right to criticize it is "impeding" it, we're all in a lot of trouble.
.
Since Trump has called for its release and the entirety of Congress have voted unanimously for its release, this seems like an op-ed that Rosanne Rosannadanna could have written.
6
@West Coaster
Given we’ve heard the steady public refrain of “witch-hunt” for two years from Trump, who did indeed fire every high ranking FBI agent on the case before Mueller, your claim that Trump wasn’t actively seeking to impede the investigation doesn’t fit the facts.
You can deny facts all you like but in the end, what’s real, is.
1
@West Coaster, He fired Comey. He said on TV that he fired Comey to get the Russia thing off his back. He constantly harangued Sessions for recusing himself and replaced him because he wouldn't protect Trump from the investigation. He wanted to fire Mueller but was talked out of it.
Oh, sorry. You just wanted one.
1
He fired Comey because of the "Russia thing" as he told Lester Holt, demanded Sessions unrecuse, dangled pardons, daily slandered Mueller, led constantly that he had nothing to do with Russia when he actually had signed a letter of intent to build a tower in Moscow, etc.
1
Exactly. Like one Richard M. Nixon once said, “the American people need to know if their President is or is not a crook.” The American people elected Trump knowing he was a misogynistic, lying, even racist, businessman and reality tv star...but those who voted for him presumed he was going to fight for their best interests. Like some other wise man said, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Trump displayed his cover during the campaign but now we need to read the book on Trump, to understand whether the conduct uncovered by Mueller, even if not criminal, was meant to serve the best of our fellow citizens or Mr. Trump, his family and his “Organization.” We learned through Mueller’s indictments that Trump advocated for improved relations with Russia as a diplomatic goal, while he concealed his personal business aspirations. We need to know what else Mueller found which would shed light on whether Trump intended to uphold the oath of the highest office, or to increase his largesse. We have observed that as “leader of the free world” he has abandoned alliances, imposed punitive tariffs on our neighbors and verbally trashed our long time friends around world. We need to know if Mueller has uncovered any self-interested motivations. We need to know whether our President is or is not a sham.
10
@Asher Fried
[The American people elected Trump knowing he was a misogynistic, lying, even racist, businessman and reality tv star.]
Agreed: he was and is all those things.
Yet America preferred this basket of characteristics to the still worse alternative. (!!!)
@Asher Fried
“We need to know whether our President is or is not a sham.”
You’re missing an ‘e’ . It is already known, and well-documented, that the man inhabiting the office is a liar, cheat, and grifter.
It should be obvious that if there was no collusion, as Mr. Bookbinder states, "it was not for lack of trying". Morally , ethically, albeit not legally--if we take two individuals each aiming to kill someone, each shooting to kill, one victim dies and one victim survives. Legally, only the successful killer is a murderer--but morally, ethically there is no difference between the two. They are both equally indifferent to the spilling of blood, both contemptuous of the sanctity of life. And so it is here. Whether the Trump campaign was capable of successful collusion, or whether because of its general incompetence and sloppiness was incapable of successfully consummating this desired objective---it should be considered as one who has colluded, and with Russia--an arch enemy (in spite of Trump's love for Putin--as he tends to love the worst people while hating and denigrating the best). The campaign definitely should be considered guilty of collusion , and should be regarded as violators of the expected norms of required behavior.
7
No sweat. Now that Mueller's out of the picture, the information will be leaked in no time. Just wait and see.
7
The report should be released in full with the only exceptions being protection of valid intelligence sources and methods and grand jury testimony that is necessary to pursue additional investigations by the relevant U.S. Attorneys offices that were informed by the special counsel. It would not be prudent to expose information that might jeopardize those potential prosecutions. Having said that, at the very least, the Mueller report should provide the public with a comprehensive view of the overt and covert efforts by the Russian government and its allies to subvert our democracy.
5
@tippicanoe
If the DOJ holds back the Mueller report for about a week, American amnesia will take over. It always does. All politicians know that.
6
While I certainly understand the sentiments expressed, releasing the full report might not be prudent, nor ethical. Assume for example, a worse case scenario, that Trump is indeed a Russian asset (not saying that, just an example). That would only likely be proved via intelligence sources whose lives, and further utility for us as a nation, would be put at risk by publishing their names. It takes thousands of the right words/actions to build useful intelligence sources, and only one wrong one to destroy them. Congressional leaders from both side of the aisle should accept the request for a confidential briefing before any more grandstanding takes place, and not trade off constitutional responsibilities for political expediency.
3
@Waltter How can exposing a Russian Agent, if Trump is one, be justification to hide the fact from the American people? Certainly there are ways to extract those agents we have that, if they already aren't under flag or protection, could be done so before the report was released.
Otherwise, I am in awe of your ability to deceive the American people with that excuse you gave.
4
@Walter, the author isn't suggesting that sources and methods be compromised. We know how to redact sensitive information from reports. Congress' constitutional responsibility at this point is to provide oversight of the executive branch, in particular deciding whether the president has abused his powers, obstructed justice, or participated in the attacks in any way. That means the entire Congress must participate; William Barr must not be allowed to shield the report from the public by rendering the entire report highly classified.
The only thing we know at this point is that Mueller decided he lacked enough evidence to bring indictments. We don't know what the evidence, if any, was. We don't have the details of the declinations, so we don't know why Mueller declined to indict.
If your worst-case scenario were true, don't you think voters have the right to know?
6
I want a full report not just the Mueller one. I want a report about what Trump has done since the beginning of his administration in 2017 when he was a apprised by the intelligence agencies of Russian interference in the 2016 election and their efforts to destabilize our democracy. As our commander-in-chief it was his duty to begin counter-intelligence operations to mount an attack on our sovereign nation. I want a report from him promising that his obsessive defense of himself will end and he will finally begin to defend the American people as he was elected to do.
14
"Without direct access to Mr. Mueller’s full report . . . the American people will be unable to make a fully informed decision about whether Mr. Trump can be trusted with the high office he occupies."
Who are you kidding? Since when have the American people ever made a "fully informed decision" about anything? Let's be real here. Mueller was not a judge or a jury. He simply gathered facts and made recommendations. It is up to the courts and/or Congress to decide whether there should be indictments, further investigation and/or impeachment. The real reason for the whole report to be released is so that Trump's inevitable distortions or lies about the report may be refuted. Not that what the report actually says will matter to those who drink Trump's Kool-Aid.
7
@Jay Orchard, nothing the report says will change the minds of those belonging to Trump's cult. But voters still have a right to know the evidence because we're the ones deciding the 2020 election.
7
I agree with the House and the majority of Americans. Release the report in its entirety. We need to know what Mueller discovered and we also need to know what he was not able to definitively take off the table. This administration has been extraordinarily divisive. No need to belabor why. Mr. Trump has threatened violence. He has praised white supremacists. Our fundamental aspirations and values are at stake. Here in the real world we can all see how Trump has tried to derail the investigation. They have told thousands of lies pertaining to the investigation. Mr. Mueller has already indicted, convicted, etc. many of Trump's associates. Here in the real world it is undeniable. Trump has worked to advance Mr. Putin's aims, and Putin helped Trump win the election. Whether or not that is criminal, it is, on a more likely than not basis, treasonous, in the everyday sense of that word. The DOJ policy of not indicting a president is insanity in cases of likely treason.
12
@Robert
“The DOJ policy of not indicting a president is insanity in cases of likely treason.” Actually, that is Congress’ job. The Constitution spells out how it is to be done.
It is imperative that Americans see and evaluate the report.There is every possibility that the Russian will hack into files and have the benefit of th report so their behavior in 2020 can be more nefarious.
6
Until Barr gets back from his weekend at Mara-largo there will be nothing released and after that he will release the front with Mueller's name on it but the rest will remain secret by order of the president.
However if you're good friends with Jared you will be able to get a copy of it from his private email account.
4
Indeed. Please do release it.
And wouldn't it be interesting to read in it that for some reason Noah Bookbinder became an object of scrutiny for some brief period of time.
Think of the fun we could have with that.
@Objectivist
Sounds like a not-so-veiled threat to an editorial writer exercising their right to free speech.
Attempting to start a conspiracy theory counts as "fake news" doesn't it?
Once upon a time some people believed that priests were necessary to interpret God’s words and will as expressed in the Bible.
Then, following the invention of the printing press, the Bible was translated from Latin into common languages and everyone could read it for themselves.
Not everyone agreed what God wanted or how to gain personal salvation.
Flash forward to the 21st century. Some think only some people should learn what Mueller and his highly professional colleagues have found.
Unless the full unredacted report is released to the American people, a cloud will forever hang over the Trump administration, the Justice Department, and the legitimacy of every decision, every policy, and every appointment.
Conspiracy theories anyone?
After two years of Four Pinocchio lies, we, the American people, deserve “The Truth.”
We can handle “The Truth.”
10
Reporters are repeating the claim that there are no sealed indictments.
How do they know that?
How could they know that?
Do they really know that?
4
@Alix Hoquet, I hadn't heard that. We know that there are some sealed indictments (i.e., Julian Assange), a fact we learned by accident. I don't think there's any way to know whether there are additional sealed indictments.
4
There may be no sealed indictments by the Special Counsel. But it’s entirely possible, and perhaps more likely, there are sealed indictments in other related cases spinning off from Mueller’s work.
Given Mueller was working under some level of threat he might not be able to finish, it seems very likely any sealed indictments would be under other prosecutors.
4
Our right to see the full report is indisputable. What is there to hide? We all heard Donald Trump say no collusion. no nothing.
We should expect full disclosure asap.
9
Everything, including grand jury testimony which can easily be approved by request of the grand jury to the federal judge overseeing it. Full public disclosure on the entire report other than sources and methods.
9
We all know Barr is not going to release the entire Mueller Report to Congress. It's up to Congressional Democrats to be smart, be tough, and be persistent about receiving the report in its entirety. I hope the Democrats have a strategy, and the smartest legal minds advising them.
16
Sure. Maybe those smart, tough fair-minded Democrats should appoint Hillary to lead the rest of their "investigations." That will ensure the "people" learn the "truth," right?
And supposing that actionable misconduct is newly revealed by the report, would a freshly-stacked Supreme Court be willing to override the Executive?
5
What’s worse? That the report won’t be made public, or that it will but The government will do nothing about it?
9
@Steve Pomerantz, if the report isn't made public, public confidence in the Justice Department, the President, our courts, and Congress will all be seriously undermined. If the government does nothing about serious misconduct, the result might be the same but it won't be written off as conspiracy thinking. We'll know what we're facing.
6
Even if the report contains nothing dishonest involving Trump ,how can anyone forget all of the less than honest people that Trump has chosen to be involved with be dismissed?
8
At what point does a "scrubbed" version of Mueller's report become a cover up?
Since Congress voted to have full report released, our elected representatives have weighed in on the decision in our favor.
I hope Mr. Katyal would be willing to revise the Special Counsel statute, and this time revisit the Office of Legal Counsel's injunction against indicting a sitting president.
5
The only way President Trump's honor can be protected in this situation is to release the full report. Without full disclosure, the elements veiled in secrecy will be seized upon by Trump's critics and and assumed to be evidence of malfeasance regardless of the possibility that the secrets exist for other reasons.
3
Any opinion on these issues should be muted until the report is public. Release the report. No further discussion.
7
Absolutely. In order to restore at least some public confidence, the report must be made public. It will not work to hide anything. Every day there are so many lies coming from the White House. There has been so much corruption and suspect behavior simply in the public space, that we need to see all of what is behind the curtain so to speak. The public confidence demands this. We paid for this report with our hard earned tax dollars. This is our life, this is our country, this relates to the security of the homeland in which we live. Each and every American has a right to see the full Mueller report.
13
"Without direct access to Mr. Mueller’s full report, Congress cannot responsibly decide whether to exercise its powers of oversight or impeachment, and the American people will be unable to make a fully informed decision about whether Mr. Trump can be trusted with the high office he occupies."
Well, I suspect that last line isn't up for debate given Mr. Trump's aberrant behavior "in the office he occupies".
But sure, nothing less than the full report is acceptable. If it isn't made public, it will intensify the distrust Democrats have about Republican motives, further polarizing a nation, already set to explode.
I also think the report will leak, in which case, Justice will look duplicitous.
For more than 3 years, much of what we know about the Trump administration's most unlawful behavior has come from leaks.
If Bill Clinton's escapades in all their salacious glory were dumped on the public, isn't it only fair that we get to read Robert Mueller's findings about much more serious acts by Team Trump?
31
The wheels of Mueller's "Process" ground exceedingly slowly - and they ground exceedingly much - but they certainly did not grind "exceedingly fine".
His process, rather than having been "born of Solon" turned out to be a heavily funded replica of a "Sergeant Joe Friday" perp search - a "Dragnet".
I am thankful that he was finally stopped, before every last one of us was cast as some sort of villainous Putin stooge.
There is no question that a cover-up will be required.
The House voted 420 in favor of releasing the report. President Trump and some of his supporters have also called for a release of the report.
As soon as parts of the report begin to leak out, and authorized members of Congress and administration officials have seen the report, expect some reversals in calls for the release, in the name of national security, from those who will not like the contents of the report.
4
The public's right to know what happened and why does not require demeaning the unindicted or disclosing intelligence spycraft. So many facts are in the public domain but we lack the inside information necessary to evaluate the meaning of it all. Mueller can provide the context for the events. Efforts to limit what Congress sees or the public is allowed to learn will never satisfy the demand for the truth.
Barr and Rosenstein can fashion a watered down neatly scrubbed summary and rightly be condemned for their disdain for ordinary tax paying citizens who witnessed an unprecedented attack on our democracy by Russians. Some, perhaps many, who believe the election compromised, the results invalid.
Time for them to ask themselves whether it is fair to deny the people the right know what their government has done. A test of character awaits those in grey suits who hide behind arcane rules to misinform.
7
So apparently any outcome from the Mueller report that does not conform to your already arrived at conclusions automatically means that a coverup has occurred. That's quite a sense of balance and impartiality. It's fascinating to watch folks pivoting from their crumbling conspiracy theory about "collusion" to a new conspiracy theory about a "coverup" because collusion wasn't found. Why not just admit that Hillary was such a disreputable candidate that she lost the election to another disreputable candidate, in a contest that pitted two terrible career shysters against each other. Someone had to lose and it was her. Next!
Donald Trump Is working for us....and Mr. Barr is working for us.
We paid for this investigation which has resulted in quite a few indictments and convictions.
I think we are all entitled to read the report so that we may be properly informed prior to voting in the next election.
16
Right now, such a full release is illegal under the act empowering special counsel. Isn’t the big issue “rule of law” (so badly treated by the Trump administration)? Let’s go with the law and proceed from there.
3
@RLW, what part of the legislation creating the Special Counsel makes full release illegal? Please be specific. I think you're mistaken.
3
One of the reasons the public should not be able to read the report in its entirety is that it is likely to contain sensitive national security and counter-intelligence findings which are not made available to the general public without TSSCI (Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information Clearance) by agencies like the CIA, NSA and FBI, especially in matters involving foreign adversaries, terrorism and highly sensitive national security matters. The interference by Russia involved far more than the role the Trump team played in it. The Russians' successful execution of cyberwarfarewar attacks on the U.S and their likely plans for the future destabilization of the U.S. are complex and on-going. The second guessing of the redacted Mueller report by uninformed cable news pundits and the public in general often only emphasizes how it relates to Trump's world and his associates. The reporting of the press does not reflect what is a much broader sensitive and on-going security investigation with global and national implications. This should be the immediate concern of the Commander-in-Chief, his advisors and Congress. One must ask if today the president between golf games is reading the redacted intelligence analysis which may affect the sovereignty of our nation and future Russian meddling? Or rather, is he smugly enmeshed in the sections of Mueller's report which validate his presidency as legitimate and prove his rallying cry of "no collusion" to his victorious base?"
6
@Informed
I can give you another reason. Purportedly no further indictments will issue from Mueller's office. However Mueller as Special Prosecutor had a fairly narrow mandate and he kept his actions between the rails. But he also developed a good deal of information of interest to other law enforcement agencies, both state and federal, and from what I read they are considering action.
It would be imprudent at this time to release the unredacted report. After the ripples, as it were, spread out from the splash then yes I want to see the full report in the bookstore.
Let state and federal prosecutors do their jobs first.
@Alternate Identity, that leaves Congress out. Any information that might lead to further prosecutions would be redacted in the report. There should be no danger to future investigations.
We don't need to reveal sensitive information, but we do need the public's trust in our institutions. We're not going to get it by concealing most of Mueller's report.
4
The author did not address the known situations where information should not be made public, such as when it involves a security clearance or when it is confidential information about secondary people. You have to allow for the special cases without assuming nefarious reasons by default.
2
Robert Mueller will be called by Congress to answer questions in the coming months. The first question should be "If you weren't constricted by the DOJ policy that a sitting president can't be indicted, in your work, did you ever find enough evidence, against the president, to indict if you could?
11
@Rick Gage
Sure, but who’s to say that he won’t be persuaded to say otherwise on account of ‘undue pressure’ from shall we way, ‘bad actors’.
Let’s hope justice prevails...otherwise this Democracy experiment in the USA may be nearing its end.
2
@Rick Gage. But if no one else committed an indictable offense, as is apparently the case, then it is unlikely the President is I indicated only because of department policy that pertains only too him. Anyone he conspired with could have been indicted, but weren’t.
2
@David, He is already an unindicted co-conspirator (individual one) in a case his co-conspirator (Cohen) plead guilty to. Mueller has seen many things outside of his mandate and has farmed out many inquiries. I would like to hear them laid out.
1
Wholeheartedly agree with the author!
Release the report to Congress and the public in its ENTIRETY. Of course, Congress should receive supporting evidence and files in a TIMELY manner.
But most importantly, this DOJ policy of not indicting a siting Pres. NEEDS to be reviewed. If the Founding Fathers didn’t think it ‘prudent’ to put it in the early docs (Dec. of Independence or the Constitution), then perhaps it should have been LEFT unchanged.
Given the track record of the current WH occupant and its appointees, can the AG Really be trusted to uphold the law and be IMPARTIAL?
And given the ‘inopportune’ , HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE and USELESS announcement by the FBI (a week before the last election), which led to the current FIASCO in the first place, can the DOJ really be trusted to operate without necessary Congressional oversight?
Sure, CFCs and greenhouse emissions were BEYOND the scope of the Founders, but keeping ‘executive power and privilege’ in check was VISIONARY, which still holds relevance to this day. As such, US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence continue to be used as GUIDEBOOKS by many Countries around the world for the drafting of their own constitution or as mandatory reading for their budding law graduates.
Let’s not LOSE SIGHT of what made America great in the first place!
9
If ever there was a time for Congress to act -- NOW is that time.
As for the argument that some parts of this report may be withheld by "executive privilege" or "national security", let Congress decide that too.
After all, if Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are able to get National Security clearance, there's no reason why the American People shouldn't know what's going on as well.
19
We should be looking for the whole story, not just the second act, Trump part of it. Like, where did the accusations originate, how did the FBI/DOJ get involved in the first place, what part did the Obama/Clinton team play in this storyline, and why are we so fussed about certain segments of the drama, but not others. Now that would make a good story!
5
Think of this in terms of who is the ultimate employer of every single actor in this saga. I am, and so are you. For a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is to make informed hiring decisions (that is, voting), we all have a right to see any report.
Anyone in working in our supposed democracy who says you and I can’t see what have bought and paid for should be fired.
7
The Democrat controlled House will want it released. The Republican controlled Senate will not. Whoever has the say will make the decision. If it gets passed on to the Supremce Court, that also is controlled by Republicans, There seeminly is no such thing as unbiased, party-unrelated decision making in America.
5
@Penseur, the vote to release the report was bipartisan in the House. There's no reason it shouldn't be bipartisan in the Senate.
3
Did the information in the opinion polls given to Kilimnik by Manafort actually identify key battleground local areas, followed by social media fraud and interventions from non US sources?
I hope such detail will be made available.
On the subject, why are phony polls, as Cohen testified he was directed to commission by the president during the campaign, not as devastating to democracy and fraudulant as Russian tampering?
That alone should be the subject of an FBI investigation.
6
Given the fact that the Republicans investigated themselves lending credence to the notion that it is not an honest report, if the Republicans in the Justice Department fail to release the report in it's full form with only very minimal redactions to protect lives of informants only, then there will exist the appearance of a cover up of high crimes and the Administration will no longer have any credibility for the remainder of it's term.
7
@PATRICK
I think that is true.
1
What is the practice of the DOJ regarding preparing and releasing reports on investigations that do not result in charges being filed? And why is that the practice?
1
@Charlie
But lots of charges WERE filed -- just not against everyone. And the question of Russian interference is not merely some white collar financial question.
If the report is not released, our small-d democratic institutions lose all credibility -- the glue that holds a self-government together. There can be no "consent of the governed" without an underpinning belief in the system..
7
@Charlie, you can look to the Starr report for precedent. We don't know yet whether Mueller found grounds for obstruction of justice. Since investigations into the presidency are rare, I don't think you can say that there is a practice.
1
Yes, release the full report. But do not expect Fox News to make its audience aware of the full contents.
During the transition, Trump Jr was working with Russians to set up a "back channel" communication system to the Kremlin using Russian equipment.
In Helsinki, Trump stood on a stage and conspired with Vladimir Putin against U.S. intelligence agencies.
Many American right wingers frankly do not care if Trump conspired with Putin -- or even if Putin has dirt on Trump. These Americans, including Franklin Graham, see Putin as a white Christian, one of their own. They preferred Putin to Obama in that administration's conflicts with Russia.
The assumption that there is a united front of patriotic Americans who care about national security and love of country is antiquated.
20
@Beth, You're absolutely right because I'm antiquated and those things still mean a lot to me. I can't believe how wrong I was in thinking it was a, universally, shared view.
4
Today’s news reports the findings of the Mueller investigation will remain confidential for at least a second day. Rationale is so Attorney General William P. Barr can continue to pore over the document to determine what to make public. This wait adds to feelings of distrust and beliefs of concealment. In some instances faced by leadership, decisions either have to be or (in this situation) are best made quickly.
9
A general giddiness overtook the POTUS's supporters when they learned that the Mueller team would be requesting no more indictments. But they fail to consider the following real possibilities: sealed indictments; future indictments by the DOJ for offense falling outside Mueller's Russia brief--e.g. tax evasion, money laundering; future state indictments; and recommendations for future indictment once Donald Trump is no longer president.
As for me, I'm content to wait and see.
6
March 23, 2019
The question is how much does the Russian cyber apparatchik have, and when, as to the report - Mueller -
Who knows, how much and when are the hackers able to invade the Muller work? Not to say a Trump aid under instructions to do so is indeed in the matrix of DJT
2
The 'whole' raw report needs to be released and NY Times reporters who support this can show the public why it should be released by using another fully released report on whatever, and using it as an example by rewriting it by leaving in and leaving out different facts and how you can get different conclusions by what you leave in and leave out of a report.
7
Totally agree. Intelligent people like to process facts and can't trust governments to tell them the whole truth. Most governments tell half truths; a good example is the mosque massacre in NZ where one of the coalition partners said the terrorist will spend the rest of his life in isolation. Hello! not the full story and a half truth as he's surrounded by people 24 hours a day, psychiatrists and psychologists will picking his brain for University thesis to "try" and understand his motives so he's not in isolation and getting the attention he wants. Intelligent people aren't so naive to believe that the government tells them and like to process and make their own decisions based on 'facts'.
5
So what was all the lying about? Surely the public deserves to understand this aspect of Trump and his band of merry men. If there was nothing to see, why lie about all things Russia?
115
Because it diminishes his credibility as POTUS. Imagine the President agrees that collusion was effective. What next? Some angry Democrats will try to impeach him and so on. I won’t be surprised if one day we get our sort of Brexit which brakes all remaining strings of attachment between Democrats and Republicans.
@Liz McDougall
And nothing explains him standing next to Putin in Helsinki and not doing his job to stand with the US intelligence community.
6
The report must be released so the American people will be able to make the right decision in 2020. Regardless of what’s in the report, with or without a “smoking gun” element, we cannot rely on Republican politicians to do the right thing, so impeachment is not a realistic option. But the people as a whole, regardless of ideology, tend to act on principle; if Mueller’s team found collusion and crime, we will have a new president come 2021. But we need to see the report.
8
Amen. The Mueller report should be released in full to the American people.
23
Release the entire report, without delay.
16
The Justice Department is operating under the guiding principle that a sitting president cannot be indicted. So, the announcement that the report contains no more indictments tells us nothing about Mueller’s assessment of Trump’s culpability. We must have access to the report. Congress must have access. It’s the only reasonable course of action if The Justice Department has decreed that presidential malfeasance is above their pay grade. Right. Trump is, however, fully accountable to congress, and to the voters who only fell 3,000,000 votes short of electing him.
15
An unusual number of sealed indictments were filed since August. All we can know is the quantity since they don’t reveal the case or accused party.
Some reporters are suggesting that Muller did not place any indictments under sealed.
How could they know that?
2
Whether or not Mark Twain actually said it, one thing is going to be proven as unassailably true: It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
53
Trump and his allies may come to realize they've overplayed their hand. With the aim of persuading their base that the President is unindictable, they've consistently held the sole remedy for Presidential wrongdoing is impeachment.
Having thus declared that only the American people may be the judge of this President, they can't credibly argue that the evidence and findings need to be withheld from the "court." They've said it themselves: there is no other court. The public gets to decide.
So the public needs to know what evidence is out there.
38
Noah is disappointed Mueller didn't find anything, even though he has been worshiped as the savior, so now he hopes Congress or the "American people" can?
2
Poor democrats, no new indictments. What will the resistance report to next? Stamp your feet and keep indicting. The most investigated man in history and thus far NOTHING.
5
@DJ
Sorry to inform you that the "most investigated" president in history was Bill Clinton, not Donald Trump. The GOP and Ken Starr investigated Clinton for 6 solid years and Starr alone spent $80 million. Their findings were pathetic relative the size of that investigation.
The Mueller investigation ran a little over 2 years and cost nothing due to "recoveries." The focus was limited, so the spin-off indictments were happenstance. Trump has scores of corrupt LLCs and associates who commit crimes for him on a regular basis -- none of those has been investigated at all. The SDNY is famously looking into a portion of his criminal enterprises.
1
MAGA supporters so often claim that Robert Mueller has found “nothing.” But to say nothing seems untenably ignorant at best and blatantly evasive at worst. Of course there is something.
Mueller and his associates thus far have indicted, convicted or gotten guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies, including key advisers to President Donald Trump, Russian spies and hackers with ties to the Kremlin. Those key Trump advisers include (in no particular order) Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, and Michael Cohen—all worked closely with Trump for his presidential campaign; all lied to federal investigators about their relationships with foreign powers, including Russia; all were convicted of serious federal felony convictions.
The special prosecutor may not have demonstrated collusion on Trump’s part—yet, so far as we presently know—but, as Noah Bookbinder notes in today’s Opinion section, “it apparently was not for lack of trying.”
So there is indeed something rather than nothing. And that something is significant, far-reaching, and, ultimately, damning. Think about this way: if the tables were turned and the sitting President was a Democrat, MAGA supporters would undoubtedly be calling for her head for the exact same reasons. For them, the indictments would be everything.
1
really? None of the indictments, guilty pleas etc. have anything to do with Russian collusion. Manafort's crimes had nothing to do with Trump. Papadopoulos and Flynn were entrapped by the FBI and charged with lying about non criminal acts (only in Kafka). Cohen's actions have nothing to do collusion with Russia, and little to do with Trump. Yet, the left blathers on.
Yes, I would like the full report released so we can see what evidence Mueller had to indict those Russkies. And maybe it has evidence showing how many actual votes were changed because of a few facebook ads.
Of course what I'd really like to know, but the left has no appetite for this: Why did Billy and Loretta meet on the tarmac? What was the real genesis of the FBI investigation into Trump. Who ordered it? Why was HRC let off the hook re e-mails. Who ordered that? Why did the FBI obtain FISA warrants on Trump associates? Why did Obama not doing anything about Russian interference if it was threatening our democracy until after HRC lost. Why did OBAMA order an intel community report into Russia interference be completed in under 2 months and on his desk before he left office. Where is the evidence that Putin ordered the interference in order to help elect Trump? Where is the evidence that it was the Russian government that hacked the DNC.
Wouldn't all you on the left, so concerned about our threatened democracy, like to know the answers to these questions?
4
@Ralphie, so you agree that the full Mueller report should be released? Great. We have bipartisan consensus.
5
Yes - we liberals want t know it all. We actually believe in transparency.
1
you bet.
1
I sure hope that a copy of the report is accidently left somewhere where it can be found. Is anyone brave enough to do this? The Star report was leaked with glee, the Pentagon papers via a leaker. The report needs sunlight as soon as possible.
37
The report is mainly related to Russian cyber intelligence and presumably uses sensitive sources and methods. It's only tangentially about the Trump campaign's contact with Russians. There is still such a thing as national security classification of documents. Otherwise, why are we making an issue of the clearance given to Kushner for example?
2
@Molly ONeal, we redact sensitive parts of the report. Nobody is talking about revealing sources and methods.
2
One thing you can count on: failing evidence that Trump shot someone on Fifth Avenue- and maybe not even that- the Trumpistas will all shout that this was a Witch Hunt that exonerated their wonderful president, regardless of how damaging is the content. No collusion! No collusion!
What will it take to wake these people up?
14
The Mueller findings should be released to the public.
That being said, what would be done with the info? More money for court proceedings? More time spent on the corrupt life of Donald Trump?
The Republicans have failed to stick up for the right of this country since Trump took over. A bunch of sissies afraid of this lying corrupt man using our tax money to obscure his power. They’re not going to let anything happen to their precious.
I worked too hard for tax handouts toward Trump and his immorality. Can we please just accept he’s a crook, minimize his damage, and put our all into electing another president in 2020? In the meanwhile spend our taxpayer money on something else but Donald Trump - like healthcare, education, the safe environment for our future generations?
6
Will somebody please tell me that Trump isn’t going to walk away unscathed, while others languish in prison, their lives in shambles. This is what he has done his entire lousy life. He’s a destroyer. Others pay bigly for his dirty deeds and Teflon Donald suffers no consequences.
I think if he leaves office enriched and untouched, I will lose all faith in our justice system as well as the very concept of justice.
94
@Kathryn NEVER GIVE UP!
8
@Kathryn
Speaking of enriching himself; he's monetized being president. Apparently presidential trinkets are being sold in his shops. Next, Ivanka will come up with presidential stilettos.
3
If you are worried about losing faith in your judicial system, I would suggest you *do not* take a deeper look at the way it treats your African-American brethren.
2
Noah Bookbinder's comments are spot-on. His organization, CREW, is a necessary voice in the political beehive. I am proud to be a supporter and encourage other readers to contribute to CREW also.
22
If Mueller had never issued so many indictments to so many people during his investigation, then I could see The Report not being made public. Kind of a "we investigated, we found nothing, but trivial offenses, end of story". But, Mueller indicted 25 Russians, and numerous Trump campaign officials many of whom have pled guilty, and many others in the campaign who had contact with some of the indicted Russians.
In a nutshell, all the indictments are part and parcel of the Mueller Report, and are already public. Those indictments have created a massive cloud of potential massive wrongdoing at the highest level. Not making the Mueller Report public in its entirety will forever damage the Presidency and our Democracy. How else other than publishing the Report will this ever get resolved?
41
There will likely be endless other people named in the report, and they have not been indicted. But if they are outed, Gerry Nadler and others will subpoena them to appear on TV and who knows then what will happen?
You really want that?
If so, beware of what you wish for by making it possible on a grand scale that anonymity loses its' meaning, being mentioned in some report becomes a subpoena, and innocent people become collateral damage to the urgent, self-important business of some aspirational politician with a little power.
In that case you could be next!!
@Jonathan
Are you joking? Witnesses are subpoenaed all the time, whether or not they are actually charged or did anything wrong.
It's like saying a company accountant can't be called to testify about a CEO's malfeasance because the accountant had no part in the crime and therefore deserves total anonymity.
4
@Sparky
As Barbara McQuaid said, if we'd seen no legal action and indictments from Mueller during the course of the investigation and rather had all of the current indictments and guilty pleas announced together, in one day, when the report was submitted, this would have been considered a seismic event. The aggregate impact of Mueller's work is considerable.
3
Trump dictated on Air Force One a press release characterizing the meeting his son attended at Trump Tower with Russian nationals as being about “adoptions”. That is at least a coverup of the family’s collusion.
111
@Gerard Unfortunately, there is no law against politicians lying to the public.
2
So, the Mueller report is in the AG's hands.
We have already heard the president's enablers say he has been exonerated and the "no collusion" drum has been beaten with the fury of a hundred Japanese taiko drummers in ensemble.
The administration has also said it has produced an alternative report but will only release it if the Mueller report tells "fake news".
This is magical.
We have statements and an alternative version about a report only a handful of people have seen.
Any a priori statements or alternative versions of a mysterious report can only be based on either a) speculation or b) a knowledge of bad behavior on the administration's part and a search for spin to mask it.
Rampant grift and misdirection reigns.
24
Not to worry that the Mueller report will ever see the light of day for the average citizen. I would bet my Grandmother's nylons that at least a hundred very astute techno folks already have copies of the report and are lying in bed with their significant others and laughing, cursing at what they are reading. And like the Pentagon Papers, the Mueller Report will be out for all the world to see well before 2020.
18
Voters will be very angry with congress if Mueller Report is kept from us.
15
@nurseJacki@
If the Mueller report is withheld, it won't be Congress' doing, it will AG William Barr. Know where the responsibility lies.
1
There is nothing in the Justice Department regulations about this report that prevents the attorney general from releasing it if he deems there is sufficient public interest. Those regulations set a floor for transparency, not a ceiling.
The author of those regulations has an excellent op-ed about their meaning over at the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/23/i-wrote-special-counsel-rules-attorney-general-can-should-release-mueller-report/?utm_term=.52723fb4fa55.
He says the report should be released to the public, If it's not, any lawsuit to force its release would be successful.
9
All this discussion is academic. The report will be released or it will be leaked. All the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to keep it under wraps, regardless of the wishes of the decision-makers.
26
A good argument for releasing the report to the public, and not just Congress, is that we've already seen Congress play politics with this situation. The House Intelligence Committee under Devin Nunes ran a sham investigation, with Nunes himself initially insisting there had been no contact between the Trump campaign and Russians at all. (Boy, was he wrong.) The committee also spent time going after Obama officials and investigating the Steele dossier instead of looking at Trump and his associates. Republicans in the Senate have not been much better, and remember that a majority of Republicans recently voted to let Trump usurp the Congressional power of the purse. Within this context, there's no telling what members of Congress will do, or decline to do, with the information in the Mueller report. It's sad that we can't trust our elected leaders to be the adults in the room, but that's simply where we are. For that reason, the public should have access to the report so that, as best as possible, we the people can arrive at an informed conclusion about our President.
29
I think the sequellae of the Russiagate investigation are unfolding apace.
If Ms Pelosi still thinks that Trump isn't worth the effort to impeach, I can't imagine what new information could possibly disabuse her of that notion.
The news media's level of agita is amusing, but it could have the harmful effect of turning the 2020 election into a choice between Trump and Continuing Russiagate.
5
I think it bares repeating that the policy of not indicting a president and the legality of indicting a president are two different things. And even if the legality is not clear, then but default a president can be indicted. The end.
4
What is most likely to happen, I'm afraid, is that the new AG will issue a benign summary report to Congress, while redacting substantial information under the guise of "national security".
Mr. Barr was selected by the Trump administration precisely for this type of interference. Jeff Sessions was humiliated and run out of the AG's office for failing Trump in this area.
The good news is that Mr. Trump is merely buying time. His massive con is in the process of unraveling, and he knows it. It will be a spectacular crash.
36
Mr Bookbinder omits the fact the Inspector General recommended Comey be fired for his activities in these investigations.. while promulgating the idea it was solely Trump.
1
@Lane: You're confusing Andrew McCabe with Comey. The IG report wasn't even released until June 2018, a full year after Trump fired Comey. And it absolutely did not recommend that Comey be fired.
13
The insider Republican special investigation is now entirely within the realm of the executive branch and we are seemingly at the mercy of the administration, but, in an effort to assure the equality of the Executive and Legislative branches of our government, the Democrats should summon Mueller and his lead prosecutors and investigators to testify before them publicly. At present, everyone is psychologically hostage to the Executive branch and not exerting it's equal power. The public hearings would be entirely appropriate.
57
Democrats want a do over. What a surprise. Now the media is in a frenzy suggesting what may be in the report. The paid pundits and analysts are scrambling to re-write history. They staked their reputations on the collusion delusion. The DoJ shouldn't give Democrats a shred of paper. Their fantasies have proven unfounded and a stain on our country. Guess what, Trump said no collusion and there wasn't any. Who's going to apologize for this travesty? The Obama intelligence and DoJ officials that ginned this up? John McCain for trafficking in the discredited Dossier? Susan Rice and Evelyn Farkas for unmasking Trump campaign officials for political purposes? McCabe for starting a counterintelligence investigation, not based on any secret info, but what he saw on TV in early 2017? Comey, Clapper and Brennan for welcoming Trump to the White House with the Dossier. No wonder Trump doesn't trust the deep state. They've been aided and abetted by the Democrats and media in this charade. Is anyone to believe partisan Democrat investigations supersede Mueller's probe? No way, just year three of the Clinton/Democrats vicious sour grapes crusade.
5
@TL
You hit all the right wing cliches. I think my favorite is "Democrats want a do over." Literally, it means there will be another election between Clinton and Trump. Read your Constitution; that's not what happens (unfortunately). In reality, Vice President, Mike Pence would take over and the Republicans would still have White House - at least until 2020.
And your logic is - interesting. You say that the DOJ shouldn't give the Democrats a shred of paper, meaning, the report shouldn't be released. And yet you claim, "Their fantasies have have proven unfounded..." Then why hide the document that proves that? And how do you know? Have YOU seen the report?
If you want us to believe your premise - that there was nothing untoward done by Trump and his minions, - then answer one simple question: Why all the lieing?
29
@TL
No, us Democrats do NOT want a Do Over! We are rightfully upset at the crimes that we have Seen Since Trump entered office; the lying, the handing of State Secrets to the Russians in the Oval Office, paying off women for past sexual dalliances so as to 'not affect his political future' and Foreigners donating to his campaign, like, Really?
He had meetings with foreign, hostile nation's heads of state where there were no corroborating officials there with them as security, just the translators, and it DID devolve into a He said-He Said debacle of Trump and Pompeo lying about NK wanting ALL sanctions removed, when KJU was specific he talked only specific ones that would help the major populace.
We are not seeking a 'Do Over'; that is what Senator Mitch McConnell has been trying to do with trying to make Obama a one term president, and ten years later is still failing at it. Seeking a Do Over is what Repubs did with refusing to seat Merrick Garland on SCOTUS.
Just Imagine if Mr Obama had acted At All Like Trump: the profiting, tweets, sex-scandals, lies, major ignorance, laziness, nepotism and bluster-trashing those around him.
It seems much more like the Repubs are 'Trying to GET the Dems over Watergate and how they mistreated Nixon'.
Trump was investigated because not only was there a TON of Smoke coming from the Trump Campaign, there was equivalent to buildings falling down, threats in the street, sparks, flames and overly forceful threatening-denials via Twitter.
15
@B. Honest I agree with this writer completely. Release the Mueller report to Congress with only a
few redactions, and release the Mueller report to the public with a couple more additional redactions, like omitting all addresses and phone numbers.
We are the voters, and Congress works FOR US.
We need to see this report, as the Congressional Judicial and Oversight committees continue their investigations.
1
NYSD is our only true hope.
28
@Mixilplix
I realize the Democrats are deeply disappointed by the Mueller report. So what will they do now? Let’s investigate the Trump businesses and families going back 30 years. They still have not gotten over the 2016 election. If the Democrats keep investigating and digging, they will guarantee the presidents reelection
4
@Mitchell myrin- Unfortunately, this criminal president could be re-elected. He's lied his way into the White House and will surely lie his way into heaven. His believers are just gobsmacked into believing in him. Amazing!
11
@Mitchell myrin Why should we be dismayed or disappointed, we have not seen it yet. It may not call for 'more' indictments, but Do Remember that there has been a TON of sealed indictments come out of the investigation. Those may be unsealed and served.
For the most part, as has been stated, the reports and trials that Mr Mueller has accomplished, and the number of convictions is proceeding.
The Report just might give specific PROOF that Mr Trump had treasonous dealings with not only the Russians, but Israelis and Saudi Family, as well as several Oligarchs who have bought Trump Properties with Cash (that were under reported) and who therefore wanted to sit in on his Inauguration, for which there seemed to be a separate section for them.
But I would not go counting your chickens before they hatch. The eggs have been laid, but how many are going to get stepped on and intentionally broken, how many will Trump/Repubs try to hide from anyone's view and just how many of them eggs are totally rotten to begin with, thus not producing the chickens you are putting your money on.
A good idea would be to stop trying to project what us Dems feel about this whole thing, it only shows what YOU and those around you think. Not about us at all.
What if Obama had acted like Trump does? I can assure you I would have been acting the same way as I am now! I would have been upset and telling the truth and pointing out the lies and strawmen. I would Not be defending him like the Trumpsters are.
14
To the extent the Mueller report contains material protected by grand jury secrecy rules, it can't be released to either Congress or the public. That's the law, and neither the president nor the Congress has the power to waive that law.
However, the president can declassify any classified material, and he should do so and also order released all all of the FBI, CIA, NSA, State and DOJ files relating in any way to the Steele dossier and the government's investigation into the Trump campaign, including, without limitation, all information received from foreign sources, all efforts (if any) to verify the Steele dossier, all FBI interview reports, all information about any FBI or CIA confidential informants (including instructions to them and information received from them), all information relating to the FISA warrants and the transcripts of all such intercepts, and all texts, emails, memos and other communications to or from Clapper, Brennan, Comey, McCabe, Page, Ohr, any foreign intelligence source, et al.
I get the problems with disclosing information about foreign intelligence sources, and I get the problems with disclosing prejudicial information about uncharged individuals, but in this case I think public disclosure is more important. Let the public see everything and let the public decide who's been naughty and who's been nice. #LetItAllHangOut.
16
@Douglas It's my understanding that the House Intelligence Committee has oversight on this. The full report should be released to the Intelligence Committee ASAP. That committee then reviews and makes the determination whether or not any or all of the report should be released to the public. Don't expect the "president" to declassify anything that might be unflattering to him.
6
@Douglas, it doesn't sound as though you get why it's important to conceal sources and methods. If Trump were to declassify any of this information, he would be rightfully impeached. It would be an extraordinary abuse of power. Why are Trump supporters so casual about national security?
My understanding is that grand juries can decide to make their proceedings public.
1
Trump is getting lauds for not canning Mueller's investigation. If the report isn't released, for practical purposes, isn't that the same thing as canning the investigation? If a tree falls in the woods an no one hears it...
44
It is laughable that a debate is necessary to decide that the report should be released to every American citizen who have paid their taxes and therefore paid for this famous report.
It is ridiculous that the report I paid for has to have the approval of some second class legal mind before I get to see it.
Wake up people! You are being hoodwinked by a moronic rhetoric. Free speech, amendment number xxx, the chosen nation, the American exceptionalism etc.
When push comes to shove, any third world dictatorship has pretty much the same fascistic oligarchy that can compete with ours. Cut the pretense and ask to see the Report tomorrow morning. That is right, on a Saturday. On the holly Sabbath!
69
@Blunt
Thank you. You speak the total truth.
2
"Regardless of whether efforts by Trump associates to coordinate with or benefit from interference by Russia or WikiLeaks were criminal, the fact that Mr. Trump and his campaign strategists sought to benefit from a foreign adversary’s efforts to undermine our democracy is one of the greatest breaches of public trust our country has ever witnessed."
Agreed. And regardless whether the acts perpetrated were directly by the order of Trump, they were certainly done on behalf of him, and he would certainly have known this. By this reasoning, Trump is guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors" at the least.
No matter how much he might've tried to build a "wall of deniability" between himself and those underlings doing his bidding, and foreign actors acting for his interest, it's simply not plausible that a man who built a sprawling business empire would've been in the dark on these matters. Surely the threshold for impeachment has been met. Whether conviction can be achieved unfortunately has little to do with proof or evidence, and everything to do with politics, since his enablers, the Republicans control the Senate.
Of course, if Trump had any integrity or scruples, even if he actually knew nothing of the crimes perpetrated by his subordinates and associates, he would resign, because - as Truman famously said - "The buck stops here". With Trump. the buck is just something to be passed along.
41
AG William Barr promised to release as much of the Mueller report without compromising national security or executive privilege concerns during his confirmation hearing. Now that he has the authority to monitor the final report, he must bear in mind that an anxious nation has been practically held hostage since the investigation began and that the whole truth should not be withheld from the American people.
Barr doesn't need to cherry pick Mueller's report. Americans will accept a fair and thorough assessment of whether the president is innocent of any wrongdoing or is guilty of treasonous behavior that helped get him elected.
It's not within Barr's purview to pacify the country or shield it from a calamitous civic upheaval. Once and for all, Americans want the truth and nothing more. Nixon's resignation didn't destroy America and neither will full disclosure of the Mueller report. What will ultimately harm our country is a deliberate failure to hold elected officials accountable for serious crimes. Barr swore to uphold the Constitution and defend the rule of law, not to swear fealty to a wayward president.
103
@silver vibes: "Nixon's resignation didn't destroy America and neither will full disclosure of the Mueller report". I'm predicting that if the Mueller report does, in fact, all but indict the president (and his family and other close associates) for conspiring with a foreign power to alter the outcome of an American election, the country will be destroyed if the president cannot reasonably (and truthfully) rebut any and all allegations that may be in the report. Donald Trump will fight the report's findings--his agreement that it must be released notwithstanding--if they reveal him to have rigged--his term--2016. How strong we are as a nation will be determined by how we react to having elected a tarnished, tainted candidate and how we remove him from office. I'm here to tell you that Mitch McConnell's Senate will not vote to convict him, even if the report proves that Trump sought advice from Russia on how to pull it off and how he and his family (may have) lied to the American people about his dealings with him. The Republican Senate will not turn on Donald Trump and will attempt to re-write the Constitution (as McConnell did re: Judge Merrick Garland) and refuse to acknowledge the Mueller report as having any legal basis in the Constitution. I'm predicting that we might be done.
52
@silver vibes There is NO executive privilege for felonies.
2
How is this even going to slip into a political decision to be made by a hack? Didn't Trump just say last week to "release the report"? Of course it will not surprise me in the least if he seeks to walk back that statement and after getting a briefing on the toxic contents, profess the need to not release a single letter of a single word, much less the entire report. If there's valid proof of foreign meddling and joint engagement in election fraud - the public has a right to know.
12
Our tax dollars paid for this report. It's ours. Release it.
67
@Times Reader
You see how screwed up our constitution is? We have to beg to read what we paid for!
Tell me more about how special our founding fathers masterpiece is! And let me laugh out loud!
20
Certain information should not be disclosed. Classified sources and methods, sensitive intimate facts and evidence not yet disclosed in ongoing/open prosecutions come to mind. Other than that full disclosure should be made.
26
It will now be up to Congress to finish up where the special counsel's report leaves off.
Congress has the oversight powers and responsibility to continue this investigation for the American people to restore trust in our institutions. It's now their turn to provide the public with facts about this corrupt president that Robert Mueller didn't have the authority to pursue.
The people of this country are tired of being kept in the dark and will not stand for a cover-up by Donald Trump and his criminal administration.
156
@L Please give it a rest. You have not have gotten the result you wanted but we need to move on as a Nation. Let Congress focus on more important matters. If the Democrats in Congress pursue this matter after Mueller recommends no indictments, they will get slaughtered in the 2020 election.
2
@L. Until Hillary Clinton is brought back to testify under oath re the criminal act of destroying 30,000 + emails and computers in an alleged attempt to hide her “pay to play” schemes, and paying for the Steele dossier. many Americans continue to sit back in disgust at the inequality of justice between Clinton and trump. Hopefully the much awaited inspector generals report will be more indicting of the deep and clinton.
4
@Pvbeachbum
"...the inequality of justice between Clinton and trump."
Man, are you right! Clinton had to testify for 11 hours before a Congressional committee. Trump? Not a single minute. Private server e-mails? Both Jared and Ivanka have private servers. What's on those? Why hasn't Jared been able to get a security clearance in 4 tries? I could go on all day.
A comparison between Clinton and Trump? Bring it.
47
Sure. Next Friday night is fine too when it can also be buried as quickly as possible. Nothing here. Move on.
1
Even if a (sitting) president cannot be indicted for crimes while in office, the American people deserve to know just what transpired while he was a candidate and after he became president. How much did Russia influence the 2016 presidential election? We need to know.
Much is to be feared here. That a report damning the president and his family will be met with silence by his Republican water carriers in the Senate. Republicans in the House (I'm looking at you, Devin Nunes) had responsibility for oversight for two years and failed to be so much as bothered by the possibility that the president might have been a Russian plant. They'll run for cover.
The current House may very well find more than enough proof for articles of impeachment to be reported onto the full floor. It is highly doubtful that the Senate will vote to convict Donald Trump, regardless of irrefutable, incontrovertible evidence. If he is acquitted--if a trial came to pass--he would be empowered for a campaign of savage retribution, one that might destroy us as a nation. He certainly would not care if it did.
But if we are truly a democracy, we must risk our future on whatever the Mueller report presents. We cannot shy away; must not flinch from the squeamish or the sordid or the criminal or the corrupt or the proof of nepotism and collusion with a hostile foreign entity that sought to install Donald Trump into America's highest office for its own benefit.
"We, the People" deserve its un-redacted release.
228
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Further, the legitimate winner of the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, should be declared and installed in the office through 2024 to honor the fact that she and Sen. Kaine were freely and fairly elected, and to give Congress and the states time to repair and secure our 50 state voting mechanisms and processes to ensure a viable and trustworthy electoral process in 2024.
9
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18, it seems more and more ludicrous that an attorney working for the president can make a decision that his ultimate boss can not be indicted for actions that conceivably led to his election win and becoming president. Talk about a lack of deterrence. How can any representative democracy survive with that giant loophole.
10
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
You're right that, under the 'leadership' of Mitch McConnell, the Senate will never convict Trump but what if the Mueller report says McConnell has links with the Russians?
The Dallas News has been running this story for a while https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns
2
We the people, tax payers, paid for this report, not congress. It therefore belongs to those of us that paid for it with our taxes dollars and we should have full rights of discovery no matter which way it goes.
117
@USMC1954
And since we know that Trump tries to pay NO taxes, he shouldn't be given the access that we tax payers have. That would be some modest justice.
3
I think it should be released with a bi-partisan committee though reviewing it first to determine if any items need to be kept confidential due to national security concerns. You can always speak to something at a less descriptive level to get out the essence without having to reveal the details.
What I would also hope would happen but know it will not is that they assess the report versus applying biased interpretation. But that is not how politics work.
3
It would hope that sent it now in the hands of Mr. Barr to sit down and ask the Trump what he was unwilling to answer to Mr. Mueller under oath. Let see if he really can talk his way out of a conspiracy.
Come on now. I've already made the popcorn.
9
He can’t hide
His lyin’ mouth
Thanks, Mr. Mueller.
5
Yes, thanks Mr. Mueller for exonerating our President and his family and securing our President's re-election in 2020!! Awesome!!
2
@Phyliss Dalmatian
It may seem dumb,
But the lying thumb,
Of the Trump of late he has so,
Lain down together,
With flock of same feather,
And thus able to dig very low?
The report we will get,
Will thus surely net,
Millions of published words or so,
With scorn and retort,
Over just one Report,
Doth our Nation hang in the Balance Oh.
1
The reason I don't think that OSC thought that there was no collusion is that they released the information that the Russians tried to hack HRC;s server after Trump publicly called for it. This was previously unsuspected and unnecessarily prejudicial information if they did not see a connection between the two events.
2
In the aftermath of Mr. Mueller's report, there are many serious questions to be answered in the coming weeks and months. But none of them is more serious than this one: How are we, the Americans who have been appalled and disgusted by this "president", going to respond?
No doubt Mr. Mueller will follow Justice Department practice and recommend against indicting a sitting president. That said, Trump has already been identified as a person engaging in criminal conduct ("Individual 1" in the Cohen litigation). Now we, who are sickened by the damage Trump has caused this nation, have a serious decision to make. Do we sit idly by, and let a felon keep this nation's highest office indefinitely? Or do we use every peaceful means to oust him?
The fact is, Trump will not leave quietly and he will not leave voluntarily, regardless of any election result. That he refuses to follow the law makes our decisions only that much more difficult. Trump will seize on Mr. Mueller's respect for Justice Department precedent, refuse to release the entire report, "clear" himself, and then consolidate absolute power.
But we must not remain silent any longer. We must be in the streets, every week, every month, until Trump is gone. This is new to us, as Americans. This is our first experience with a dictator.
But we must do what other peoples in other nations have had to do to oust a tyrant. Protest by any peaceful means necessary, and be willing to sacrifice ourselves for a just cause.
125
@Madison Jeffries
You really think folks will tear themselves away from their iPads long enough to matter? I wish I had your kind of faith in us by now.
16
@Madison Jeffries Your suggestion that we be prepared “to sacrifice ourselves” does not agree with your call for “peaceful” resistance to the Trump “dictatorship.”
1