It is clear from just these few quotes from the Mueller report that Trump was trying to stop Mueller's investigation and that Trump undelings had significant and serious contacts with Russia over Russia's to help Trump win the election. Given Trump's public preference for dictators it is highly likely that Trump declined Putin's offer with a wink and a nod.
The most important thing about Mueller's report is that it is not a political hack job either for or against Trump.
565
@Jeff Congress needs to Impeach. TEN times Trump obstructed justice. Impeach. Ray Sipe
41
@Jeff
Barr and Mueller are saying it is LEGAL for the Democrats to send their campaign officials to meet with any foreign governments offering to help them with their campaign.
Remember, this is now perfectly legal. Mueller has said so.
22
@Ray Sipe
Sadly Ray, there is zero chance that 20 Republic Senators would vote to convict Individual-1.
15
During the Watergate era there were moderate Republicans to step up when the president's pattern of behavior became clear. That is not the case now. Democrats have been hoping the Mueller Report would be compelling evidence of a crime or impeachable offense. Instead, Mueller has kicked the matter to Congress to correct corrupt presidential abuse of power. (In fact he seems to be challenging Congress to act under its constitutional authority arguing that the president is not an ordinary citizen.). But that requires some level of bipartisan cooperation.
Separation of powers. Rule of law. Holding the president to account for tampering with witnesses. A nonpolitical Supreme Court. Working across the aisle. Are these all quaint ideas?
The politicians seem to be posturing for the next election instead of doing their job. I wouldn't count on it.
4
There are two major stories resulting from this report that are not being adequately reported by the press: (1) why was the press so wrong in its coverage? The nonstop narrative was that Trump colluded with the Russians, and this has been proven to be false. How did the press become wholly captive to the Democrats in what is clearly a partisan and politically motivated initiative? The press did an admirable job in soul-searching and implementing corrective actions after misreporting the false WMD reports leading to the Iraq war. Where is the introspective mea culpa now? (2). Inasmuch as there was little or no evidence of collusion, why was this investigation launched in the first place? What is the standard for appointing a special counsel? Was this politically motivated? Over $30 million and the public’s attention has been wasted on what has become a non-issue. How do we prevent this in the future? If this work is not done, rest assured that a Special Counsel will be appointed to investigate the next Democrat President as a political maneuver. This is a non-partisan issue that should concern all.
1
This seems like a pretty straight-forward report: Trump and his team had connections with Russia and took actions that may potentially amount to obstruction of justice, but either the evidence is not all there or it does not meet criminal conduct. To me, that means that we need to consider further investigation, particularly Congressional access to the redacted portions of the Wikileak account, as Barr has tarnished his credibility with his summary and past summaries. One can process this information soberly, without immediately claiming vindication or damnation. It does neither, but it provides more evidence the Congressional and State cases can take up and explore further. If anything, Trump may not be "criminal," but he is corrupt and shows little regard for the stability of legal institutions, facts we already knew.
5
I'm actually impressed that Trump, given everything we know about him, was fairly restrained throughout this nightmare. All of us out here postulating on Trump's guilt or innocence forget that he knows the truth and was beyond ticked off by this "investigation," especially since he believes elements of the intelligence and law enforcement community conspired against him, perhaps manufacturing this collusion narrative, before and after his election. Are the people surrounding Papadopolous US intelligence assets? Why was Democrat operative Glen Simpson meeting with the Russian lawyer before and after her infamous Trump Tower meeting? What about all the leaks from unnamed intelligence sources claiming proof of collusion? They've just been exposed as liars. Not a stretch to imagine them doing more than lying. As for obstruction, Mueller himself says in the report that the same behavior covering up a crime vs. lashing out at a witch hunt determine if it was or was not obstruction. Given his inability to find underlying criminal behavior, we must lean toward no obstruction. Sorry NYT, WP, CNN, etc.
2
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, then the president’s deputy press secretary, told reporters that the White House had talked to “countless members of the F.B.I.” who supported the decision to fire the director — but she later admitted to investigators that it was not true. Her comment, she said, was “a slip of the tongue” made “in the heat of the moment” and not founded on anything.
That was no slip of the tongue. It's a carefully composed lie. Sander's job is supposed to be to convey truth to us. She must resign.
6
Interestingly, Trump is the only president not to assert executive privilege during an investigation. Bill Clinton asserted it 14 times, the most of any POTUS in history.
2
We all knew this latest exoneration of Trump would be met with hatred and denial on the left. They are invested in the lies. They actively deny reality and malfeasance of what the rems did
Any dems who honestly value the law and truth must conclude the dems were the corrupt ones and were unsuccessful in their dirty hoax campaign. Shame on this once honorable party. Stay tuned, indictments on the left will be coming.
2
Much like Obama’s birth certificate, this issue is pretty much settled. No collusion. And with no underlying crime, there’s no obstruction. Bitter-enders need to quit tilting at this windmill.
2
Why is it so hard to find the Mueller Report on the DOJ website?
And why is it not searchable like other PDF websites?
And where is George Papadopoulos's Russian contact, Joseph Mifsud?
I could imagine it would be hard to work for Trump. He asks hard questions that may not always sound like questions. Pushing back when needed, adding to the topic, and qualifying. In these like and attorney they may need to explain why or how this may not be the right thing to do. But asking for something is not meant to break the law. I've been in similar talks and they are tough but no way illegal or collusion.
1
Any other President would be impeached. Go for it Pelosi, Nadler, Schiff. Do it. If we don't, what will the next President get away with?
7
Why did he work so hard to surpress the Russia probe if he wasn't guilty?
7
Even Trump let the issue surrounding Obama's birth go after the birth certificate was issued. Liberals keep clinging to the lies and propaganda they've been steadily fed since Trump took office. They are so delusional they can't face reality any more and their democrat masters and media puppeteers are all too willing to continue feeding them emotionally charged, irrational disinformation. Liberals line up to hear the spin so they can go to Twitter and comment sections to spout the new line of propaganda. REAL Americans see through this and laugh at their stupidity.
As a fighter, Trump tried to use his power as president to stop the obvious witch hunt; which is something I and any logical person would have done. For 2 years he had to listen to a steady stream of disinformation and lies told daily to purposely try to undermine his presidency: something the dems are continuing. He was, and is continuing to be falsely accused. Nothing is more unAmerican than that. I hope he finds a way to use his power more effectively to continue draining the swamp.
Rational people see the destruction by the media and the dems. CNN viewership down 50% and MSNBC 30% for peddling OBVIOUS lies. These "news" outlets KNEW they were lying, but also knew their audience.
WE conservatives were right and continue to be right because we operate on logic and reason instead of emotion. Liberals will continue to self-destruct because they have no self-control or ability to operate rationally.
5
Should Barr not be charged with obstruction of justice?
Just asking
9
With all that we've already learned, by now this president doesn't just smell; he stinks. The proven, thick ring of criminality immediately surrounding Mr. Trump, and the complex web of lies by his cohorts and himself, all demand that we determine the extent of his involvement in criminal acts. Put simply: Congress MUST continue and redouble its investigations. Mr. Mueller's scope was narrow, limited to the question of criminal conspiracy with Russia to disrupt the election. And even then he couldn't avoid numerous unrelated smoking guns - hence the indictments and convictions. There are klaxons blaring now, red lights flashing, all around this president and his political and business operations. Mr. Mueller's work is one starting point. Another is the ocean of evidence that has been gathered and reported by news agencies, over many months. Yet another is the collection of Mr. Trump's own statements. There's a nonpartisan sea of fact-based reasons to suspect him of being a crook.
All along Mr. Trump himself has inflated the "collusion" balloon, so his using it as cover now is no surprise. Similarly, the sycophants and snakes in Congress will put everything they've got into derailing the checks and balances function, acting with the willful and knowing duplicity they've long demonstrated. They mustn't succeed. Congressman Nadler, Congressman Schiff, Speaker Pelosi, don't flag.
5
OK so that was the Mueller report. Important to know that there are still criminal investigations ongoing that were outside the scope. But in the mean time, let's not further bank on those if you are someone who wants to replace Trump with an alternative who does not smell of corruption and collusion.
It is time to heal America and move it forward. It is time to amend the democratic process and some parts of the constitution to get back in synch with the potential of human evolution. It is time to support a Presidential candidate who raises the bar on democratic politics. Who fights the political battle on contents, facts and proper process. One who does not stoop to the tactic of discrediting the other party but who provides true alternative options for the people.
2
I had hoped we could return to business as usual after the end of this mess, but after witnessing how the media disseminated this report yesterday that doesn’t seem likely. I really could never understand how any rational person could believe that Trump, of all people, would try to cheat, his ego is simply too big for that. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not even entirely certain that he wanted the job, so when people alluded to this grand conspiracy in regards to the Russians, it was befuddling, to say the least. The media needs to understand that it was partisan politics and biased coverage that got Trump elected, as well as a bad opponent. And if objectivity along with fair and balanced coverage doesn’t come soon, they’ll re-elect him; because voters have had enough of ineffective politicians and watching them get rich in while office.
4
Impeachment is not a criminal proceeding, rather a political proceeding. There is plenty of evidence in this report and in the public domain already, both regarding illegal assistance from a hostile foreign power in the election and obstruction of the investigation, that unequivocally supports impeachment, in my view. Trump supporters will claim that any evidence must meet the standards for criminal indictment and prosecution. That is simply untrue. Congress gets to decide what exactly constitutes a "high crime" or "misdemeanor". Mueller, I think, gets that, and has passed the buck.
7
AG Barr's mischaracterisation of the Mueller Report contents and conclusions - though predictable - confirm that Trump has found his "new Roy Cohn". Barr should resign. Now. He is a disgrace to the Independence of the Judicial Branch in general and the office of Attorney General in particular. The fact that Barr proffered a legal opinion - unsolicited - on matters pertaining to the SC's investigation just months before his own nomination to the AG position should be sufficient to put his appointment in jeopardy. Barr is the kind of lawyers who gives lawyers a bad name: twisting and bending legal concepts into a toothless invertibrate that slithers around points of law whilst drawing conclusions completely at odds with the law itself. His 1989 justification for the FBI making arrests of non-Americans in their native countries without permission from those countries and bringing them back to the U.S. for prosecution was the basis for the abominable "extraordinary renditions" carried out by the "W" administration 15 years later. Lawyers who turn legal principles - Constitutional Principles - on their heads have no place in legal practice - and certainly no place in the AG's job.
2
"It was not enough for investigators simply to show the Trump campaign knew what the Russians were up to, and responded. Trump associates had to specifically agree with the Russians to violate the law."
This confuses me. If Trump or his team decided not to go to the FBI to alert them that the Russian government was up to something, wouldn't that mean that they were IMPLICITLY allowing the Russians to violate the law? Trump's team knew he would benefit from the Russian's illegal actions, so wouldn't that mean being the recipient of the "profits" of such actions mean that they were in agreement? It would be akin to, say, a terrorist talking to someone who would benefit from terrorism and say "I am gonna do this for you, but don't tell anyone" and proceeding to commit the terroristic act, and the person he told reaps the rewards. How is that not illegal?
3
@Vincent Nappi
An addendum: I am aware that terrorism has its own legal caveats, I only intended to use it as an example. However, government-backed actions in the form of manipulating millions of voters of another country to vote for a man who promised to remove sanctions from the aforementioned government are still illegal. Quid pro quo was proven, so that should mean an agreement was made.
2
I understand that Mr. Mueller long has considered Mr. Barr his friend. Question on my mind: how is that possible? One way to understand it is to realize that the corrupting influence of Mr. Trump really is as strong as we imagine. In fact, I have a hunch it represents THE core capability behind what he has "achieved" in his life.
3
Let’s say Trump didn’t actively and knowingly used Russia to win the election, just the sheer fact that the US election was won with the help of an arch enemy is unprecedented.
2
Seems to me this argument of a lack of "agreement" to conspire or collude is silly.
If I give a Russian agent internal polling data so he can use it to coordinate (illegal foreign-paid) ads that will help my campaign, and then he DOES JUST THAT, then we've obviously agreed - whether or not we discussed it ahead of time, or wrote up a nice "collusion contract" for posterity.
Impeachable if not indictable.
17
Given his conclusion that DOJ prosecutorial standards precludes indictment from his scope of possible outcomes, Mueller provides Congress with a roadmap of evidence for eventual prosecution/impeachment of a President for obstruction of justice and acknowledges its power to do so.
Mueller - Volume Two
Constitutional Defenses
“The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.”
“With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we have concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice.”
7
The #MuellerReport lists four "Considerations" that shaped the investigators' thinking regarding their obstruction of justice investigation, and I don't think these are getting enough attention. These considerations include the standing DOJ policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted. But most critically, in Vol. II, p. 1,
"Third, we considered whether to evaluate the conduct we investigated under the Justice Manual standards governing prosecution and declination decisions, but we determined not to apply an approach that could potentially result in a judgment that the President committed crimes."
Basically because they could not actually charge the President with a crime (while he's still in office), and because coming to the judgment that the President had committed a crime would therefore be unproductive and possibly even damaging, they decided at the outset not to go there. This, in my opinion, is the reason the SC didn't come to a conclusion about obstruction of justice, but rather he left the matter to Congress and/or future prosecutors. I also believe that Barr's comments, both on March 24 and today, wholly misrepresented the findings of the report and the thinking of the investigators.
6
Democratic partisans hoped for much more from the release of the actual Mueller Report. They'd recovered from the initial shock of the 4-page announcement by declarations of their confidence the real truth would be much more. It isn't.
They built themselves up for a second disappointment, and now they've been disappointed again. And embarrassed. Enough.
141
@Mark Thomason
What about the redacted elements of the report. What do they contain and why were they edited out?
53
@Mark Thomason
Mark, have you read any of the redacted report?
Mueller Report, Vol. II at page 2:
“Fourth, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment. … Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
What I conclude is that because Special Counsel Mueller and his people were constrained from indicting Trump as POTUS, they also decided that they could not even file a sealed indictment, nor should they say anything to impugn the POTUS.
Clearly, Special Counsel Mueller intended that Congress should decide what if anything Trump should be charged with.
Congress therefore needs all of the information that Special Counsel Mueller found, and should make that case to a court.
If necessary, the House Judiciary Committee should call Special Counsel Mueller to testify, and they should explicitly ask him whether, in his opinion, the body most properly tasked with investigating this sitting POTUS (or any sitting POTUS) is Congress, and more specifically under Article I of the US Constitution, the House of Representatives, which is given the power to vote a bill of impeachment.
If you think this is a "done deal" I believe you are seriously mistaken.
290
@Mark Thomason republican partisans will continue to repeat this over and over again until at least they are convinced (not hard to do)
121
The best scenario for the GOP- that the Left provides hysterics and threats of impeachment for 2 more years. This on top of the last 2 years of media lies and innuendo will guarantee a Trump presidency in 2020 and GOP Congress in the house and senate.
3
What I have read in the actual report so far tells me that all collusion, conspiracy, payments, deals and such all point to Obama, Clunton, Comey, Bannon, et al. Follow the money. None of it went to Trump but, millions went to those orchestrating this coup attempt.
6
you could say "none of it went to Trump", but how do you know? Are you the only person to have seen his tax returns?
4
you could say "none of it went to Trump", but how do you know? Are you the only person to have seen his tax returns?
1
What this "analysis" proves, once again, is that NYT has cornered the market on political hack writers parading as reporters, leading their reader-base by the nose through the ooze of the deep-swamp that produced it--an ad nauseam charade by any measure, the "analysis", that is.
6
Interesting report. Not for its contents, which are a boring rehash of what was already known. But for the fact that at long last we know what Robert S. Mueller III has been doing for the last 2 years.
Answer? Nothing. He's served up a great, big, 400-page nothingburger of a report. There is nothing criminal in what he found.
Not only that, there was no reason for him to continue his investigation after the fall of 2017. He should have shut up his shop and let the Justice Department take over.
All investigations should end with this report. Case closed. Game over. Move on.
Only a conspiracy theorist could think that there was any wrongdoing here. No, the moon landings were not faked. No, the CIA did not kill Kennedy. No, Barack Obama was not born in Kenya. And no, Donald Trump did not commit any crimes.
91
@John Smithson
I'm a registered Republican and disagree with your assertions. All Mueller did was kick the question of illegality to the House. He said his office was not qualified to make that finding, not that no crime was committed. The Constitution puts this duty on the House and Mueller pushed it there, as did Barr. Let them decide based on the facts, which are now mostly in the open. Pressure is now on Pelosi.
228
@John Smithson Yeah right. Where in the Presidential Oath of Office does it say to not comply with US Laws? Senator Burr provided a back channel to tell Trump about the Special Counsel appointment, so not surprised someone in Trumps tribe would be willfully ignorant to this malefeascence. Cheating and lying are virtues to Republicans--who must raise the worst children possible--devoid of any values.
107
@John Smithson No one has seen the un-redacted report. Also, Mueller had 34 indictments and may guilty pleas and arrest from his investigation. Traitor Trump committed treason and continues to do so. Congress must immediatley get the un-redacted report through subpoenas.
125
The "I'm f****d" quote is not in the section of the report quoted with Haberman's comment. Out of context, it gives the impression that Trump is implicating himself. In fact, Trump went on to explain his reaction:
'The President returned to the consequences of the appointment and said, “Everyone tells me if you get one of these independent counsels it ruins your presidency. It takes years and years and I won’t be able to do anything. This is the worst thing that ever happened to me.”'*
The Times should have included that crucial context.
* Vol. 2, Page 78.
2
"...one must wonder if attempted conspiracy should have been considered."
"Attempted conspiracy?" Many lawyers (I included) think that even "conspiracy" is defined too loose-goosey for criminal liability. But "attempted conspiracy" would presumably be even worse.
So the gist of it comes down to this: Trump and his cronies engaged in numerous offenses, from the grossly improper to the potentially criminal, but the evidence collected is best placed in the hands of the Congress for further action, from continued investigation to impeachment; although the offenses may not constitute crimes provable beyond a shadow of a doubt in court, they form a pattern of unacceptable conduct that included attempts to obstruct the investigation itself.
AG Barr has dishonored and discredited his own role as the chief law enforcement officer. His behavior makes clear he sees his duty as personal attorney and PR associate for Trump, not the impartial protector of our system of laws and our democracy more broadly. He has betrayed his office and his country with his dishonest and contemptuous comments, shredding whatever credibility he once had by dispensing propaganda that belies what the Mueller report says and serves only to provide cover for Trump. This disgraceful flack for our corrupt executive needs to resign or be impeached by Congress.
5
Forget Trump. Russians affected our elections and are doing it now. We let them force Trump on us once - - we cannot let it happen again.
Hope Hilary campaign people do a presser and point out that she won the popular vote the Russians targeted PA, MI, WI and MINUTE. Three of those states handed the Electoral College to Trump.
So yes -- he is not our legitimate president.
4
so, what about Trump's campaign knowing of things Russia was doing or planned to do regarding the US election, but filed to tell Russian contacts to stop it and failed to report to FBI? Isn't that in itself Trump campaign (including Trump himself) involvement in permitting the Russian activity to happen?
Yes, one could argue the moral distinction between an affirmative action and passivity (failing to take action), but that is a difference without a difference here. The ultimate activity (the Russian hacking and leaking via wikileaks) was not stopped. And it happened at the the last and most crucial point of the campaign. But for this activity, a close election (which wasn't very close at all in Clinton's favor before this happened), it I difficult to see how the result was not affected.
Forget impeachment (which would see no improvement). Let the electorate digest this report such that engaged 2020 swing voters have their say in stopping further corrupt results from a corruptly obtained 2016 election.
3
Can someone explain what is going on here?
"Under these terms, the Trump Organization stood to earn substantial sums over the lifetime of the project, without assuming significant liabilities or financing commitments.
326
On November 3, 2015, the day after the Trump Organization transmitted the LOI, Sater emailed Cohen suggesting that the Trump Moscow project could be used to increase candidate Trump’s chances at being elected, writing:
Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process. ... Michael, Putin gets on stage with Donald for a ribbon cutting for Trump Moscow, and Donald owns the republican nomination. And possibly beats Hillary and our boy is in. ... We will manage this process better than anyone. You and I will get Donald and Vladimir on a stage together very shortly. That the game changer.
327
Later that day, Sater followed up:
Donald doesn’t stare down, he negotiates and understands the economic issues and Putin only want to deal with a pragmatic leader, and a successful business man is a good candidate for someone who knows how to negotiate. “Business, politics, whatever it all is the same for someone who knows how to deal”
1
Every real friends of America should wish this presidency never occured, and hope it will not damage your democracy any more. God bless America!
5
If impeachment proceedings are not initiated then the House will fail to hold this corrupt President accountable. History will not look kindly on whoever fails to protect the rule of law and the constitution. Non action by the House will also encourage other ambitious psychopaths to lie, cheat and bend the rules to get into the White House in future as it clearly worked. It is time for some new laws to close the loopholes this professional con man and crook has taken advantage of - much the same way he 'made' his millions !!
4
Another very interesting piece. Massive social manipulation.
"On July 6, 2016, WikiLeaks again contacted Guccifer 2.0 through Twitter’s private messaging function, writing, “if you have anything hillary related we want it in the next tweo [sic] days prefable [sic] because the DNC is approaching and she will solidify bernie supporters behind her after.” The Guccifer 2.0 persona responded, “ok ... i see.” WikiLeaks also explained, “we think trump has only a 25% chance of winning against hillary ... so conflict between bernie and hillary is interesting."161"
1
The real problem is the Republicans. All of their support for Trump is based in their fear of him destroying their next campaign. They are all cowards who have no interest in the welfare of the country. It is sad.
4
Even heavily redacted, this reads like obstruction. Was intent the issue here?
1
It looks like the Russians were targeting American race hatred which Trump plays on. I just don't get it. It looks like he was working with them as their very targets are the same as Trumps.
Here is a section of the report...
"profile U.S. persons, including former Ambassador Michael McFaul,72 Roger Stone,73 Sean Hannity,74 and Michael Flynn Jr.,75 retweeted or responded to tweets posted to these IRA-controlled accounts. Multiple individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign also promoted IRA tweets (discussed below)."
"It looks like the Russians were targeting American race hatred ..."
The report says nothing about "race" in that sense. And the quote you posted is irrelevant.
1
"In certain cases, the IRA created accounts that mimicked real U.S. organizations. For example, one IRA-controlled Twitter account, @TEN_GOP, purported to be connected to the Tennessee Republican Party.46 More commonly, the IRA created accounts in the names of fictitious U.S. organizations and grassroots groups and used these accounts to pose as anti-immigration groups, Tea Party activists, Black Lives Matter protestors, and other U.S. social and political activists."
So Trump is playing right into this?
1
"Papadopoulos suggested to a representative of a foreign government that the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to candidate Clinton. Throughout that period of time and for several months thereafter, Papadopoulos worked with Mifsud and two Russian nationals to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and the Russian government. No meeting took place."
On June 9, 2016, for example, a Russian lawyer met with senior Trump Campaign officials Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and campaign chairman Paul Manafort to deliver what the email proposing the meeting had described as “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary.” The materials were offered to Trump Jr. as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” The written communications setting up the meeting showed that the Campaign anticipated receiving information from Russia that could assist candidate Trump’s electoral prospects, but the Russian lawyer’s presentation did not provide such information.
"They also discussed the status of the Trump Campaign and Manafort’s strategy for winning Democratic votes in Midwestern states. Months before that meeting, Manafort had caused internal polling data to be shared with Kilimnik, and the sharing continued for some period of time after their August meeting."
And this is just the start?
4
how is all of that not collusion?
4
In a subsequent NY Times article, "House Democrats, facing some of the most striking evidence yet from Robert S. Mueller III that President Trump attempted to thwart his investigation, edged closer on Thursday to confronting a question they have long tried to avoid: whether the president’s behavior warrants impeachment."
The answer is yes.
Mueller’s report shows clear obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and complicity in Russia’s attack on our democracy. It amounts to an impeachment referral to Congress—like the “roadmap” Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski compiled detailing Nixon’s misdeeds.
Impeachment is now on the table. It must be put front and center. President Trump must be removed from office.
Barr severely mischaracterized Mueller’s findings. Here are a few examples:
The obstruction was constant. Trump tried repeatedly to end the special counsel investigation. The only thing that stopped him from succeeding was that his aides refused to “carry out or accede to his requests.”
There may not have been collusion, but there was plenty of interactions between Trump, his associates, Wikileaks, and Russia that were anything but exonerating.
No cooperation. Contrary to what Barr said in his press conference, Trump did not cooperate anywhere near fully with the investigation.
6
I've made it through the first 100 pages and feel a need to shower with bleach before I return to the rest of the report. The section describing efforts by American political operatives to find the stolen Clinton e-mails reveals yet again how short-sighted, narcissistic and ultimately futile the work of elites in the public and private sectors are. It's all one big personal game to them while serious public policy issues are utterly ignored.
6
Trump is definitely like that student that drove every teacher crazy but mastered the art of taking his shenanigans just short of getting kicked out of the class and school altogether.
12
I hope this information is used to help the United States rid itself of a nasty con artist, liar and most horribly a racist that is posing as a billionaire and a leader.
8
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
So much reliance on Congress in the commentaries and speculations on how far Muller would go.
What if the Congress still was under the Republican grip after the 2018 election?
Here is one more scenario:
Would the report just fall under the table and Muller would have hedged by indicting the orange?
2
I was disappointed with the lack of substance in Trump's written response; the fact that his written response did not resemble either his twitter responses, or his speeches. Seemed to me to be very few words (around 2463 words to be more precise, which includes his signature and title -- after all, pales in comparison to his accumulated twitter statements), especially when I consider the 400 pages and two years investigation that preceded his written statement. Why on earth, I wondered, did they have to wrangle for a year to get that? He certainly doesn't mind bringing the house down around everyone else with his vocal statements. So why couldn't he have just verbally answered the questions? To my mind, now that I've read it, the written response isn't worth the paper it's typed on. A major observation: Around 400 of those words, by far the focus of his comments, surrounded a very negative slant on Hillary Clinton and, of course, he had to slip in that she lacked "integrity," for starters. Wow.
5
‘Viewing the acts collectively can help to illuminate their significance.’
Somehow a lot of Americans don’t seem to be able to do this.
5
Mueller tanked the investigation when he made the decision not to subpoena Trump to testify in person and hold his feet to the fire.
13
So when does country supersede party, Bob? When is our democracy more important than a memo written by a bunch of Justice Dept. hacks? How low can a presidency and its nepotistic family profiteering plunge before someone does something? Hero? I think not, Bob.
4
What I expected from A. G. LowBarr.
6
With all these good Russian contacts, why aren't relations with Russia better?
3
Rarely has the phrase 'a confederacy of dunces' seemed more appropriate.
11
The coverup is far worse than Watergate.
15
"To find evidence of coordination, both Russia and the Trump campaign would have had to agree to act.
Vol. I, Page 2: An agreement “requires more than the two parties taking actions that were informed by or responsive to other’s actions or interests.”
It was not enough for investigators simply to show the Trump campaign knew what the Russians were up to, and responded. Trump associates had to specifically agree with the Russians to violate the law.
— Sharon LaFraniere"
When he asked Russia for help in public and knew the Russians were offering isn't that a quid pro quo agreement?
12
The longer Democrats drag this out, the higher the probability that Trump will win the next election. Mark my words.
7
Afternoon crew overlooked this, so once again:
Mueller Excerpt:
“Vol.1, Page 89: Papadopoulos suggested to a representative of a foreign government that the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Trump campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton.”
NYT Analysis:
“Mr. Papadopoulos appeared to suggest an explicit offer by the Russian government to work with the Trump campaign to sabotage Mrs. Clinton. Matt Apuzzo”
So Mueller’s report “suggested” “had received indications” becomes “to suggest an explicit offer”?
So is this just more self-serving diction "Analysis" and "legal" interpretation, or just more hate-Trump NYT propaganda?
2
So not collusion but by not informing the public of the Russian attempts to defame HRC it would seen an implicit acceptance of their aid. The value of such aid would seem incalculable. Would that be a campaign finance issue?
3
Dems should parse all this into a lot of little soundbites, tap into donations from Silicon Valley billionaires, and run a drip ... drip ... drip ad campaign on Fox News from now to the election.
4
The primary takeaway for me is that Special Counsel Mueller followed the rules even though I am dissatisfied with the current result. Of course, Congress now has the ball. It isn’t over. But will all members follow the law? Or give him a pass?
I am pleased that some members of the administration had the strength to stand up to trump and refuse to carry out his instructions.
All Americans should be appalled at trump’s actions, even if they weren’t sufficient to be able to charge or indict him because of the way the law works. Among the worst items - instructing subordinates to carry out illegal acts and to lie on his behalf.
Unfit to govern.
Unfit to serve in government in any capacity.
Unfit to hold any position of responsibility.
182
@Steve Ell..and unfit to be an American.
17
It’s appalling that our President can instruct, repeatedly, his subordinates to carry out illegal acts and a-remain in office, and b-we the people have no recourse other than via our congressional checks and balances. I fear that Trump has stretched the boundaries of executive power in a way that some are desensitized to.
17
@Steve Ell
Give him a pass and let's see how 2020 goes.
2
This man, elected to the Presidency, has the ethics of third world dictator. Mr. Mueller completed his task as instructed. He and is team of investigators were probably nauseous most of the time, much like most of us are when we read the news regarding some of the African despots. Trump is indefensible.
18
Presumably, Mr. Trump's new patsy AG Barr received a full membership to Mar-a-Lago and the standard $130,000 hush money for his, ahem, performance this morning. Like Stormy and all the other porn stars, he's serving the President. But not the people of America or our democracy.
14
This is a very interesting breakdown of details the Barr Summary left unmentioned. While there's no "smoking gun", there are certainly plenty of leads for House Democrats to pick up on. However, I think Mr. Trump will stonewall as he has already been doing with his tax returns. I only hope that it takes the wind out of his reelection campaign, but there again, he has a very solid following that really doesn't care about the nitty-gritty details in the Mueller report.
7
Luckily, Trump cannot win re-election with only his rabid, loyal following.
5
Even if the Mueller Report flat-out said that Trump colluded with the Russians and obstructed justice, that would not change the minds of the people who support him So, it is a fool's errant to waste time trying to get Trump supporters to change their minds. Remember, when Nixon resigned in disgrace, he still had the support of a substantial majority of his Republican base.
The forest -- and the trees -- described in this article show the president dancing as fast as he could over a substantial period of time to derail the Mueller investigation. Were he innocent, you can bet your life Trump would have said "Investigate all you want. I have nothing to hide." Instead, he tried multiple times and in multiple ways to stifle the investigation -- and one reason the report ever saw the light of day was because some of Trump's advisors actually had at least a pea-sized moral compass.
Barr has behaved like a Trump mouthpiece, particularly in today's news conference where, consistent with Trump's false narrative that Trump was elected fair and square, Barr studiously avoided saying that the Russian interference was designed purely to help Trump and hurt Clinton.
Those who believe in the truth should take solace in the fact that, while the Mueller Report apparently won't bring Trump down, the ongoing investigations of Trump by the New York A.G., which Trump has not been able to sabotage, will prove to be fatally damaging to him.
7
10 Episodes (Categories) of Obstruction will penetrate the consciousness of the most hard-headed conservative—remember that true conservatives claim to be champions of law and order.
1
@David Bruderly
Only when attacking their opposition.
5
AG Barr is earning his pay, according to the administration, but Americans will pay dearly for confirming his nomination. History repeats itself.
8
Mulleur is great! He said "here are the facts, now YOU decide"! I just hope enough republicans are able and willing to actually read the report. I suspect the emperor with no clothes is counting on them being neither willing or able.
If they read they will have a hard time denying their "lying eyes".
Many Canadians feel badly for our neighbours. Good luck but get out there and inform the uninformed voters.
8
@BettyInToronto
There is no informing them or talking to them. They wear an American flag blindfold over their eyes and hate liberals far to much. They only care about defeating liberals and if that means burning the country down to the ground they will.
Might be able to talk with independents but not republicans. They will lie to your face for their leader. It's extremely creepy and frustrating.
6
@Mathias - That is so terribly sad. For your country and mine. Keep trying - change one and they may change another? In any case I would think trying would be more satisfying than doing nothing.
From my perch, trump supporters know he's their last hurrah.
In addition, I don't recall anyone forcing trump to run for office
or this happening under President Obama.
Lastly, trump supporters think the "Barr" report is gospel.
Time to impeach both and restore America to greatness and uphold her values.
7
Seems like a real nothing burger if you think rule of law is optional
7
I wondered where in the world that story about Russian children adoptions came from. It is so lame! Now I know.
3
This was a 400 page documentation of rampant criminality by Trump and his cronies. This was a documentation of an act of war by a hostile foreign power. This was documentation of a President completely compromised by Russia. This is documentation of the rotten circle that Trump belongs to. If this doesn't lead to impeachment, democracy is over
14
Comment 1 for vol 2 page 139 is not clear to me. Do others have the same confusion? Could the reporter provided the annotation respond or clarify? THANKS FOR DOING THIS.
2
At the very least, this report tells me Trump is unfit to be President. If he wants to build a wall, put between politics and the law.
4
Ari Melber MSNBC is much more insightful. Worth taking a look.
2
The final paragraph of the fascinating and grueling report reminds us and our representatives of foundational principle: Nobody is above the law. If the House of Representatives rises to the challenge of calling Trump and his fellow sewer dwellers to account for all their lies and obfuscation,we may emerge from this dreary era much wiser , more honest, and less sad. Primarily it is up to we the people never again to let a monster like Trump gain power.
10
It is very strange how blurry the line becomes between an unethical act as lying and 'there is no enough evidence'.
There is no fire without smoke.
3
I guess for a Republican right now the hope is the judge will say: "Disregard that last report."
If these exact things had happened in a Hillary Clinton campaign and presidency, she would have been indicted, impeached, thrown out of office, and be rotting in jail now. The extreme double-standard that we accept in our society has put our country in peril from a compulsive liar, cheater, and corrupt mob boss-type manipulator who only cares about himself and continues to try to throw his country under the Russian bus.
22
Russiagate is over. Enough already! Let...it...go!
4
@Michal not even close.
10
@Jim Smith
You must really want to see Trump re-elected...because the longer you drag this out, the higher is that probability. Enjoy!
2
Over? Just getting started. For starters, take a look a the damning evidence in the Mueller report.
Our president has legitimized the constant use of nicknames.
From now on, let’s all use the name “Lackey” Barr.
13
@SRP his boss prefers, "my Roy Cohn." his boss has the last word (btw, his "boss" is not the American public. we just pay his salary.)
2
How about "high crimes and misdemeanors"? It looks like Mueller found plenty of evidence of those.
11
Trump has been doing all the things mentioned in the report for years and avoided prosecution. Read his real life story (as opposed to The Art of the Deal). It always came down either to lack of evidence that would hold up in court or buying people off. Mueller's report comes in the first category.
Impeachment is a non-starter; the case would have to be cut and dried before the present Senate would convict him. The best tactic is to make sure he's no longer president in 2021 so he's at the mercy of prosecutors, who now have plenty of leads. A failed impeachment would be counter-productive and reduce the chance of that happening.
14
Mr. Mueller is a patriot and has served our nation.
I would think that within a few weeks of investigation, if he had found collusion or coordination - he would have asked permission to inform Congress immediately.
And Congress would have initiated an impeachment to remove a usurper.
But when Mr. Mueller could not find the "smoking gun" - he should have immediately closed his shop and gone home.
Unfortunately, he carried on this witch hunt far longer than necessary and many bystanders were charged, convicted that had nothing to do with the original sin.
Finally, if nothing else - hopefully, POTUS learns that when there is no smoke, there is no fire - but it still takes our government millions of dollars to state this obvious fact.
In that regard, if there is another investigation - he should just let it continue rather than stew about it.
3
The report concludes there was not enough evidence to prove there was a conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt. That is a very high standard. If you read the report there is plenty of evidence there was something going on and in answering the written questions this president could not recall or remember a whole lot which is strange for a person who claims to have “the best brain/memory”. You are far to willing to accept AG Barr’s conclusion something you most likely would not have done 4 years ago with another president.
7
I suppose how you view this whole scandal depends a lot on why you believe Trump ran for President in this first place. If you believe he did it solely to make money, then it's easy to accept that there was no collusion. Trump's whole brand relies on relentless self-promotion. He puts his name on buildings, golf courses, highways - anything to get it out there. Running for president, in this case, was the perfect marketing vehicle. Say outrageous things without any regard for the consequences, get more news coverage, boost your influence. If your tax returns show that you aren't as wealthy as you made yourself out to be, then it could risk scaring off potential business partners, so those have to stay concealed. Hey, do the job right and you might even land a resort deal in Russia.
That isn't to say that Trump is innocent of all wrongdoing. But it isn't very hard to imagine a scenario where winning the election wasn't part of the bigger plan.
7
Even if you are totally correct. Do you want a president that at best is a useful idiot to Putin or at worst compromised because of financial or other ties?
6
Lets just step back and remember: that Clinton was impeached for lying about sex, not for playing footsie with and owing his election to the Russians, not for obstruction. If Obama had done even a small percentage of what Trump has done (besides wearing that tan suit) he would've been gone with the wind.
I am beginning to believe that if Trump did shoot someone on 5th Ave., not only will his base still support him, but so would congress because remember, "you can't indict a sitting president"
21
Trump sure went out of his way to kneecap Mueller whenever he could in an investigation that some claim is a big "Nothing Burger".
Well that doesn't make any sense now does it?
We know Trump surrounds himself with loyalists who are willing to go to jail and destroy their own legacy to protect him.
I don't believe Mueller discovered every nefarious deed about the Russian attack on our democracy. Putin gained nothing from all those efforts-yes he helped elect Trump-but what has Trump given him?
Trump is an absolute disgrace to our country in every way.
15
McGahn comes off as a hero in this narrative.
9
I guess what really matters now is how the American people, sitting around friends and family, any longer have a "taste" for this president; there may come a time when he just no longer sits right for people, and when that time comes it's over for him.
Most likely, I think he'll be weakened enough by the facts described in the report that he won't win in '20. Win or lose, by '24 he'll be worn out, possibly hospitalized, and certainly disgraced. It may be that the most important decision for Republicans to make in the next election is the vice presidential candidate.
8
@Mark
He’ll pick Ivanka as his running mate in 2020 and then resign after 2 years. That’s not a joke.
5
@dude You're scaring me.
1
Will the summaries that Mueller’s team put together be made available to the public? It would be interesting to see how the team characterized and interpreted the information they had collected.
8
@David Zager
I would like to see them as well.
New York Times please request these!
1
Nov 3, 2020 can’t come soon enough.
10
The report documents what we all suspected and now know, the Trump administration is rotten, especially at the core. It is a long soap opera of sleaze and self interest. It is also kind of amazing that the 'values' folks seem to be OK with all this. Trump is obviously getting a pass because Mueller et al wanted to avoid a constitutional dust up. When all the evidence is available and considered by all relevant jurisdictions we may see justice served.
15
Assage now under arrest, potentially could be repatriated to US may shed light on heavily redacted evidence about the Trump campaign’s outreach to WikiLeaks. If not, members of Congress could go to UK and interview him.
8
@Kodali
If it helps his case, Assange will sing like a canary
2
So, the President won't be held to account for multiple serious attempts to commit crimes, only because those attempts failed? Sorry gop and Donny, that's nothing to be proud of or to flaunt.
What it IS is a situation about which the American people and our representatives should be deeply concerned. Maybe his administration and his myopic social Darwinist buddies in Congress and his loaded court benches really would let him get away with shooting someone in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue. Especially if he failed to actually hit the person or the person managed to survive the shooting. I can just hear them crowing, "He only TRIED to murder the person; it's not like he actually succeeded!" Or "Well, he may have pulled the trigger, but the gun saved him from himself by refusing to cooperate because it was so jammed."
Or new defense for actors Huffman and Loughlin and Mr. Mossimo G.: "Well, we cant be found guilty, or even face trial, because we may have tried to launder that money and defraud the government, but the government clearly found out about it before we actually succeeded, and besides, our kid didn't end up being accepted to that school or has since been booted, so other people refused to cooperate with our plan and efforts and thus we ourselves are guilty of nothing."
Have fun prosecuting criminal cases, DAs, your Attorney General just set a whole new Barr for you. (Defense lawyers and their clients must be rejoicing).
12
So much corruption and now an attorney general who's concerned to protect his feelings. This, all, for big tax cut for wealthy, deregulation + RW judges.
Never again can GOP talk about the constitution, country or rule of law. Staggering, breathtaking fear of losing power.
18
This report is very damaging
Trump can repair this damage
1
At Steven - How by resigning?
I think not ...
Too bad!
On 23 January 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump stated the following during an Iowa campaign rally:
"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters."
The comments from those herein who claim Trump is exonerated and that the Mueller report was a partisan witch hunt waste of time prove Trump's statement is correct.
7
@Steve Davies
How sad is the state of the Republic?!
God Help America.
5
Prevarication, influence peddling, sycophancy. but nothing illegal. What a great president! Make America great again! Get rid of this spoiled child.
15
People should remember that Mr. Mueller wasn't looking for a judgement; he was attempting to determine if sufficient evidence exists to warrant charges. The mob mentality present in these comments (let alone CNN) can profer all of the "proof of intent" necessary to warrant a good ol' fashion hanging; that don't make it so. If it doesn't change one opinion, the real danger here is that the collective calumny plays right into this president's re-election strategy -
5
WE’RE the mob?! Really!?
Watch just one of Trump’s rallies and tell me *WE* are the mob, again.
1
So, tell me again how President Hillary Clinton and the Dems would've been worse?! Jail Trump Pence regime never president immediately today. There is absolutely nothing in the US Constitution and forget what the lackey DOJ and FBI says.Forget impeachment and 25th Amendment as they take too long and the criminal republicans will never get rid of one of their own. Makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout helping a little old lady across the street. In Latin Nemo Est Supra Legis. Indict arrest jail them all now and tomorrow President Hillary Clinton and the Dems take over and the world will be a much better and safer place. Forget what the trump hicks and supporters say as they don't know the forest for the trees. Yes, fascist Pence just as culpable. Let none of the get away. We let war criminal Bushie regime get away, don't let it ever happen again no matter what. This has been going on since 1876 election of Hayes. Get rid of weakling Sgt Schultz Pelosi as well as she is part of the problem not part of the solution and takes corporate monies as well. Instead support AOC, Omar, Tlaib, Pressely, Bernie and never corporate lackey Biden. Here's the difference between the two parties and NO not the lesser of two evils: the republicans and their ilk only care about themselves and give the finger to all others unless white rich and corporate. However, the Dems help others and say "I've got mine, and will help you get yours." Feel the Bern!
2
@republicans r a disease. : If your scenario of Trump and Pence being removed from office were to happen, it wouldn't be Clinton taking over. According to the Constitution, if something were to happen to both the President and Vice President, the Speaker of the House would become President, and right now the holder of that office is Nancy Pelosi.
3
@ republicans are a disease
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the Dems taking over.
But not sure in which ‘utopian paradise’ would this scenario ever become a reality?
Not to mention which Supreme Court/DOJ/FBI lackey would dare defy their Supreme Leader (as if this weren’t a third world despotic regime)?
Fat chance, barring of course a French-style revolution of the masses. The 18th century kind, not the current ‘yellow fever’ sweeping the streets of France.
Or just focus on Nov. 3, 2020.
2
What did we expect?
3
So in the end it all comes down to a bumper sticker- if you elect a clown expect a circus. There was no smoking gun but of course how could the members of the circus know that when “even the President’s closest advisors were reluctant to protect Mr. Trump because they couldn’t be sure he was telling the truth”. Safe to assume that someone would go along with one of his schemes and just lie to keep yourself out of trouble. As it turned out the circus saved the clown. If you want to continue the kid’s show, elect him again. Otherwise, move over and let the adults back into the room.
5
I understand the desire to leave this behind. And the belief that this is all a nothing burger. And yet. Did our president say “maybe it’s the Russians. Maybe it’s a fat guy on his couch?” He lied. He may not have coordinated but he knew. And yet he lies.
10
The problem is clearly our laws are so vague as to be useless. Congress should draft and pass laws that make such things illegal: communicating with a foreign government during a campaign, receiving stolen goods (I thought THAT was a law already), using Presidential powers to manipulate others into doing illegal activities, the President is not above the law and can be indited while serving, the President is required to testify in an investigation, the President is required to show their taxes, ETC.
6
@James B
The problem isn't the laws. The problem is the Republicans. It's congresses job to resolve this conflict but because of the Senate we have a dictatorship by the republicans, for the republicans and of the republicans.
They must be removed next election from every seat possible. Don't just vote people. Vote with your wallets and support their senate opponents. We must take the senate back to remove these criminals.
2
It just gets more nd more intriguing. I wonder what Congress will make of all this, aside from the usual GOP petulance.
2
"The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small." Something I learned in middle school.
3
Those who sell the Mueller report short are blinded by the smoke, can't feel the heat, or simply believe in fairy tales. Even Trump himself gave more respect to what he thought was coming since he knew what he had done. This report was pre sanitized for public consumption and Mueller knew it would be. His passing of evidence to other jurisdictions combined with the criminal punishment already underway make what is coming will absolutely bring Trump's original estimation of his future a reality. The moral of this story is to NEVER sell a Marine short, even a republican Marine. A vote of thanks to Robert Mueller and all those who joined him in his work for all Americans.
7
I hope you are right but until then they continue to place seriously compromised people into positions of power eroding the top side of all government function.
2
I believe the 1400 plus comments (so far) for this early analysis of the Mueller report will be an archive for future historians to decipher and better understand the National divide present in 2019.
4
Summary: When Trump ordered Russia to release the Hillary Clinton emails and Russia complied, there was no evidence of coordination because "to find evidence of coordination, both Russia and the Trump campaign would have had to agree to act." Well, that does seem like a contradiction, but one conclusion from the report seems to imply that if Trump had been a private citizen, then he would be in jail right now, but since he is President, he is held to a much lower standard. That is the impression I got, but it is a lot of material to digest. I see that a many of the commenters below are saying that the investigation was a waste of time and money and that nothing was found. I suggest they read the whole report, which anyone with a conscience will find disturbing.
5
The report does not appear, in what we can see, to incriminate Mr. Trump. The preponderance of evidence; however, indicates that Trump consistently tried to interfere with a legal process that,although maybe short of legal obstruction, was clearly contrary to standard democratic process and America's ideals. All energy needs to be focused on saving the country from the oligarchs and Republican Party and their currently favorite henchman during the next election.
3
Scotland has a court verdict Not Proven. Now it's up to the Congressional committees and leadership to determine whether probability of high crimes and misdemeanors is worth pursuing. Following Trump veto of Yemen War Powers Resolution I believe Congress should flex its muscle.
1
If the door is left open to charge him after he leaves office we are in a very precarious situation. This means it’s in his best interest to usurp power and remain in authority.
7
Everything I read points to both so-called collusion and obstruction of justice--even if there was no signed and sealed 'agreement' between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Trump did everything possible, within and beyond the law, to obstruct justice. How much clearer can it be in the real, non-lawyered, world where the rest of us live?
8
I'm glad we hired Mueller to investigate but, let's face it, he came up empty-handed:
1. On the "collusion" issue, Mueller reported finding no evidence at all.
2. On the "obstruction of justice" issue, Mueller reported no new evidence. He simply cited news accounts that most of us read long ago. He was unable to conclude, either way, whether those old news accounts reported OOJ, though he filed no charges and recommended that no one be charged.
Even more important, who cares what Mueller's legal opinion was?
We hired Mueller to look for evidence of wrongdoing, and to charge Trump if he found enough. We didn't hire Mueller to offer his legal opinion on whether what we already knew was sufficient to punish Trump. To his credit, Mueller declined to speculate. Barr/Rosenstein looked into it and said "no," as I would have. But Barr/Rosenstein and Mueller didn't say Trump was innocent of OOJ -- simply that the evidence necessary to charge him wasn't there.
“Mr. Papadopoulos appeared to suggest [to the Aussie diplomat] an explicit offer by the Russian government to work with the Trump campaign to sabotage Mrs. Clinton [and] helps explain why the F.B.I. investigated members of the Trump campaign in 2016.”
Which Barr suggests was improper or even illegal spying on the Trump campaign.
Wow. Just. Plain. Wow.
6
I could never imagine Trump was bright enough to develop a scheme for collusion. Always made sense to me that Russia found a politician they could manipulate and ran with that.
No doubt there was active communications with Russia. Trump has known Putin for years but claims he doesn't...all to weird for me. Russiagate continues.
3
Having followed all this fairly closely as revealed (or maybe "promulgated" would be a better word) in the MSM, the NYT
analysts' comments on the Mueller Report strike me, as they will many others, as pretty thin gruel. Grounds for indictment by the House and removal from office by the Senate? Almost certainly not. Enough to cost him the next election? Very unlikely, but, if he loses, it will be because so many American voters are disenchanted with the President for many other reasons -- not what is and isn't in the Mueller Report.
1
"Times reporters uncovered the biggest findings and shared excerpts and analysis."
I will not read your analysis because I do not believe in your neutrality. I will try to find a neutral source, neither pro-Trump nor anti-Trump which tells me accurately what Mueller's report says.
2
Read it yourself. Then you can tell us accurately.
5
All together now, "If the president does it, it's not illegal."
5
That Trump’s actions did not rise to the level of a indictable offence hardly warrants the claims that Mueller’s investigation was a waste of time or a political witch hunt. Trump is in the WH because of the interference of a hostile adversary. How is that OK?
6
Exonerated? Maybe. But there’s plenty of unethical behavior documented in Mueller’s report for a US president to be ashamed of, and for the American people to be suspicious of.
13
@Raymond
Equal to what the Kennedy brothers were up to in South Vietnam? Johnson's CIA-Navy lie? Bush-Cheney CIA lying? Obama's 60-Minutes dog-whistle to Comey: "There's no there, there."?
2
@Alice's Restaurant: "Mommy, they did it too!" is not a valid argument.
3
iThe NYT has performed an incredible service to the public and the nation by putting out a link to the complete Mueller Report.
Thank you for doing so.
5
People should be archiving it and printing it, lest the people in Trump administration do to it what they did to other government docs and information that was widely available prior to their reign. Data/images related to climate change, for example.
2
the Mueller report confirms trump is a habitual liar, cares nothing about our laws, to the point of asking others to break them and then lie about it, he is unethical, lacking of any morals. trump likes numbers in his favor. So my fellow voting Americans come November 2020 we need to show trump a number that will make his orange haired head spin, by voting him out of our HOUSE. I am sure at one time we have all disliked the policies of the person living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, but I have always had respect for them and the office. I can not lie I have never been able to say the P (president) in front of trumps name. Respect must be earned. We need that respect back, Republican or Democrat.
14
Barr has proven himself to be a partisan liar.
16
And he has obstructed justice
4
“I’m f***d. My Presidency is over.” He emerges as a tragic hero who towers over everyone around him. Yet he has always underestimated himself. He thought he would never be elected, but he was. He thought he might be indicted, but he wasn’t. Despite all the distraction he kept on doing the job he was elected to do. I think that is one definition of greatness.
3
Wow! Time to step away from the bottle - you’ve clearly had enough. Mueller clearly and emphatically states he is prohibited from indicting but that those actions should not be construed to mean exoneration. He provided a roadmap for impeachment.
5
The Mueller Report does not strengthen the "Impeach him" camp:
"The only response to even the incomplete Mueller report: Impeach."
Some Americans believe Trump should be impeached regardless of whether Mueller found evidence to support that. But most Americans disagree: Impeachment is proper if the President has committed some crime, but voting him out of office is the proper choice otherwise. We do have another election coming up fairly soon, and that should be the focus of Trump's critics.
6
@MyFourCents
Yes, impeachment is proper if the President has committed some crime but a President can be impeached for offenses that do not rise to the level of criminality.
8
That is factually incorrect. Impeachment does not require the same quantum of evidence needed to obtain a criminal conviction.
4
Not much here that we didn’t already know or suspect. If Mueller chose not to charge obstruction then there’s no point in impeachment in the House that will get voted down in the republican-held Senate. Those of us opposed to this administration should focus on 2020 and make sure we have a Democratic candidate who can rise above this mess and restore some semblance of order, respect and integrity to the office of the president. Mayor Pete might be our best hope.
6
@Nancy Siciliano
And just let Trump continue to cause damage for the next two years? Why?
8
@Nancy Siciliano,
Mayor Pete? I can only presume you’ve never heard of a company called McKinsey.
I’m a registered Independent who just registered as a Democrat to vote for Bernie.
McKinsey is one of the most sociopathic corporations on the planet - way up there.
Mayor Pete proudly touts his status as a Rhodes Scholar. That means he can’t use naivety as an excuse for working for sociopaths.
If the Democrats go with the corporate wing of the Party, they’ll lose to Trump. Again.
2
We deserve to be punished severely.
1
Can someone please do a timeline video of what Trump and associates knew and when – and how they lied about it. It would be devastating.
15
The bias of redacting information from the report but releasing a sitting president’s answers relating to Corsi and Stone is obstruction of current matters by telling them what the President said.
Barr obstructed current prosecutions through bias in redactions. Specifically, the lack thereof.
One cannot state withholding information is just when their act of disseminating information acts to the contrary.
6
I think that with the Starr Report, it was the actual information that proved damaging (to poor Al Gore, and to Mrs. Clinton, in the end), not the spin. I expect the same with this, although people are so much more distracted by cat videos and the like that maybe they will not be reading the details of all these foreign contacts.
1
Funny I thought 45 insisted he had the very best memory around?
At the end of the report are 45's written answers - I think all but one begin with, "I have no recollection of...."
That's what witnesses who don't want to answer say.
18
Adam Goldman’s comment that the Prague story “further undercuts” the dossier goes a bit too far. The dossier was recognized as a compilation of “raw intelligence” gathered from multiple sources, and to my thinking, included some useful intel which were revealed to be true. Steele was a reliable source, and was concerned by the totality of it all. Not unusual for some raw intel to be off base, and much of it to be worth looking into.
6
What is the legal statute that prevents a sitting president from being indicted? I believe that this is a justice department opinion, not law. Clearly laws were broken, Mueller left it to Congress to bring Impeachment proceedings if the members of The House deem there is sufficient cause and evidence, I believe that this Congressional investigation will continue with Mueller testifying.
If you are a Democrat or Republican, why do we want a president that continues to lie and obstruct about the Russian involvement into our Elections and Democracy?
11
Ask republicans and right wing media. They obviously only care purely on partisan issues and yet call us snowflakes when we fire on our own. Seems healthier to disagree than to walk lock step all the time as they do.
1
@bob
Lying and obstruction are not crimes in the Republican handbook.
They are merely tools to an end. And the end (you know, winning at all costs) justifies the means, whether that’s at the expense of the (American) Republic or not is simply ‘irrelevant’.
2
IOKYAR: It’s OK if you’re a republican
The big question is not whether there is sufficient evidence for a crime. We are not talking about a random guy picked off the street. We are talking about the person that is occupying the most powerful office on earth. The standard for convicting someone of a crime has to be high. But our standard for impeachment has to be much, much lower. Trump has surely committed enough misdeeds to justify swift impeachment by any sensible standard of conduct. People get fired from mundane jobs every day for much less than Trump typically does before breakfast. The USA has lost all standards and perspective.
12
Are Trump critics quite all there?
We're only a year and a half away from the 2020 election, when US voters can replace Trump. Even if Trump were impeached before then, a Senate vote on his conviction probably wouldn't happen until after Election Day; the Senate will prefer to let the voters decide Trump's fate. If voters vote Trump out, obviously impeachment won't be necessary. If voters instead re-elect Trump, he won't be convicted by the Senate because Senators won't want to buck the voters.
Either way, the 2020 election -- not some impeachment proceeding -- will decide Trump's fate. That's as it should be.
6
@MyFourCents
I agree... but do you honestly believe that the 45th would abdicate his throne in 2020 willingly, even if he lost (without goading his base into some sort of a civil strife first)?
Here’s what the 45th said in Aug. 2016 on ‘rigged’ elections:
"I'm afraid the election's going to be rigged. I have to be honest," 45th told voters in Ohio, a crucial swing state.
He added that he has heard "more and more" that the November election will be rigged -- suggesting to his supporters that the outcome of the election is out of the hands of voters.
In Oct. 2016:
"Remember, we are competing in a rigged election," 45th said at a Wisconsin rally Monday night. "They even want to try and rig the election at the polling booths, where so many cities are corrupt and voter fraud is all too common."
There’s no telling what he might say to his base, if he feels he’s losing the lead in the polls and esp. after the results are tallied and declare him, God forbid, to be the ‘loser’ in 2020.
All bets are off.
4
I won't be satisfied until I read most if not all of the report myself. Meanwhile, it was released on a holiday weekend when I am cooking for 14 people, so I don't have time now.
Even though Mueller did not find enough evidence of conspiracy to charge Trump, one must wonder if attempted conspiracy should have been considered. It's clear that Trump and his campaign had no reluctance to meet with Russians to get whatever they could get on Clinton, true or not. Then there is the issue of Trump writing his son's press release. Is his son that incompetent? Maybe, but I suspect it was more about protecting Daddy.
We must also ask why Barr has been protecting Trump. Why did Trump get a copy of the report before Congress? A special prosecutor is not beholden to the president. Why did Barr hold a meaningless press conference hours before he released the document to Congress? Why did Barr schedule all this for a holiday weekend when most people are focused on family and religion rather than politics?
5
Unethical is not illegal. Dishonorable is not illegal. Disreputable is not illegal. How proud the GOP must be!
17
Until it’s a Democrat. Put Trump under oath. Stop giving him a pass.
4
Even the initial assessment of the report shows the aberrant, reckless and erratic behavior of the President is real and palpable. The question of criminality is almost irrelevant with the confirmation of the reality that we have a President who has no regard for American Institutions, laws, morals and principles. The report confirms, Trump engaged in behaviors and actions that would not have been tolerated by any other generation of Americans, by any other President. The Minions of Trump, some of whom appear in this Colum, will continue to chant their mantra as they were directed. However, the rest of us must continue to do the heavy lifting of American Exceptionalism to ensure this abuse of Authority and Presidential power be contained and eliminated through all available legal and electoral means. A huge debt is owed by this nation to Mr. Mueller for his investigation and revelations, despite the withering attacks from Trump and his legion of minions. Thank you.
11
As much as I want trump out of office, it is up to the voters to make this happen. Democrats must move beyond this report and this moment. It is Trump's behavior while in office, and his policies, that will ultimately bring him down. Democrats look like intransigent partisans the longer they play Trump's game. Focus on getting things done. Forget the Mueller report.
3
Like so many times before Trump appears to have skated through right on the edge of indictment.
What's so terribly discouraging is that Trump supporters are claiming this "vindicates" him.
6
The Mueller report said Trump's actions were corrupt. The Mueller report said they could not indict a sitting President but it would be appropriate for Congress to take over for the good of this country.
Why the spin that there is "not enough evidence" when that is absolutely not what Mueller said. Mueller said there WAS evidence that Congress should take up and consider.
10
For his entire adulthood, Donald Trump's life has been defined by his choosing to always take the less honorable and less ethical path while smugly boasting about his ability to beat the system, no matter the consequences to others or institutions. This is not behavior worthy of the office. Those who defend Donald Trump are cut from the same deplorable cloth, no matter their claims otherwise.
The Mueller report underscores an administration that is defined by lies and corruption. Justice might be slow in coming for Trump and his cronies but it will ultimately prevail and be spectacular.
13
A brief summary of the Mueller Report would be:
Part I - Russia washed Trump's back and Trump washed Russian back, but there was no explicit conspiracy to do that.
Part II - Mueller believes the facts support obstruction of justice by Trump and rejects Trump legal team's objections based on law; but does not prosecute Trump because of DOJ policy--whole noting that Trump CAN BE prosecuted just as soon as he leaves office.
9
Is "evidence of a crime" the only standard to which we hold the President of the United States? Shouldn't the office be held to a higher standard than that?
11
@Tuz - Trump couldn't pass the background check necessary to become a bank teller. Think about that and what it says about us.
10
Doesn’t say anything about me but sure says a lot about the republicans.
To those who say Trump has "won" this battle and been "exonerated" by the report, I beg to differ. The report shines a light on shameful conduct committed by Trump and his closest advisors that if not criminal (and I think the jury is still out on that question), was as close to the line as it could get, including lies, self dealing and an unending thirst for loyalty, not to the United States but to Trump. If this investigation has done anything, it's provided all the proof we need to conclude that Trump has no interest in securing American greatness. HIs priorities lie in consolidating his power, promoting himself as a great deal maker, and amassing a personal fortune.
14
Just thought I'd remind everyone that Trump actually WINKED at Putin before the start of their Helsinki press conference. This guys attacks everyone he considers to be 'from the other side', and showers affection on those he considers to be 'on his side'. Yet I've never seen him go so far as to wink at any fellow Republicans or cabinet members. Cheesy smiles, fake handshakes and hugs all around, but never a wink. So it's really striking to me that he was comfortable enough with Putin and considered him so much 'on his side' that he winked at him. Oh, and he also shamefully let Russia off the hook for election interference, and then confiscated his interpreters notes from his private meeting with Putin, which was the only record, so nobody would ever know what he and Putin talked about for over two hours.
If that doesn't set off the alarm bells you're not thinking clearly, regardless of what the Mueller report does or doesn't say.
14
The Mueller Report gives an example of how the press can get things wrong.
Yes, Trump had serious personality defects. He fought back viciously when politicians and the press accused him of collusion with Russia.
Meanwhile, Putin, who realized that there was no collusion, must have laughed as he watched America media overreact.
There once was a time when the press was more circumspect. Accusations of wrongdoing were offset with an attempt to regard the accused as innocent until proven guilty. Events might make the accused appear guilty when in fact those events had an alternate innocent explanation.
Particularly noxious is the combination of perceived political advantage with events which can be interpreted to support guilt. The US press has become increasingly partisan in recent years. Political goals often cloud judgment.
In my opinion, Trump should be impeached, but not because of attempts to "throw the election." He should be impeached because he is incompetent. He cannot even run a cabinet, as demonstrated by Bob Woodward's book, Fear.
But incompetence is not a high crime. Although impeachment is a political process, mere incompetence might not persuade enough in the Senate to convict.
So impeachment is unlikely.
Democrats have to contemplate the unpleasant reality of watching a president make numerous mistakes because of incompetence with no option for removing him.
We have had incompetent presidents before, although Trump represents a new low.
In the name of the law, let's just pretend we don't know what we do know.
Circumstantial evidence? Deniability, that's all we need! Wink wink, nod nod. Nothing to see here. No Nixon tapes (lesson learned).
Lies, pressure, "unfortunate events" and "amazing coincidences?" We'll call that "exoneration." Move on.
2
If It looks like a duck
Walks like a duck
Talks like a duck
You know the rest
7
People have been convicted of murder based on circumstantial evidence. Mr. Trump’s behavior, in particular public statements he has made was surely enough to convict him of being guilty of the obstruction of justice. But then, he is the elected President of the United States, and appears to have been able to get away with what would have put an average, everyday citizen in jail. Mr.Barr has proven once again, that the elite in America can afford the lawyers to get them out of trouble. There is no equality before the law.
5
If trump told a subordinate to do something obstructing justice ,which occurred, but the subordinate did not perform the action , that is a attempt to obstruct justice in my book, like firing The special counsel.
9
This entire investigation stemmed from the open and recorded misdeeds and maneuvering of #45, the final document is rife with lies and less than ethical actions of #45, and yet no one is outraged, and 30% of our country thinks #45 is a saint.
We are finally lost and wondering as a nation. Anyone interested in a model for a realistic (flawed by trying) democracy should look elsewhere.
2
The Muller report provides ample evidence of why Trump is unfit for president and should not win a second term. Asking for foreign assistance. Accepting foreign assistance. Lying about foreign assistance. Repeatedly lying to the American people. Urging others to lie in the course of an investigation. And then there are his policies.
7
What happened to the idea of a non-biased AG? As the story said, Barr — incredibly, as it removed all pretext as to his impartiality — acted basically as Trump’s defense lawyer. This unethical behavior by a man who auditioned for the job with a 19-page manifesto condemning the probe is not fit to serve. Now it’s time to investigate Barr. And where in the world is Robert Mueller?
The spectacle today was extraordinary. And earlier he had asserted Trump was spied upon — with no proof.
4
Let's not lose sight of the vast forest for legal-tree details.
Trump unabashedly loves and admires Putin and other strongmen. There is a clear pattern of friendly cooperation between Trump, the Trump Organization and many real estate sales (likely money laundering), the Trump Campaign, and the Trump White House with Russian nationals, Russian leaders, Russian oligarchs, and members of the Russian Mafia. See the book House of Trump, House of Putin by Unger and The Moscow Project web site for careful, exhaustive details. The Muller report and his prosecutions to date help confirm this. 12 more coming.
Russia is a declared enemy of the US, still smarting from the collapse of the Soviet Union, and led by a former officer of the KGB who is also the wealthiest man in the world: Putin. Putin, the Russian Mob and Russian Intelligence are essentially one and the same.
Look at what Trump has done, and not done, to compromise the interests of the United States. He is not protecting our elections from further Russian interference, un-funding Homeland Security mandates. He declined to sanction Russia when Congress asked him to. He has done much to weaken NATO, the primary bulwark against Russian military action against Europe.
Do Trump's motives or the technical legality of his acts matter when so much of what he does is clearly against US interests, anti-MAGA, and a treasonous departure from his oath of office?
So many reasons to ask him to go. Just pick a few.
5
So why did Putin break American and international laws to help elect trump. Trump who portrays himself as a big powerful warrior. Hillary the opposition candidate was portrayed as weak women. So why would the leader of an "enemy state " going out of their way to back a man "whose going to make America great again" ? There is no question Putin helped, its time for the sake of our country to know why. If it wasn't nefarious on trump's part okay, but why??
4
A lot of the comments here seem to have missed this jewel: "The special counsel found evidence of plenty of other crimes and made 14 referrals." "Twelve of those referrals remain secret."
So, this is the end of the Mueller investigation, but there are perhaps 14 other criminal investigations in progress spawned by the Mueller investigation, but outside the narrow scope of what Mueller was asked to do.
10
@JR - Thank you. I was beginning to think I was the only one who noticed this.
2
Trump needs to swear an oath and have a seat. That is what was missing from the Mueller investigation.
3
@Lostin24
I agree.
Maybe Barr (or Mueller) lied about this, but Barr did flatly deny it:
"Mueller clearly felt limited in the scope of his actions by DOJ policy not to indict a President ..."
Barr said, repeatedly and emphatically, that Mueller had confirmed that his (Mueller's) conclusion on the "obstruction of justice" claim did not depend at all on the DOJ's "official" policy that a sitting President may not be indicted.
3
This is a nothing burger?
I don't think so. In short, if Trump wasn't the President, he'd be charged with obstruction.
And his campaign did collude - just not to the level of a criminal conspiracy. The Trump Tower meeting was a clear attempt at collusion, it just failed.
3
If Trump did nothing wrong, what were those two years of indictments and guilty pleas about?
5
I know a sure way for successful impeachment and removal from office: trump changes parties to Democrat.
2
Volume I, page 187, subhead ii. Willfulness
Under campaign finance law, "To prove that a defendant acted 'knowingly and willfully', the government would have to show that the defendant had general knowledge that his conduct was unlawful."
So, under campaign finance law, if a defendant clams he didn't know what he was doing was unlawful the government would have to prove that he did know it was unlawful? Therefore ignorance of the law is a valid defense under campaign finance law? Really?
What am I missing here?
5
Mueller’s approach seemed to be one to avoid a direct constitutional crisis. Instead, Mueller chose to layout a road map by which Congress could utilize to carryout it’s proper role of oversight of the Executive Branch.
7
Democrats have spent the past two years obsessing over Donald Trump....and no doubt they’ll spend the next year and a half obsessing over Donald Trump.
The result of all that obsessing will likely be Donald Trump’s re-election. Good job, Dems!
2
What is with you people? If someone is in the process of robbing your home I sure hope the police come to help you when you call. But you sure want it such they don’t show up while also telling you not to believe your lying eyes.
Why doesn't giving the Russians internal Trump campaign polling data not count as an act of coordinated collaboration?
6
I want Congress to do their job. Every POTUS should be held to the same standard or else I might as well move to North Korea. Bill was impeached for less. Trump is not above the law. Plain and simple.
5
Donald Trump can whistle past the graveyard all he wants. This is not a report I would want as my epitaph, that's for sure. It reminds me of Big Julie's line in "Guys & Dolls": "I used to be bad when I was a kid, but ever since then I have gone straight as I can prove by my record -- thirty-three arrests and no convictions."
Lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt may keep you out of prison; it doesn't elevate your administration above the ranks of Grant, Harding, and Nixon.
Here's a perfect example. On pages 185-188 of the report, Mueller explains why no one was charged criminally over the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Even though the Special Counsel agreed that the Russians were offering the Trump campaign a "thing of value" in violation of federal campaign laws, there were two reasons: First, the Special Counsel wasn't sure how to value the Russian dirt (to prove it was worth more than $2,000). And, second, even though the Trump campaign knew with whom they were meeting and why, and willfully agreed to accept valuable Russian assistance, the Special Counsel couldn't prove that these Trump campaign officials knew it was a crime to accept things of value from the Russians. [Ignorance of the law is now a defense? Ignorance is bliss in Trump Tower?]
The fact that Special Counsel Mueller failed to find these certainties shouldn't give Donald Trump anything to crow about.
6
This looks to be far from a 'nothing burger' and more like a 'not enough burger' .
4
Trump knew the Russians were interfering in ways that would benefit his election yet did not report it, nor has he taken steps to prevent it from happening in the future. Even if this does not constitute illegal action it is morally corrupt he and cannot be trusted to carry out the duties of President. And so many of his close associates guilty of crimes and facing jail time. Is this is not proof of either immorality or incompetence?
6
It's time for the House of Representatives to start Impeachment proceedings.
6
Left unsaid by Mueller is that he did not interview the president because he knew that Trump would commit perjury especially with all of the machinations to get Mueller fired.
6
I am just shocked to learn that our president tries to cheat and lie his way out of every situation. Who would have known given the way he handled his businesses...
14
Yeah, but the market is up! That seems to be the only thing Americans care about.
4
The president of the United States is unfit to remain in office, but the Republicans who slavishly follow him do not believe that the constant lying, the obscene bragging, the relationships with a porn star (paid for, denied, and then proved by his own "fixer"), the acceptance of"fine people" at Charlottesville, the endless derogatory tweeting and name-calling .... and the list goes on and on .... should, in any way, affect their support for Donald Trump. I am no longer shocked (though still sickened) by Trump's antics, but I an aghast, horrified, disgusted, and embarrassed by every Republican who shamelessly panders to this foul pretender. I take some small comfort in knowing that the majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump. Very, very small comfort, unfortunately.
16
The question is can we overcome the propaganda machine of the right wing and the electoral college. Could we see a situation of having tens of millions above the popular vote and the minority placing him back into power.
We can only hope there are average republicans that value ethics and morals more than greed and partisan politics.
In grade school, when a child constantly lies, swears, cheats, bullies peers, and in the whole demonstrates wanton disregard of demeanor befitting a student, a report is compiled of his wrongdoings, and he's expelled.
In the White House, when a [so-called] adult constantly lies, swears, cheats, bullies peers, and in the whole demonstrates wanton disregard of demeanor befitting a U.S. president, a report is compiled of his wrongdoings, and he's impeached.
You got this Barr and your fellow system-rigging Republicans?
We hope so, because it's Pretty Darn Straight Forward.
8
Any intelligent rational person would see that this man is beyond any doubt totally unfit for office.
He enablers and apologists likewise.
The Mueller Report.
An insight into a rats nest that futile redactions can't hide.
12
@Richard Bradley
I totally agree.
From early on I suspected the purpose of the investigation was never about finding election collusion but rather about hurting the administration. This seems to be supported by the fact that now that Trump has been cleared of any collusion, the report is still being used as a weapon against him.
I believe that while international interference is worth investigating, the Trump admin never should have been because I don't see credible evidence that an investigation was warranted.
However, there does seem to be evidence of the Justicee system likely having been corrupted and my hope is that the investigators will be investigated and any crimes will be appropriately investigated.
The Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect us against unreasonable search and seizure and we have statutes supporting that. Let's start be assuring purgery did not occur in sign offs of FISA warrants and unmaskings.
4
So you want retaliation because you “believe” nothing happened. So now you want the investigators to suffer even though the president is guilty as far as the eye can see yet they won’t indict him because he is president?
4
@John. Actually it does not clear him- which would be exoneration- From the report itslef - "Fourth, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President
clearly did not commit obstruction of justice , we would so state. Based on the facts and the
applicable legal standards , however , we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we
obtained about the President ' s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from
conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred. Accordingly, while this report does
not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
3
@Mathias
I want to make sure those administering justice followed the law. That's all. This requires the justice department to enforce the law on itself.
If the President wanted to obstruct the investigation he could have fired Mueller and any number of people in the Justice Department. He didn't. Remember, the Office of Special Counsel and the Justice Departments are arms of the Executive Branch and serve at the direction of the President. There was no obstruction nor any collusion.
Trump should have fired Mueller anyway since the entire investigation was a conflict of interest. The Executive Branch investigating itself? Seriously? It would have been better and more thorough with a bipartisan committee of Congress like Alan Dershowitz suggested.
1
Must be the most over reported, over hyped, and over politicized story in memory. Will be the stuff of college case studies for years. At the end, Mueller did his job and couldn’t find any crime. All the while, the press and left just cannot move on.
134
@KJ
Except that is specifically states they found 14 crimes and referred them all to other agencies.
And that Trump and co. knew Russia was interfering in the election and did nothing. They have still done nothing. Don't be blinded by your party affiliations. This president has failed to uphold his oath of office to protect the United States.
258
@KJ Trump's behavior throughout his presidency has not been consistent with lawful and appropriate presidential behavior. The cost of the Mueller report does not begin to challenge the years long, vastly more expensive investigations of the Clintons, including the millions spent by the GOP on tormenting the family of Vince Foster in trying to substantiate the right wing fantasy that the Clintons murdered him (after 5 different police investigations confirmed his death was a suicide). Trump may yet be shown to have obstructed justice, a crime for which two previous presidents were impeached.
“If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.”
Whether Mr. Trump engaged in obstruction of justice involves complicated legal and constitutional issues that do not apply to ordinary citizens, but the report explicitly says that the inquiry did not clear the president. Discussing whether the president could have obstructed justice while exercising his constitutional authority, such as by firing James B. Comey as the director of the F.B.I., the report notes that Congress is empowered to step in to stop the corrupt use of presidential power. Democrats in Congress will surely seize on that language as justification for their burgeoning inquiries.
— Sharon LaFraniere nytimes.com
49
@KJ Ummm, justification for not charging Obstruction is that the aids whom Trump directed didn't do what he asked of them. The intent was absolutely there- that's spelled out.
29
Isn't this aiding and abetting the crime of trying to rig the outcome of our election?
6
Insufficient evidence doesn't mean there was no evidence. Just not enough for a slam dunk case.
7
I didn't see anything about the reported Russian infiltration of the NRA. Was this not examined in the the Mueller report, or was it redacted because it's an ongoing investigation?
9
Not impeachable but nevertheless disgraceful.
We never really appreciated the grace and dignity that the previous President brought to the office, therefore we were cursed with what we have now!
8
Not impeachable? Well that remains to be seen.
Nixon redux.
7
"That requires more than the two parties taking actions that were informed by or responsive to the other’s actions or interests."
This is a definition of an agreement, true. But coordination as defined by the relevant campaign finance law is not that strict. A nod and a wink is enough. Trump's "Russia if you're listening" was no joke, and about as subtle as a sharp stick in the eye. Stupidity does not er, trump malicious intent.
7
For all of the Trump apologists twisting themselves into pretzels, does it not matter to you that the President is not an honorable, decent man of character, integrity? The Evangelical Christian right will praise the antics of AG Barr, stand in pulpits during this Holy Week, the week we celebrate Jesus's death and resurrection and say what? Character doesn't matter. At the end of the day, do you trust your president? Does it not register that he is a racist, xenophobic, sexist birther who sows division? Would you want your children, grandchildren or anyone else in your family to take on his characteristics? Would a person without fault act in the manner we have seen for over 3 years? Winning at the cost of tearing the country apart is just sad.
16
I’m guessing they want Armageddon.
3
Sarah "I said it not based on anything" Sanders needs to go. She has made a complete fool of herself and her contempt for the American people is beyond clear. Why anyone would even deign to listen to her again is beyond me.
13
What a big waste of time and a distraction to a legitimately elected President. Move on now. Nothing to see here.
2
Legitimate, but for the strong conclusion of Russian interference and the Trump campaign's awareness of it; nothing to see but obstruction at least equivalent to Nixon's.
4
There was no collusion. But it wasn't the left that hyped this story. It was establishment mainstream of the Democratic Party—the Hillary wing—that using Rachel Maddow and social media as bludgeons bullied most of the anti-Trump electorate—ie, most of us—into supporting the conspiracy thesis.
And of course there was smoke there, because 1) as Michael Cohen has testified, Trump the businessman engaged in criminal practices ALL THE TIME and 2) because after Trump's many bankruptcies, nobody but Russian wanna be oligarchs and associated Russian kleptocrats—and Deutsche bank—would give me him any financing. So Trump is always gonna look bad, because he is bad.
But the establishment Democrats and their allied media—the Times, the Post etc— have blown it and also made a mockery of their so called Resistance. Simply put, you can't have a "Resistance" led by the Establishment. It's a political non sequitur.
Hair so split, you could make wigs for an entire regiment !
3
First I want to point out this from DOJ's own web site.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ccips/reporting-computer-internet-related-or-intellectual-property-crime
The claim of "no collusion" is a spurious claim at best. Mueller's mandate was to determine if sufficient proof beyond a reasonable doubt would be available to support a criminal charge of conspiracy. Maybe not.
But it is also evident from the visible report that there were many instances of Trump's campaign actively trying to benefit from efforts by a hostile nation for their own benefit. An honest or honorable citizen including every person with this knowledge on Trump's team had at least a moral obligation to report every attempt and every offer of "dirt" directly to the FBI. Instead they hid these covert operations from law enforcement for the specific purpose of reaping the benefits of crimes committed by others on their behalf.
This is behavior on the part of the Trump campaign and of Trump himself that amounted to a "moral treason" and a betrayal of the American people for his own self interest.
Now Barr is in the middle of this but I suppose we should not be surprised that a corrupt president would nominate a corrupt AG and that a corrupt GOP senate would confirm...all to turn our DOJ into Trump's personal defense team to the detriment of the American people.
http://joethevoter.org
//
9
Trump is an illegitimate president installed by Russians. What now?
11
This statement about obstruction in the report illustrates how Mueller intends his findings to be applied: "Viewing the acts collectively can help to illuminate their significance". By providing a wealth of detail on attempts to derail the investigation, Mueller is encouraging the public and the Congress to draw their own conclusions and act accordingly.
7
The people of the United States need to know whether or not their president is a crook. The Mueller report shows that Trump is a crook.
17
What a waste of time while the planet burns, and thousands of species go extinct.
American people's narcissism has no bounds.
1
While the planet burns, Trump pours gasoline on the fire.
9
What a strange, strange comment.
It’s Trump and his base who do not “believe” in climate change. It is the Trump administration that pulled out of the Paris accords and is even now dismantling environmental regulations left right and sideways.
1
Mueller used his snake stick not to pin the reptile, but to fling it over to congress. What a shame.
4
Trump is a corrupt person. His government is corrupt, authoritarian and divisive.
He is also the President of the USA because he defeated all of the Republican and Democrat establishment.
He is corrupt AND smart. He is selfish but knows exactly what he wants. He plays for the long run.
This report was exactly what Trump would want to make sure there is a Trump Presidency from 2020 to 2024.
Then another Trump presidency, with his daughter as president.
How to stop him? I do not know. He has outsmarted the smartest minds out there.
1
The report shows ¨at least ten instances of clearcut obstruction of justice.¨ The only reason DJT was not indicted is due to longstanding DOJ policy that you can´t indict a sitting president! It´s clear that this is the begginning of the investigation and not the end. Democrat´s must get the full unredacted report and start impeachment proceedings. Not doing so continues to perpetuate the lawlessness, corrupt and illegitimate Presidency of DJT putting the USA and it´s citizens at risk.
5
The creepy cult of personality around this man is something I hope someone can explain to me. I don't get it. I don't get him. Maybe when you have no soul it is difficult to be damaged by your shameful acts. Perhaps the flavor of kool-aid the GOP is drinking is "Absence of Shame".
13
Barr was hired for one purpose only and he delivered
It shows that whole system could be compromised with a will of just one person if cult of personality and not rule of laws is propagated into the masses
How about vetting all presidential candidates in advance by CIA FBI IRS? Making all interviews and records public 6 months prior to elections a must for any candidate so its out in the open from a start
2
Only lies, lies & more lies! Except for the ineptitude & stupidity......sad.
3
Despite not having enough evidence for recommending charges this report is VERY Damning for the president. The AG should ashamed for the summary that was issued and if Republicans want to save face they should recommend impeachment. Its about time we had a president who has a respect for the laws and acted ethically, something Mike Pence seems to exhibit.
3
Note to DJ Trump: You think you're F'd ?
How do you think the rest of us feel ?
15
Guilty as hell but Mueller couldn't find enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt and under the rules of DOJ, he couldn't indict him anyway. Trump is innocent the way OJ was innocent.
9
As much as I'd hoped to learn some new, damaging trinket of information, so far, this all seems a rehash of the past two years. Not that there is nothing damaging. It's just that the slow tide of information has made the high office's malfeasance as tolerable as a methane leak. There may yet follow an igniting agent. But more likely, we will choke on the fumes produced by this President's bastardized vision of American life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
4
More like the opposite. There is so much methane it can’t ignite. Not enough oxygen as they pump more poison gas in to keep it from exploding.
1
I was pleased to see in Peter Baker’s summary that when Trump confronted Jeff Sessions over the hiring of Robert Mueller III, the NYT editors chose to leave the exact word ‘unredacted’ of Trump’s response:
“ I’m F**#*d”. I had to redact here to have it published but bravo to Baker and editors to give a fuller meaning.
6
I must be missing something.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm f***ed." are not the words of an innocent man.
10
So true. If the right wonders how the media has gotten caught up in this circus all they need to look at is Trump’s own behavior.
Trump by his own words knew exactly what would be revealed about his actions and his own warped pathological behavior.
"When he learned of Mr. Mueller’s appointment, he slumped in his chair and said, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m fucked.”'s
Yes, Mr. Trump. You are indeed. By your own words and deeds.
Your resignation should be immediate.
7
@Jay Seems like it's the entire reason for the presser prior to release.
2
Redacted Mueller Report, Vol. II, page 52:
“The week after Corney's briefing, the White House Counsel's Office was in contact with SSCI Chairman Senator Richard Burr about the Russia investigations and appears to have received information about the status of the FBI investigation. [foonote 309]”
Footnote 309:
309 Donaldson 11 /6/ 17302, at 14- 15. On March 16,201 7, the White House Counsel's Office was briefed by Senator Burr on the existence of "4-5 targets." Donaldson 1116/ 17302, at IS. The "targets" were identified in notes taken by Donaldson as "Flynn (FBI was . . . for phone records"; "Comey->Manafort (Ukr + Russia, not campaign)"; "Carter Page ($ game)"; and "Greek Guy" (potentially referring to George with violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for lying to the FBI). SC_AD 00198 (Donaldson 3/ 16117 Notes). Donaldson and McGahn both said they believed these were targets of SSCI. … see also Donaldson 11 /6/17 302, at 15 (Donaldson could not rule out that Burr had told McGahn those individuals were the FBI's targets).
So Special Counsel Mueller states that Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is a flunky for Donald Trump, just as Rep. Devin Nunes is a funky for Trump.
They swore to uphold and defend the US Constitution, but they seem to be “upholding and defending” a man who was and is under investigation, and knowingly and deliberately obstructing that investigation.
Both of them should resign forthwith.
4
Trump is correct that Whitewater and Benghazi investigations should have never happened, and that the Hilary email conclusion should be final, he is such a lying partisan that he acts like he has been wronged but investigations of his opponents is OK.
What a hypocrite!
5
The fact that it isn't a Big Mac doesn't mean it's a nothingburger.
5
An extremely low Barr, indeed.
7
Robert Mueller cannot prove that Donald Trump is a criminal. He is only an crook.
Does that meet your standards for a U.S. President?
6
Mueller did not clear Trump; Barr did.
9
I agree with the first part, but not the second (on Ivanka):
"I expect the Democrats to put forward an un-electable candidate who is too far left for white Americans (who vote the most) and Trump will be re-elected and then Ivanka in 2024."
Much can change between now and November 2020, but it's clear to me that Trump would win easily if the election were held tomorrow. I seriously doubt Ivanka has any plan to run, or ever will. I expect the Democratic candidate will win in 2024. Possibly the Democratic candidate could win in 2020 too, but the DP appears to have conceded the 2020 election to Trump.
Psst. [whispering] Is it just me or did Mr. Mueller forget to subpoena and question under oath one of the main figures supposed to be investigated?
5
Maybe not "rising to criminal" Russia collusion but definitely unethical and sleazy behavior.
As far as obstruction of Justice, He was not exonerated. Even if it wasn't criminal although it may have been, it was obviously abuse of power.
Impeach.
3
The night is still very green. Let's see what the Congress will do to unmask Trump's secret ties with Russia.
3
The foundation for all clear thinking about the term of Donald Trump is that a group of traitors to their country, most assuredly including Trump, aided and abetted the act of war Russia committed against our nation - and will apparently get away with it. The person writing this cannot begin to express the shame he feels for a country that has obviously turned the corner into political anarchy.
7
I realize there are political reasons to punt on impeaching Trump. I get it. But it's time to take a stand against the President's actions. Impeach him.
9
"No collusion" = "No successful collusion, even though we tried"
"No obstruction" = "No one can say I obstructed because the president is basically above the law"
"Witch Hunt" = "How dare they investigate how I was influenced by and receptive of a hostile foreign power"
So to everyone who is inclined to call this a "nothingburger" or "witch hunt," please take some time out and read the report for yourself. Not just media headlines or the punchy, memorable (and misleading) catchphrases our president uses to drive the narrative.
10
This is a report focused on the proven Russian attempts to sway the election both against Clinton and for Trump. It was not Mueller's job to determine if Trump's action rise to the level he should be removed from office. That is the job of congress.
Fortunately, congress already has the wise assistance of Lindsey Graham. “You don’t even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job (as president) in this constitutional republic if this body [Congress] determines that your conduct as a public official is clearly out of bounds in your role . . . because impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office.”
9
The refusal of the Senate to impeach renders the Constitution a dead letter.
Articles of Confederation 1777-1789
Constitution 1789-2017
Idiocracy 2017-2021...
4
In 2016, Mrs.. Clinton had an email issue that should have been referred to the help desk, and was instead depicted as a person of abject criminality. There is more than enough here for the Democratic nominee to return the favor in 2020.
4
I'm hoping that house democrats continue to investigate, investigate, and then investigate some more. That will keep them busy working on things that will have no result and away from the typical bad legislation and policy that they could be enacting otherwise. In the meantime I will be enjoying a fabulous economy with the bad old days of Obama's inept economic and foreign policies in the rear view mirror. Hasta la vista!
Let's not forget about the 11 indicted Russian hackers and the businessman and close friend of Putin who was given polling data. None of them could be interviewed by Mueller about why they did what they did and for whom.
5
The headlines should read: Mueller finds lots of evidence of Trump's obstruction of justice and recommends the House investigate.
Shame on this newspaper for giving the far right spin that the Mueller report said anything other than the above on the question of obstruction.
8
I agree.
2
Dear NYT, please consider the following POV outlined today by one of your articles. "While the report does not find that the president or his campaign aides had committed any crimes in their contacts with Russians, it lays bare how Mr. Trump was elected with the help of a foreign power." As a Bernie Sanders supporter I find this a bridge too far. The reason he was elected President is because Hillary forgot to go Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania tradition DEM strongholds. I hope in 2020 the NYT does a better job of election coverage and understands the issues west of the Hudson.
1
@Just 4 Play Hillary “forgot to go to Pennsylvania” except for the 25+ campaign events she held there.
Good thing lying (and lying about lying) is perfectly legal, otherwise Mr. Trump would get the electric chair.
6
Like Capone, get him on the simple; tax and insurance fraud.
7
There is very clearly more than ample basis here for the House of Representatives to conduct hearings to in order to consider impeachment on the grounds of obstruction of justice and related "high crimes and misdemeanors."
It is absolutely clear that Mueller (correctly) believed it to be beyond his own powers to bring such charges, but also, contrary to Barr, that he did not absolve the President of such charges. Rather, he understood the question to be a matter for "Congress and the courts."
It is certainly true that at the present moment it is difficult to see the Republican Senate voting to remove Trump from office. This, however, does not lift the Houses's responsibility to properly investigate the pattern of presidential obstruction of justice that is so apparent in even the redacted version of this report.
The House must act now by considering a motion to impeach, subpoenaing the full unredacted report, and then subpoenaing the president himself to do what Mueller was never able to make him do, namely to testify under oath.
14
Seems like a lot of what was left unclear or inconclusive in Mr. Mueller's report would have been at least somewhat resolved had the Special Counsel been able to interview the President. This is the biggest lost opportunity in the entire investigation: Having Mr. Trump testify under oath. Instead, he was allowed to submit written answers that the report characterized as "inadequate." Without this key testimony, there are a lot of fundamental questions left unanswered.
8
One of the long-held tenets of the last couple of years was that Mueller's investigation was tight as a drum and they held secrets that no one else knew. It turns out not so much. In fact, all the material information in the report thus far was already leaked, reported on, discussed, and re-hashed. Very little new in here which tells me that the investigation was the opposite of a well-run, tight ship and the steady flow of revelations over the past years actually helped to numb us all to the outrageous facts and details in this case. Like Barr's slow trickle of the report's conclusions and his partisan efforts to cushion any blow by framing the no collusion/no obstruction in an unprecedented press conference, this slow burn of the Mueller investigation ultimately helped shore up Trump's corrupt presidency. Thanks for nothing.
4
The odd change of attitude has occurred. Prior to the Mueller Report and Barr's almost 4 page summary, I rarely read a pro-Trump endorsing comment. But since the gist of those documents have been favorable and supportive of the president and his various actions (or a lack thereof, allegedly) Trump supporters have been coming out of the woodwork, in strong support of their guy.
This entire scenario will only add fuel to the Trump re-election campaign. I have no doubt that many Republicans believe that Trump truly can walk on water.
3
Towards the end of the report, most of Trump's written answers to Mueller's questions begin with, "I have no recollection...", "I don't recall..", "I don't remember...".
He also didn't completely answer many of the questions.
Trump should have been subpoenaed to testify. No one is above the law.
13
Agreed
1
This understates what Mueller and his team have accomplished here:
"[At] long last we know what Robert S. Mueller III has been doing for the last 2 years. Answer? Nothing. He's served up a great, big, 400-page nothingburger of a report. There is nothing criminal in what he found."
The "Mueller Report" is a lot blander than I'd expected. I was surprised, for example, by how much Mueller relied simply on news reports (especially in Volume 2, which focused on the "obstruction of justice" allegation). I'd expected more independent investigation from Mueller, not simply regurgitation of news accounts I'd read long ago.
On the other hand, I'm glad Mueller and his people conducted this investigation. If Trump had conspired with the Russians, or obstructed justice, I'd want to know and would want Trump to be tarred and feathered. I think most Americans agree.
True, some Americans want Trump to be tarred and feathered no matter what, but I think that group is in the minority. Most Americans wanted that only if actual evidence of wrongdoing was found.
Whether Trump's reported efforts to obstruct justice support an OOJ charge against Trump (or anyone else) will be debated for quite some time. Many Americans sincerely believe Trump is guilty of OOJ based on what's already been reported (and not effectively disputed). I tend to agree with Barr and Rosenstein on that: No. Mueller expressed no opinion either way. Reasonable minds can and will differ on that question.
1
This was a pass/fail test, and Trump passed on collusion but failed on obstruction. For in deciding not to make a traditional prosecutorial decision, Mueller decided to limit himself to two findings: exonerate (close to "not guilty") or not exonerate (which ranges from unprovable to "guilty"). He did not exonerate. That's the most negative finding about Trump Mueller allowed himself.
Mueller also suggests on page 7 of volume 2 that Trump's motive changed during the course of the probe and became more clearly one of intent to obstruct justice (rather than to avoid political embarassment or the like). This suggests that Mueller would have charged obstruction on Trump's latter actions, even if not on some of his earlier ones, had he not disallowed that from the get-go.
Of course because Mueller ruled out offering "guilty" as a verdict, one must study the obstruction part of the report to see whether the correct conclusion is "guilty" or "can't be proven." Barr quickly and predictably decided on "can't be proven," but he isn't very credible. And any suggestion that *Mueller* did not find enough evidence to prosecute is simply false: Muller did not allow himself to make that judgement.
7
I haven't finished reading the entire report yet. I'll have to finish tonight or tomorrow. But one thing that seems to stick out, in my opinion, is that Mueller doesn't exonerate Trump on coordination, as well as obstruction.
I worked as a legal assistant at a prosecutor's office for 8 years, handling felony and capital crimes. Proving a person's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is really hard. And while it shouldn't matter, wealthy people are more difficult to convict that your average nobody. Because they have access to better lawyers, experts, their own forensics, etc.
For example, how would we be able to find an impartial jury? Is there anyone that doesn't already know a substantial amount of information about this case and doesn't already has an opinion? I'm pretty confident that Mueller intended Congress to make a decision based on his report.
I could be full of it... but that's how it reads to me so far.
10
At the very least, I hope the RNC will come to the conclusion that Trump is not the person to run on their ticket in 2020. Is he really the person they to be the face of the party?
10
Just one sentence in the report says it all: the quotation of Trump stating, "My presidency is over" when a special prosecutor was appointed. An innocent man doesn't say that. So, all Republicans who've said to move on in their comments here, that's why we can't.
11
@Ken grant
Nonsense. Let's say you were a stockbroker, trusted to manage the life/college/retirement savings of your clients. The SEC calls you up and say that tomorrow it will publicly announce that you are being investigated for insider trading, fraud and embezzlement. You know you didn't do it, and that you are innocent. But it doesn't really matter, because once that announcement is public, your career is over.
2
Of course.
Your comparison doesn’t work because the broker has to worry about his reputation to continue his business. The president had just been guaranteed 4 years of being in business. Trump’s exclamation was a sign of guilt, and only one of many. The others were all of the actions he took to obstruct the investigation. An innocent man would say, “go ahead: I’ve done nothing wrong. My life’s an open book.”
Did Barr or Mueller support this commenter?
"This [Mueller] report does not exonerate Trump no matter how much or how many times he declares there was no collusion or obstruction of justice."
Neither Mueller nor Barr nor Rosenstein has ever said that Trump didn't collude with the Russians or obstruct justice. All they've said is that (1) Mueller found no evidence of collusion; and (2) whatever evidence of OOJ there may be (Mueller and Barr just mentioned news reports -- Mueller didn't report anything new), it wasn't enough to charge Trump or anyone else with OOJ.
Mueller didn't report any OOJ evidence other than what we'd already heard. Barr didn't say Trump had or had not obstructed justice, and he emphasized that Mueller has never taken a position on that question either. Barr reported that Mueller had not recommended that anyone be charged, but he also reported that Mueller had not exonerated Trump (or anyone else). Barr added, however, Mueller's confirmation that his "no charge" conclusion on the OOJ claim didn't depend on the "official" DOJ position that a sitting President may not be indicted.
Barr said he'd give Congress the Mueller report with no redactions under 3 of Barr's 4 categories (only "grand jury" redactions). We don't know whether that will satisfy Congress.
Not bad for Trump, and consistent with Barr's summary.
This is the current American tragedy. People from all corners too eager to jump to conclusion and defend their fellow party men without proper understanding or proper information.
The report never formerly exonerate the President. It states repeatedly that it was difficult to make that conclusion because they were investigating the sitting president.
Here is the simple question that will be discussed for generations to come: If the president didn't do anything wrong, why didn't he cooperate with the special counsel on the day he was appointed and clear everything out?
7
We know that answer. He’s a crook based in the testimony of the people that worked for him.
Trump's supporters would be responding the same even if there was evidence of obstruction. They cheer everything he does, even when it's questionable. They don't care in the slightest about ethics or integrity. Mueller wrote that there were "difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred." For most Americans, that is not exoneration. For Republicans, it's close enough.
9
Maybe this will help:
"I'd like to be buoyed by the one statement by a conservative in support of the obviously corrupt Trump administration..."
I don't know anyone who thinks Trump is not a boor (though I don't think he's committed any crimes). Consider the alternative voters were offered: Hillary Clinton, who voted for the Iraq war and fervently supported open borders. Trump has disappointed me and many other Americans on the national-debt issue, but I have no doubt that HRC would have been even worse on that.
It took a very long while to get used to the idea that Trump would actually become the US President. But most Americans have accepted that. Some still don't, but they should. Another election is coming right up, and that should be their focus, not impeachment.
1
@MyFourCents
Why would anyone want to impeach Trump when the alternative—Mike Pence as president—would be so much worse?!
1
The content of the Mueller report directly contradict Barr's statement at this morning's press conference that Mueller's decision to not pursue an obstruction of justice case was NOT based upon the Justice Department's policy against indicting a sitting President. Indeed, this policy WAS explicitly cited in the report. In the Introduction to Volume II (at pages 1-2), paragraphs First and Third. "[T]his Office accepted OLC's legal conclusion for the purposes of exercising prosecutorial jurisdiction. ... [w]e recognize that a federal criminal accusation against a sitting President would place burdens on the President's capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional processes for addressing presidential misconduct." (i.e., Congress's impeachment authority). And, "Fairness concerns counseled against potentially reaching that judgment [a federal criminal offense] when no charges can be brought."
Where's the outrage at Barr??
8
Trump didn’t have to release the report at all. His decision to do so was a political one which puts it in the same category as all his other disputed actions as set forth in Mueller’s report. None of it amounts to obstruction. It is only defensive in nature in response to the attempts of Democrats to smear him and destroy his presidency. It’s all political and just business as usual in the end and amounts to nothing. The Democrats will still try to make hay of it but their priorities will soon change when the spotlight is turned on them.
1
@Edward
It was not up to Trump whether to release the report or not. He did not make that decision. The AG did.
8
@Edward
Please read the report first and analyze your comment "None of it amounts to obstruction" in the context of what Mr. Muller said.
1
Since when did not succeeding in committing a crime become an unpunishable offense? If I try to rob a bank, or try to murder someone, I'll get prosecuted. It's appalling to me that he tried to obstruct justice SEVERAL times, but apparently that's a perfectly legal thing to do.
9
From the article:
While the report does not find that the president or his campaign aides had committed any crimes in their contacts with Russians, it lays bare how Mr. Trump was elected with the help of a foreign power. When a federal inquiry was started to investigate the Russian effort, he took numerous steps to try to undermine it.
Do Trumpists never read?
How can anyone with an ounce of integrity and decency not find this troubling?
13
We now know that a Russian operative informed Coron that there were compromising tapes that may be fake. Those tapes could very well be the underlying reason for trumps assertions that Putin‘s statements are all true even when contradicted by our intelligence agencies.
1
As a jury can say in Scotland, 'Not proven'. Not enough to prove guilt beyond doubt, but definitely not innocent. Trump's guilt is just not proven. Yet.
8
I can’t help but wonder if Robert Mueller was blindsided by Barr's disrespectful treatment of the report that he and his team compiled in their two-year investigation. I also wonder how much of a threat Barr represents to the peripheral investigations that Mueller transferred to other jurisdictions. My guess is that Barr is a substantial threat.
7
I've seen nary a word about trump's banking records. Let's keep in mind that *if* Mueller respected trump's "red line" over his finances, then he didn't do his job.
2
The only surprise to me is the narrow scope of the Mueller investigation. I hope some thought is being given to the wider picture. Financial crimes in New York. Also, the Russians seemed competent enough at achieving their goal of disrupting our elections, so they didn't need the Trump campaign's agreement before starting or during the election. So sure, 'No collision,' President Trump. You are simply a tool working against the United States. To the degree this subversion in support of Trump was or was not covert reflects two things: how successful they thought they'd be and how much they truly care about Donald Trump. Based on past KGB/GRU/NKVD practices, Trump seems to be considered completely expendable.
I also think too much emphasis has been placed on the Mueller Report. It is important but it is hardly the entire spectrum of criminality in this administration. Deutsche Bank has a sordid reputation and Trump has lied about connections to the bank, to Russian investors.... In Watergate the movie All the President's Men fictionally summed up the trail of the President's crimes: "Follow the money." (Bernstein and Woodward have both said they'd wished they'd come up with the line because that's what they did.) In this situation the trail might be Follow the lies, follow the denials, follow the spontaneous outrage.
1
It is possible Mr. Mueller has saved the Republic.
His choice to defer prosecution to Congress is inspired.
I am personally grateful for his service.
3
Some of us knew Trump would get away with it. He's that kind of guy and the Republicans are that kind of party. I expect the Democrats to put forward an un-electable candidate who is too far left for white Americans (who vote the most) and Trump will be re-elected and then Ivanka in 2024. Woe is us.
2
"Total exoneration" according to Very Stable Genius:
Vol. II, Page 75: "Substantial evidence indicates that the catalyst for the president’s decision to fire Comey was Comey’s unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation, despite the president’s repeated requests that Comey make such an announcement."
When the petri dish is Donald J. Trump, there is no leap from "catalyst" to "reaction". Impulsive paranoid flashes REACT on a whiff of Comey stonewalling.
3
Clearly nothing short of a notarized contract signed by both Trump and Putin would have convinced these people to take action because they got everything else.
5
So, unlike the endless investigations into Hillary the investigation of Trump uncovered evidence of a crime even if Mueller wanted to leave it up to Congress to pursue charges.
Lock Him Up!
9
Trump's belief on May 17, 2017 that this was the "end of his presidency" shows pretty clearly he knew he was guilty. Would that he had been, for once in his life, correct. Instead he got away with it.
9
Context: So next time I’m pulled over for speeding doing say 55 in a 30 zone I can say to the officer (likely wearing a body cam and possessing a radar gun)
“Oh this is terrible. You are going to take my license aren’t you?! I am f***ed!”
And I’ll drive off with a warning.
Got it!
(I just love what we are teaching our kids!)
12
If Barr didn’t replace the acting Attorney General (forgot the guys name already), and it was Rod Rosenstein receiving Mueller’s report, would things have turned out differently? Would Rod Rosenstein’s summary of Mueller’s report been different?
It’s an academic question now, but....?
1
"There goes my Presidency. I'm f*****".
Regardless of Mueller's understandable waffling on obstruction and lack of conclusive evidence of collusion - a bunch of Russian indictees will never be heard from - Trump's quote above, the continual unexplained lying by Flynn, Manafort and others with Russian contacts and, of course, Trump's lies upon lies on the subject tells us all we need to know. Lack of conclusive evidence with proof beyond reasonable doubt. is hardly evidence of lack. In an impeachment hearing "the preponderance of evidence" rules.
Too bad the Senate would protect him in an impeachment trial....
5
Unfortunately trump's base gets it's information from the summaries of "news" networks. Reading would be so much more beneficial
2
@ Ann Dempsey,
You mean CNN, MSNBC no thanks, keep insulting your fellow Americans , ignorance is bliss.
3
House file Articles for Presidential Impeachment and ‘others’. Let The Senate proceed with public trial(s) to acquit or remove ‘some persons’ from public offices. Do the Constitutional process as Ordered and establish the Public’s Record in this matter. That’s the legal and righteous way to resolve our Federal Government crisis! If the ‘House’ fails to Do Their Duty than sadly all U.S. Citizens can only be left with one conclusion. The USA is governed by fraudulent actors!
This is about The Republic and democracy but not partisanship. We have gotten to this point because Federal Officials have neglected and ignored basic Constitutional laws and principles.
5
The latter half of this statement by the Times is misleading and then repeated in your other article: "This made building a case more difficult because Mr. Trump had the authority as president to take many of the actions that were scrutinized."
The report clarifies that many of the actions were FACIALLY legal but analysis reveals that most of the examined actions appear to meet the standards for obstructing justice.
4
Come 2020 the American voters will remember the millions of dollars the Democrats cost the taxpayers for this farce because they could not accept that Clinton lost. Keep America Great--vote for President Trump in 2020.
2
@Jonathan
Hope you're sitting down for this... Clinton won by 3 million votes. Uncovering the crimes that Trump committed is not a waste of money and never will be.
7
@Jonathan, I would vote for my dog at this point over Trump. You may be fine with a liar and crook in office, but most of us aren't.
4
@Jonathan
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller, not "the Democrats".
And WHAT did Trump's personal lawyers tell Mueller ABOUT WHY Trump fired Comey?
29 Jan 2018, Letter to Mueller from Counsel to the Pr beesident (Dowd and Sekulow): Reading the entire interview (with Lestor Holt, 11 May 2017), the fair reading of the President’s remarks demonstrates that the President:
1. Fired Mr. Comey for incompetence;
2. Knew.. the firing.. would not terminate (investigation);
3. Demonstrated.. he was not concerned about the continuation..; and
4. Made it clear that he was willing, even expecting, to let the investigation take more time..
That's right! As his defense for admitting to firing Comey over "Russia thing", Trump claimed that he KNEW the firing WOULD LENGTHEN THE INVESTIGATION. That tied-in nicely when Trump's lawyers kept Mueller from interviewing Trump. Then, they stalled 10 months to submit Trump's written answers.
Are you going to blame Democrats, also, for Trump disagreeing with every intelligence agency citing Russian meddling in 2018 elections?
2
Barr is lying about his desire for the job. It’s obvious now that he was contacted simply for the fact they did not want to indict a sitting president. Someone talked to him about this and recommended him.
Very obvious in fact they didn’t want to indict him. Congress needs to get Barr under oath again and ask him if he had any contact, was recommended in any way to go for the AG position. Did someone around him recommend it?
We need to know the details. I don’t believe for a second now with the report that he wasn’t requested for this role in some way by someone. Who helped maneuver him here?
He is a total shoe in to go along with the concept of not indicting a sitting president needed for this report.
Something happened. It is obvious he was hand picked for this role.
2
Barr is angling for a Supreme Court seat....he has “friends” in the “right” places.
2
Anyone who thinks that contacting Russians and exhorting them to help in an election isn't treason must be in a trance. If any other person in history collaborated with a foreign enemy as much as Trump and his cohorts have they would be in jail at the least.
Why, for instance, does Trump publicly believe Putin over our own intelligence agencies?
This is far from over - the GOP is a party that needs to decide if it is more important to be an ally to Trump or an American patriot.
5
Has anyone paused to consider that Mueller figures one or more of the other investigations will bring Trump and co. down?
3
No smoking gun! But then, most of us don’t have to see the perp with gun in hand to evaluate the situation. Especially in Trump’s case.
2
It's difficult to understand America.
Trump is a huge risk for your country. What is so special about him that makes Republicans defending him tooth and nail !?
My impression is that, him replaced with any other Republican candidate , the whole America would breath a sigh of relief. What has prevented them from doing it?
6
@Marco stacking the courts and reversing Roe v Wade. The republicans have their Trojan horse and are complicit beyond belief.
3
@ Marco from Canada:
The number 1 national security risk to America is corruption.
Congress is corrupt, the media is corrupt.
Just last month former President Obama was quoted Americans don’t receive the news what really go on around world.
1
@Independent voter - President Obama was correct. Thanks for proving his point.
What our Republican elected officials -- and their constituents -- seem to be saying is that this is a white man's country, and we will happily tolerate mind numbing levels of political corruption without much more than a shrug, so long as our guy holds the reins of power and does so unapologetically in the interests of white patriarchy.
I think history will show that the American experiment in democracy began to unravel the day Obama was elected. These people, when facing a choice between sharing power in a democratic society or continuing to dominate a totalitarian one, have clearly taken the latter choice.
5
The bottom line is no collusion, no evidence at all. In addition the basis for the investigation, the Steele dossier was a total fake.
Thinking Americans will realize that an investigation based on lies cannot in fairness be obstructed.
4
@jaco
Brilliant. It's been so simple all along :)
Sure would be nice for Congress to subpoena Mueller to testify on this quagmire.
5
The comments here are as interesting as the article, and as depressing. I'd like to be buoyed by the one statement by a conservative in support of the obviously corrupt Trump administration, but it's too hard to ignore those who think the Mueller report was a waste of time and money. I don't know how anyone can read this and not see Trump's behavior as double-dealing and fraudulent.
7
Again...a Barr summary without Mueller present. How many Judas's does Trump need to cover of the meat of the story..Answer only one. Where's the entire report. The Judicial Court of D.C. must review the entire report under the FOIA. Did Mueller not issue a conclusion because he was told to end his investigation and the investigation wasn't finished. Why didn't Mueller go to the courts to request all of it be released to Congress who have security clearances.
Barr is known for this kind of thing. There's more meat to the story. Yes there was collusion, yes there is corruption and yes there are strong reasons for impeachment, even now and yes Barr just committed "aiding and abetting a criminal" and interfering with a criminal investigation.
Redacted Means "the truth will be hidden" and it is being stuffed in the back of the file as fast as it can be.
Congress should continue its investigations into Trumps finances and its direct correlation with Russian banks and Russian hotels and now Russia's involvement in Venezula..courtesy of Trump.
3
What about his taxes, why arent these revealed?
6
@Most Trump's income tax forms will tell the real story. Why else wouldn't he release them? And what about those private meetings with Putin, especially the 2 hour one in Helsinki where he publicly praised Putin. Trump wouldn't even allow the translator notes to be released.
5
This process suffered from the overhype and media speculation over the past 2 years to deal with the 2016 election. After reading the report, I know that certain members of the media and partisans will continue to press for obstruction re: impeachment. Fine, but I think a better use of energy and resources(and one who is tired of seeing Trump's name on the front page of the NYT) is to move on and report on issues that affect all of us- housing, healthcare, the economy, jobs etc...
3
Not sure how republicans/Trump supporters can feel happy knowing that 14 criminal cases and piles of indictments of Trump's inner circle, campaign, and business people etc. Not to mention a naive or tacit desire to take Russian info for the purposes of winning an election or preserving business deals (legal or not). Seems Trump has his own swamp that he brought with him. Really, his actions may not be overtly illegal as defined by this investigation, but it defies logic how Trump supporters can feel happy knowing the depth of poor judgement, lies, intent to obstruct, cronyism, and abject cynicism Trump displayed. Unless, after all, they don't actually care about honor, truth, honest dealing, American values.
7
The normal voter left this story when Mr. Mueller finally wound down his investigation. No one cares about this except those in the echo chamber. Democrats who cannot let this go are only making themselves look foolish. I don’t have to like it but its time to put this away and beat Trump on policies of inclusion vs. exclusion.
5
"I can not tell a lie." George Washington. "Telling the truth is for the suckers." Donald ("bone spurs") Trump.
4
Trump said the appointment of Mueller meant the end of his presidency. Only a guilty man would have had such a response. The toad Barr may have delayed the inevitable, but trump will eventually pay for his many crimes.
7
“It ain’t over until it’s over.” Multiple criminal investigations which the public knows nothing or very little about are proceeding apace. Trump and Co. are most prematurely spiking the ball. The reveals of corruption and criminality in Trump World are far from over.
3
File the full, unredacted Mueller investigative report on the same shelf that houses the files containing the truth behind the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in the 1960s. Material of consequence so incendiary it can never be disclosed at any conceivable future date.
Barr thinks Trump had no "corrupt intent"? Well, he also believes Trump has a health care plan. So much for what Barr believes.
4
A lesson from History. At its height an empire becomes too greedy, corrupted, loses loyalty o patriotism. Another power employs it smartly through a greedy, corrupted traitor, and it starts sliding downhill.
3
Mr. Mueller did not pass judgement on obstruction of justice because of "fairness problems." Reading the comments, apparently that's not an issue for the core readership.
A sub-headline in this NYT article states:
"The [Mueller] report indicates that Michael D. Cohen never traveled to Prague to meet with Russians."
Didn't John Brennan state just the opposite when he was the CIA director? (Answer: Yes.)
Shouldn't someone ask Brennan why he said that? Did Mueller ever ask him?
2
The only response to even the incomplete Mueller report:
Impeach.
3
The fact that our President cannot be interviewed under oath because everyone questions his veracity reflects very poorly on the United States and our citizens.
6
The 20 Mueller team borax train that for two years have promised to clean up any and all grimy fingers poking in and around our American pie.
All you Republicans thinking he is vindicated - this report makes clear he was the Russians' choice. He may not have been smart enough to collude, or he may have been smart enough to know he didn't have to, but it doesn't matter - he is the candidate that the Russians thought was best for them. Why does that not trouble you? Where is your patriotism now?
6
I would be asking every GOP (and DEM I suppose) candidate and serving Congressman/Senator whether they or their staff or representatives have been carrying on back-channel conversations with Wikileaks, the Russians, the Chinese, the N. Koreans, ... in keeping with the behavior of the POTUS and his team.
3
The Don wanted an Attorney General who would personally protect him and sure enough, someone came sought out the job, to do his best to protect The Don and his "Family". Did you say his name is Barr or something? Welcome to the corrupt clan, Barr!
1
Can children be prosecuted as adults for criminal acts?
I hope so. Because that'll mean Trump can be.
3
I bet if Clinton had done what Trump has done she would have been impeached months ago.
3
Total nothing burger! Wow what a disappointment!! I feel I have been LIED TO by the MEDIA!!!
1
Trump cleared a very low Barr.
In the past 2 to 3 weeks the number of pro-Trump/Deep State-like conspiracy comments on NY Times stories has grown significantly. Most of these comments are fact-free, citing supposed cover ups during the Obama administration, etc.
These comments are more along the lines of what you read on Fox News, rather than representing a regular theme on NY Times comments sections. That's why it appears somewhat suspicious (though I could be wrong).
I only hope that the NY Times is not itself facing a social media disinformation campaign by Russians or whomever. These are divisive times, the Mueller report is clearly a divisive topic, but this kind of fact-free thinking and inflammatory rhetoric is distinctly unusual for NY Times subscribers.
Strange times.
5
Imagine if Obama had a crew around him who had multiple proven contacts with the Russians- a hostile power. Imagine if Obama was individual number one and an un-indicted coconspirator who told proven flagrant lies from airforce 1.
Airforce 1/ individual 1. The Birther conspiracy was the real hoax. DJT never apologised for that. Now lets see when did he ever actually apologise? Oh that's right he sort of half apologised for boasting about groping some women.
Don't forget this thing was redacted. Nobody not even his cronies and supporters thinks President DJT is an upright decent person. Ask Karen, Stephanie and Melania
2
The Rat wiggles and evades, but something will catch him. For he remains a rat, even if he committed no crimes.
Meanwhile, The Little Rocket Man knows how to bait a rat. Just wait for it, and maybe, just maybe, we'll be rid of this parasite who has so wrecked progress on the environment, women's rights, immigration reform, and so much more.
2
With so much about fake news, it would be great if the Times would go back and compare the fake news claims against the facts in the Mueller report.
2
Trump only won the election with the help of Putin's troll army. That means he is an illegitimate president who should be removed. The election was seriously corrupted by cheating so the results are invalid.
1
I love the tin hatter reaction to this report ... Woo Hoo ! Innocent ! In your face ! maga !!
2
Many Democrats, myself included, were hopeful that the Mueller Report would produce a smoking gun, but all that it has produced unfortunately is smoke.
Either Donald Trump has been lucky enough to dance on the knife-edge of obstruction purposefully (a brilliance that I do not suspect he possesses since he does not have a daunting intellect), or he is the most ignorant man ever to occupy the Oval Office.
Why did he say he was ***ed and that his presidency was over when Mueller was appointed? Why did he order McGahn to fire Mueller? If there was "no collusion" what was he so afraid of?
And how can the fact that he refused to be interviewed under oath not be prominently at the top of the list of suspicions? It's impossible to gauge the mindful intent of any person unless they submit to questioning.
Time to move on. We need to ensure Trump is resoundingly defeated in two years' time. Time to move on.
12
Trump continually misrepresents in order to project an image of a highly successful person. He is able to make people believe in his fiction and ignore reality. The only way to stop this is to make all aware of the facts and of his misrepresentations. Trump succeeds where his lies are not revealed.
3
@Len
He needs to be impeached, he needs to be brought before Congress to testify, and we need to pursue the other litigation that has been filed against him so that the entire GOP can be exposed while they give this criminal a pass - and - in addition, so that we can read the report in its entirety.
What bearing will his impeachment have on the election?
We might end up with a better informed electorate.
2
Something to bear in mind is the section that confirms 14 criminal referrals have been made to the NYS Attorney General's Office, and the details of only two of those 14 are public knowledge.
That's a lot for criminal activity surrounding the President that has yet to come to light, and we'll continue to learn more over the coming months/years.
This report marks an end to the core Mueller investigation, but confirms that Trump and his associates are not out of the woods yet.
1
Can’t say that Trump didn’t want Russian assistance, especially with building a Moscow Trump Tower. But more a case of Trump et all being too inept to successfully collude.
4
and so we've reached a point where 40% of the American electorate is unfazed by our chief executive's criminal activity, where a U.S. attorney general openly works as a puppet of a sitting president, and the public tolerance for budding totalitarianism outweighs any sense of morality---can this ever be reversed?
13
Yes. It will be corrected the day a Democrat gets back in the Whitehouse. Republicans will again care about the dignity of the office and the deficit.
2
@ann dempsey
The jaded masses got their country back.
So Trump acted like a typical crime boss: he made sure that any evidence of criminal conduct would not stand up in court because he tended to communicate in one-to-one meetings with a wink and a nod. He's a dirty Don in both senses of the word.
Well, I'm not sure there's enough to impeach, and Democrats need to focus on their program and the welfare of the average person—on health care, including the ACA, securing Medicare and Medcaid, on stagnant wages, on bolstering Social Security, on very disappointing tax reform that yielded small or no refunds, and a small slice went to the middle class while the wealthy received almost the whole pie.
But keep the Dirty Don's behavior, as revealed in this report, constantly in the public eye. The man's a privateer, out to enrich himself and his family at the expense of the American people.
12
Perhaps Animal Farm was the only book he read in high school. God knows it’s short enough. Enough Jr could get through it although I suspect the family might think talking pigs were little more than a spin off of Babe.
2
Well well well, I can finally say this with confidence: The president is a crook! But it gets worse, so is the guy trusted with Justice. On the other hand, we already knew that when Barr volunteered a 19 page memo essentially saying Article II precludes criminal intent. It reminds me another of 2nd something that many citizens claim precludes *any* regulation.
But the thing with ALL 'crookery' is that the crooked line of actions do eventually and naturally engulf the perpetrator. So, don't lose hope folks but the wait for justice in this case is gonna be a little longer than we thought.
5
How much bad stuff can you do before you must leave? Who is the better patriotic American, trump, who hugs the flag, lies, and cages children, or Congress, who would like to protect the country from foreign influence in our elections?
4
Yes, Trump is a less than desirable “character” to say the least. A grifter and a sleaze bag is probably more accurate. I think that is pretty obvious even to most of his supporters. Muller pretty much confirms that with the report but wisely does not short circuit what must be done by the public .... vote him out. The Democrats must now get together and compromise (oh the horror!) to put forth a candidate that came win. They may find that you don’t always get what you want, but you just might find that you get what you need.
4
Vol I of the report: trump did not conspire with the russians to use stolen information to win the WH.
Vol II of the report: If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck, but DOJ policy says we can't prosecute this duck while it is still living at the WH.
6
I really am amazed at how far Barr can distance himself from the fact that this is a constitutional crisis, and he's making it worse.
Has anyone asked him, for instance, what grants Donald Trump Jr. the "privilege" of immunity from a crime he's obviously committed?
Last time I checked, our country had overthrown a Lunatic King in the 1700s for a valid reason.
4
Democracy in America continues its long slow death under the most corrupt administration in history led by the most corrupt president and his henchmen ever. Referring to the people around him as advisors or a cabinet is inappropriate. Descendants of Nixon can lift their heads a little higher knowing Trump now has the mantle for WOAT. Orange poison kills.
8
Last year: “Trump Russia collusion! Collusion! We have the evidence!” Mueller: “No evidence of Trump collusion.”
Now: “Obstruction! Trump obstructed!”
The definition of ignorance is stated as doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Democrats, are you listening?
3
Hey future Democrat politicians, please reach out to Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, or China for information to win an election. You never know where you might find a helping hand. Just don't sign a formal agreement with their government and you should be safe within our current laws.
4
It is clear Robert Mueller let Trump get away with far more than any other American would have gotten away with.
It is also patently clear that the timing of Trump's written answers was coordinated to coincide with the end of Mueller's investigation. Question: Did Barr hurry things along? Did Rosenstein? Why wouldn't Mueller initiate constitutional litigation(s), even if they were going to be lengthy? Treason, by way of collusion with a foreign power, is a serious offense, if proven.
The end-product doesn't match what we know and have previously experienced of Robert Mueller's work. It is imperative to get Mueller and his 13 investigators in front of the three major House committees in short order.
William Barr is again proving that he's a disgraceful, corrupt individual. Rosenstein, in the end, has not only un-redeemed himself, but clearly put himself in the Trump camp.
Gross.
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-3h2
17
Oh my, what this report really tells us is that Don Trump is an extraordinarily corrupt person, though most Americans already knew that. We have every reason to be ashamed for our country.
8
Will there ever be a time again in newspapers where the TRUTH matters instead of ratings?
3
Trump in 2 years has walked the line between gross misconduct and legal jeopardy by using the power of the office to both give and take away power from those who crave it.
What our Attorney General did this morning was a national disgrace.
4
Mr. Barr, would you mind telling me how Donald Trump Jr. gets granted immunity by way of being the son of a monarch?
6
It's a conspiracy against our democratic government!
3
Thank you to Prof. Thomas Rid of Johns Hopkins for making one and to Purch.com and Tom's Guide for distributing a free searchable copy. (I have no desire to register for an account someplace just to be able to read this.) Why didn't the NYT explain this in their first paragraph?
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/mueller-report-download,news-29896.html
The Report would be devistating to anyone. And then there's The Donald. His vast experience spitting lies to his blind base, supported by Fox spinning stories will allow him to survive. I watched All The President's Men on NetFlix last evening. The parallels are incredible! Two reporters and a few leakers removed Tricky Dick. Maybe lightening will strike twice.
4
Republican cover up. There are no White Hats in the GOP. DOJ is the embodiment of injustice and corruption!
5
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children
shout,
But there is no joy in Hateville—mighty liberal hoaxsters have struck out.
(with apologies to poet Ernest Thayer)
Step aside AG Barr— you are a waste of time (We can read the Mueller Report without you interpreting the report for us.) And you are obstructing us from the truth.
Enough of AG Barr. Step aside.
6
Holy history Batman! This sure looks a lot like Trump and his crew have some explaining to do. And credibility? Barr none.
4
He acts like it's everyone's fault but his own.
The report confirms that trump is a lying, cheating swamp creature who operates beyond the law. AG Barr's conduct in being the PR chief for this criminal enterprise is reprehensible. Justice in the republicans' America is an absolute farce.
4
Volume I, page 49: The Russian hacking group GRU goes into Clinton's personal e-mails five hours after Trump calls for Russia to find them.
8
Barr should be impeached, he has misled,deceived and has demonstrated that he acts on behalf of Failure Trump and not for the people of the US, which are his constitutional “clients”
5
It’s common knowledge that the Russians are very good at not leaving any evidence of wrongdoing. It’s one of their specialties. Let’s not forget the former WH adviser Omarosa Newman claimed in her memoir that she once saw Trump eating a piece of paper in the Oval Office -an effective, if quaint way of destroying evidence.
Let’s also not forget Trump’s note-less meeting with Putin in Poland, his invitation to the Russian security team, the Russian lawyer, and so much other circumstantial evidence. Without lawyers, Trump is powerless, abusing the US legal system for his own and probably Russia’s needs. Like a dirty but sly big city rat, the only way to catch someone like Trump is with a trap.
Putin seems to be using Trump while taking advantage of our open and free society. As Putin said at the beginning of our last election, “Americans are so stupid.” If we look at all of Trump’s efforts, they all point to destroying America’s foundations of freedom of speech, transparency, international relations, business, trade, and reputation in the world.
He used a greedy Republican Party, religious groups, plus any other fringe group to get into office, while keeping close ties to thugs who take care of his needs on the sly when he can’t get his way publicly. Trump has used Russian propaganda tactics from day one, with non-stop lying, never admitting a wrong while keeping everyone busy, and distracting them to look at other things. As they say in Russia: Lies become the truth.
5
So, let's see if I get this right: If one is too stupid or inept or unable to achieve the stated goal of conspiring with a foreign government to influence the U.S. presidential elections, then one gets a free pass? Good to know. Does that also apply to tax returns etc?
Inquiring for a friend.
14
So Muellar says attempted obstruction of justice failed because staffers did not carry out the orders, so president is not guilty ?
It's like saying attempted theft, burglary and rape attempt failed, so the accused is innocent ?
7
If Trump and Co. were not in collusion with Russia, why did they want a communications back channel after Trump was elected, why did they change the Republican platform to favor Russia, why does Trump repeatedly hammer at NATO instead of supporting it, which is very supportive of Putin, why act like a complete idiot, embarrassing us around the whole world, why engage in trade wars that weakens our agriculture and other industries, why alienate our closest allies and neighbors, Canada and Mexico, why lie constantly until rational people can't see straight? Who acts like Trump does, makes a total fool of himself for no reason? No one in their right mind would behave the way he does. Or maybe he's not.
5
How does a crime not rise to the level of a crime?
8
The lack of character and total disregard for common decency of these worthless people shows that while they may not have committed a crime they would not care or feel bad if they had. When you have no conscience life is easy. I can only hope that somewhere along the way they will pay for their dirty deeds and pay dearly.
6
So to recap, the breathless banner headline across the top of Page One of The New York Times says: No crimes here.
Isn't this where you normally print news of something that did happen?
Some of us actually want the news, not a partisan blog. Please, for our sake, and the country's, move on.
1
I told you this would happen and Mueller would get paid for doing absolutely nothing. Read my old posts. The only thing that will come out of this are more talking points for Trump. The stupidity of the democratic party is rising to an epic level. It's getting to the point where they are helping Trump.
In the end, no matter how explicitly the report documents Trump’s moral and legal failings, two elements will remain the same: Trump’s supporters will continue to stand by him and Trump will continue to be the incompetent and immoral individual who will occupy the WH until he is voted out of office. That is why so many of us feel so helpless in the face of such much damning evidence
3
Trump's lawyers and his pals had the report on Tuesday.....Nothing like getting the jump on bad news so you can twist it around to Trump's advantage. Barr was coaching from the sidelines and the GOP has their thumbs in their mouths. Despicable. Vote them out.
7
The report lists the names of those referred alphabetically starting on page 445. It lists names 2) Cohen 3) redacted 4) redacted 5) Craig. There are fewer than 2000 surnames listed by the US Census that appear alphabetically between Cohen and Craig. That seems a little sloppy.
1
Dripping with and bathed in guilt.
Trump’s reported reaction when he was told Mueller was appointed: “This is the end of my presidency. I’m fucked.”
Right. Because this is just exactly how a person convinced of his own innocence behaves. Not.
32
"Oh my god...this is the end of my presidency....I am fucked." I hope someone in the press has the guts to quote this statement back to Trump and say "Please explain why you said this if you have done nothing wrong."
20
Put him under oath
2
In my opinion, this report should not be made public in the first place. If a person is being investigated by prosecutors and after the prosecutors find "not sufficient evidence to charge" that person, yet nevertheless ALL the prosecutors' investigation is released to the public, how does that follow the rule of law?? How does that protect the falsely accused?? The role of the prosecutor in the case of HRC--did we see ALL the notes? Did we read all the info collected in the investigation? NO. What about other prominent cases? People are going off the rails in a psychologically unhealthy way. We are dealing with a society that wants evidence, wants revenge on its own people.There is a mental aberration going on here--a lack of rational ability.
1
@aldebaran - This jerk works for all of us. We have a right to know what he's been up to.
6
This isn’t a court case, and it’s not regarding a private individual... by holding office your every action is held at a higher standard - we all expect Government to be transparent and work for the people as a whole. That’s why we like tax returns, it shows they have nothing to hide. For someone who says they have nothing to hide, Trump hides a lot.
A president should have pride in your country, uphold its values and protect its peoples. President isn’t a position intended to be used for personal gain. True leaders are selfless, they put the needs of the many above their own, and have the courage to get their hands as dirty as anyone under them. That selfless sacrifice commands respect, and is why Trump is the least respected US president in history.
1
@aldebaran We want to read the report through our own eyes, not through political appointees who are trying to protect their paychecks. No revenge involved.
1
For a moment as I listened to Mr. Barr while driving to work, I would have sworn that he was making a campaign speech for 2020, supporting Donald J. Trump. As I read through the New York Times summary online, I think that the best suggestion is to think about what this country would be doing to President Obama had he committed these amazingly outrageous behaviors, acts, and insults to the U.S. Constitution, not to mention women and minorities. Just the comments made on the bus to Billy Bush would have cost Mr. Obama the election and we would not be in the social, cultural, moral, and political predicament in which we find ourselves.
19
We know the answer. The republicans.
1
When a President fires not one but two Attorney Generals to end or influence the outcome of an investigation, how is this not obstruction? Furthermore, when he goes on national TV and asserts his reason for firing the first AG, to "end the Russia investigation" how is this not establishing his frame of mind. Finally, we have listened to, and read Tweets, for months in an effort to circumvent and undermine the credibility of the Mueller Team. How is this not obstruction of justice? What constitutes obstruction today? We seem to be teetering on the edge of a dictatorship where our great leader can do whatever he/she wants.
15
@ Greg Drunkin Two AGs? What are you talking about? ( Love Stowe btw - great skiing).
1
By not indicting the 45th (on even one count of obstruction), Mr Mueller did two things:
1) Saved America from the ensuing civil war or clashes that would have erupted in its aftermath in Middle America.
2) Weakened the rule of law in the country forever. Any and all criminals are now welcome to the Highest office of the nation along with all outside help from America’s sworn enemies (whether tacit or explicitly requested).
Nixon would be proud! Long live the Russian (Rep.) Party.
18
I'm curious to see what happens to Trump's approval rating as this report has time to sink in.
I think the public response to this report will tell us how divided we are; if it doesn't move the needle even 1-2% in terms of Trump's approval, we can be sure that almost no Republican cared about the contents of this report, and that would be very concerning to me.
5
I just don't understand. The media and politicians focus on collusion and conspiracy obsessively. It is clear there is no difnitve proof of either and continued emphasis is simply political thrashing. Why is the media not asking and pressing the WH, congress, and national security agancies to address the continued risk of Russia and other entities influence on our electoral process? Why is the conversation, or at least a parallel one not about what are we going to do to address that real and proven risk? The focus has been so much on Trump's continuing defense that "he" did not collude? Fine, give him that bone, and let's move on as the majority of people are not going to be swayed for or against Trump at this point no matter the facts, data, claims, accusations, or defensive remarks. Focus should be given to the central proven concern of Russian influence and one that is critical to our future democracy.
4
@DS
Why arn't you - as in YOU - asking the president why he has not even bothered to look into that one or state the importance of it.
I'll give you three guesses.
1
Why don’t you ask republicans and Trump instead.
1
@Jbugko
I did send an email to the POTUS asking that very question and also sent the same email to Senator Burr. Both sent back canned responses. Are there other people/methods that you suggest?
1
Read the last three paragraphs of Volume I, page 10. The report does not exonerate the campaign regarding coordination with the Russians. Rather, the report states that witnesses lied, pled the Fifth, and deleted and/or encrypted communications regarding relevant Russia-related events. "Accordingly, given these identified gaps, the Office cannot rule out the possibility that unavailable information would shed additional light on (or cast in a new light) the events described in this report." This is why obstruction threatens our justice system and is a serious crime.
7
Regardless of today’s release of the report I have a tremendous amount of respect for Robert Mueller.
But, time and history will not be kind to him.
The events that took place, this report and the investigations that still need to play out will triangulate and point squarely at DJT revealing criminal and prosecutable acts.
The only way to go after DJT is via the senate and mitch is too cowardly to act constitutionally.
Mueller did what he felt was asked of him.
However when the truth comes out (and it will) it will be too late.
Mueller’s name and his investigation will be soiled forever, sorry to say.
However none of this means we cannot demand DJT’s tax returns though.
9
There was no witch hunt and it was not a politically motivated investigation. Trump probably did violate the laws regarding obstruction of justice, but proof of intent and factors having to with the office of the President made the special counsel decide not to pursue criminal charges Trump’s campaign did seek out and conduct numerous meetings with Russians closely tied to Putin’s government and failed to disclose these and even lied about them. This was clearly probable cause for counter intelligence to investigate. Simple and concisely, Trump acts exactly like people who commit crimes on a continual basis with his lying and attempts to distract attention from his activities that he does not want scrutinized.
As to the practice of not indicting a President in office, it needs to be reviewed. Barr has expressed the view that the President embodies the Executive Branch and this cannot be investigated or prosecuted without rendering that branch incapable of serving it’s role in government. I think that he is wrong. He is confusing a whole bunch of concepts regarding heads of states and the role of elected office holders in a liberal democracy which limits the authority of government legally. At the bottom of his mixed up opinion seems to be a personal preference for authoritarian social order over egalitarian social order.
The head of any state is the embodiment of that state, the sovereign, and the state bears all responsibility for his/her acts.
3
There is no smoking gun. Nothing that democrats can use as an argument to move forward to impeach. I think we've spent too much time and resources on a non-event. There are plenty of questions not answered but nothing that would clearly point to a crime that should be further investigated. Democrats would be wise to move on with another strategy or risk of dragging this out further will hurt their cause.
The facts do not support your conclusion. Nobody has been exonerated, that is puffery. There are plenty of questions to be answered before that conclusion can be made, reasonably.
4
Here is the official RNC response to the Mueller Report:
“It is increasingly clear that the only scandal here is the Obama administration’s repeated failure to act against Russian cyber meddling. Instead, they prioritized spying on a political opponent – the Trump campaign – and used a phony DNC-funded dossier as justification"
(The message also asks for $1,000.000 in the next 24 hrs).
Of course there is no mention of Senate leader Mitch McConnell's refusal to sign a bipartisan statement condemning Russia's activity.
5
If nothing else what these last two years and now this report have taught us is that the “truth” essentially comes down to what we individually want to believe. The law on the other hand is an entirely separate matter. Trapped in our own net apparently for unfortunately all this talk about the “rule of law” with regard to Trump not being able to be above now only ends up being the sword we fall on ourselves.
Trump has engaged in clearly unethical and Machiavellian behavior. He has consistently abused his power, and has appointed close political allies/cronies, and members of his immediate family to high political office, in agencies that control the very lives and fate of millions of US citizens.
The phrase "did not rise to the level of a crime" should be long-remembered. It shouldn't matter that no crime, in strict legal terms, was discovered. The citizens of this country, should care about the President's ethics, behavior, motivations, and actions. That they largely don't is frightening. It suggests that they see these same behaviors in daily life...enough so to make them commonplace. The Democrats are right to play the long game and not impeach. The citizens of this country need to vote themselves out of this, or not. It's as simple as that.
4
Four things appear clear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report:
1. President Trump has not been cleared or exonerated of criminal conduct related to obstruction of justice.
2. Mueller's investigation found much evidence of obstruction of justice.
3. The Office of Legal Counsel has opined that a sitting president cannot be indicted, and Mueller consulted that opinion. However, Mueller decided at the outset of the investigation, before gathering the evidence, that he would not make a determination that Trump should be indicted.
4. Mueller specifically decided NOT to exonerate Trump and left the decision on obstruction of justice to Congress.
Accordingly, because the decision on obstruction of justice has been left to Congress to determine, and, accordingly, whether that would result in a high crime and misdemeanor for impeachment by the House under the Constitution and thereafter trial and conviction by the Senate, Congress must take the following steps:
1. Demand an unredacted copy of the Mueller report.
2. Hear directly from Mueller.
3. Take all appropriate actions to protect our democracy.
4. And, as the Mueller report says, “…apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office [in accordance] with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.”
6
"In the end, the special counsel decided to make no judgment on whether the president had obstructed justice. Attorney General William P. Barr made a decision for him. He decided the president had not."
Mr. Barr's authority regarding an obstruction of justice charge is solely within our criminal court system and whether or not they could prove it to be a crime beyond reasonable doubt under those specific legal confines. But a president is not just a citizen, he or she also has the highest responsibility to uphold the rules within our Constitution.
It is Congress who has the authority to decide whether or not the alleged obstruction of justice behavior of this president, or other investigated behavior, rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors as interpreted within our Constitution, not Mr. Barr.
The full unredacted report and all underlying documentation should be immediately provided to our Congress.
10
An innocent man would not think a investigation of this nature would be the end to his presidency.
Something stinks.
18
@Panthiest An innocent man who knows how corrupt his enemies are might indeed be worried. Look at the composition of Mueller's team--Peter Stzrok, Lisa Page, Andrew Weissman--17 Democrats, one was Clinton's lawyer, one was invited to her supposed victory party and wept when she lost. Hello? Anyone would be worried being investigated by enemies who are out to get you.
Mueller’s decision not to interview Trump was a huge mistake. A substantial delay in the investigation and assumption they already had all the evidence an interview would provide are poor excuses. Way too much was at stake. And instead to rely on Trump’s written answers to questions - which were constructed with the help of his lawyers - was downright foolish. That decision will become as infamous as the decisions during the OJ Simpson murder trial to have him try on the glove and have Mark Fuhrman take the witness stand.
12
@Bob Hawthorne
Trump has a history of blatantly lying during depositions and during testimony at trials. There are several instances from his past where he proved that he just doesn't know how to speak the truth even when under oath.
3
@Jbugko
I'd like to put a "PS" on that comment. These days, the GOP doesn't seem to mind that at all in a president - at least when it comes to this president.
If Donald Trump were to lie under oath while President, they'd say, "Aw, he's just counter-punchin'. He's a counter-puncher! To a perjury trap! We are outraged over this here perjury trap! Yeh, that's the ticket. Questioning this president is just horrible! Horrible! How DAAAAAAARE they!"
2
@Bob Hawthorne what about the decision to write (and edit) HC's exoneration statement before interviewing her or her aides? She was interviewed without being put under oath with her aides present at the interview! How many times did she say she didn't recall? This is two-tier justice--one for Dems and one for Repubs.
Maybe, just maybe, the illusion that our system is "justice for all" will be shattered, and a new, better, more just society will emerge. Shame on Trump and his Republican lackeys, and thank you to those who stood up for the rule of law.
9
All these claims of "vindication" of Trump are ridiculous. The question that was under investigation from the very beginning was "Did Russia interfere to sway the 2016 election towards Trump?" NOT "Was Trump involved?" And the answer is a resounding YES. Donald Trump would not be President were it not for the help he received, wittingly or unwittingly, from Russia. He knows it. The Russians know it. And now we know it.
7
Tonight's headline: "We have no idea where the chickens went" say Foxes guarding the henhouse.
8
How could Mueller have not concluded there was obstruction of justice with all the overwhelmed evidence ? He fired Comey and then claimed it was because he didn’t treat Clinton nicely enough . Not credible . He tried to fire Mueller . If there was a Credible reason to fire Comey then McGann would’ve done that but he didn’t because he knew that it would’ve been obstruction of justice. So Trump was clearly trying to attempt to obstruct justice. I think the thing that stood in his way of charging him with obstruction of justice was the fact that he wasn’t able to interview him. Trump is a crook
6
So that's what happened. Trump was in contact with wikileaks through intermediaries and knew about the impending leaks of Clinton emails. And adjusted campaign strategy anticipating the stolen information. Just a regular 'ol sleazy, cheater. Don't impeach. Vote him out on the merits.
5
So close yet so far away...
5
So this is what the top minds in the country have been working on the past two years. Interpretating the meaning of commas and periods inside 400000 page statutes while the average worker can't even make rent.
Ya'll brought this on yourselves
3
Watching another person come out of the Trump Meat Grinder in shreds. Bye bye Barr.
I hope American democracy isn't next! I am afraid for North America.
Vote! Vote!Vote! start working on it now. We are all in mortal danger.
7
@BettyInToronto Hmm-- "mortal danger"? A tiny bit over the top?
@aldebaran -Possibly a bit over the top - but not as far over the top as your Emperor with not a stitch of clothing.
Say hello to NY City for me. Lived there and love the place although I can't imagine it isn't in turmoil now.
Good luck America!
America is lost if DT is not imprisoned upon leaving the White House.
5
@Stephen No, America is not lost nor will be lost if DT is not in jail. Stop this hysteria--please.
Regarding the Manafort Kilimnick Meeting Aug 2, 2016
Mueller report, Vol. I, page 140:
Quote
Second, Manafort briefed Kilimnik on the state of the Trump Campaign and Manafort's plan to win the election.93o That briefing encompassed the Campaign's messaging and its internal polling data. According to Gates, it also included discussion of "battleground" states, which Manafort identified as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. [footnote 931] Manafort did not refer explicitly to “battleground” states in his telling of the August 2 [2016] discussion. …
Why would any Russian care about specific “battleground” states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, unless they wanted to try to manipulate how people voted in those states?
One has to conclude that in August 2016, the Trump Campaign, through Manafort and Gates, plainly told the Russians, via Kilimnick, that they needed help in those states, three of which Trump won by a whisker.
The voting ended up as follows:
Michigan Trump 2,279,543 Clinton 2,268,839 Difference 10,704
Pennsylvania Trump 2,970,733 Clinton 2,926,441 Difference 44,292
Wisconsin Trump 1,405,284 Clinton 1,382,536 Difference 22,748
Do YOU think three months of Russian interference could change a total of 77,744 votes out of a total of 13,230,376 (or 0.58%, about 1 out of every 200 votes)?
I think it could have, and I think it did.
I conclude Donnie is a fake POTUS, who should not even have won in the Electoral College.
13
@Joe From Boston Kilimnik was a major donor to HC and the Clinton Foundation. Manafort introduced Kilimnik and HC.
@aldebaran
Trump once donated to HRC.
He was friends with both Bill and Hillary.
Invited them to his wedding.
So what?
Kilimnick is believed by our intelligence community to be a Russian contact close to Putin.
Why would Manafort give any Russian information that Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota were thought to be "battleground states" unless he expected them to do something useful?
Answer THAT. (I am not holding my breath waiting.)
1
It is long time ago USA had a president who acts so intensively against Russia. Seems to be very strange co-operation with them.
2
Robert Mueller = Neville Chamberlain
The fallout from will be catastrophic.
3
It (the Trump Administration) walks like a duck, talks like a duck but still Mueller & Company doesn't see a duck. I don't get it.
7
In a false quarrel there is no true valor.
William Shakespeare
1
A Hollywood scriptwriter could do an entire movie around the drama of the creation and the suppression of the purportedly incriminating Trump tapes that Russian businessman Giorgi Rtskhiladze texted Michael Cohen about and said, “Stopped flow of tapes from Russia but not sure if there’s anything else. Just so you know ....” 10/30/16
2
This morning’s press conference with AG Barr bookended by a-block-of-wood impersonating as Rosenstein and another immovable Justice individual is a familiar movie in much of the Third World. Barr just made a mockery of this opportunity to speak directly to the American people. Barr and lies. The time is almost upon us; we will not be listening and believing what government officials say specially people like Barr who act like Trump’s personal lawyer. These are very dangerous times.
1
How's the witch hunt going Democrats? Find any criminal activity yet after two years? No? Nada? Keep looking. The tax payers are watching you guys waste millions of dollars and the country's time. The country is watching all of you have hissy fits and not doing your jobs. Speaking of which, how's your green new deal coming? Haven't seen a bill yet. How about your proposal for 70% tax rates? When's that coming.
The do-nothing-but-whine Democrats need to be given a message once and for all in 2020.
3
Just skipped innocently past the long list of indictments, convictions and sentences, not to mention the 12 new referrals for outside prosecution, huh?
Amazing.
3
Those things you listed make no progress without bipartisan support.
There is a report that says every unethical accusation is true. Is our country so low that criminal behavior is the only checklist for our president? As for taxes, many working Americans taxes went up while billionaires went down. Like cut in half. If you’re cool with that, more power to you.
President Donald J. Trump, the no integrity President
William Barr, the no integrity Attorney General
Republican party, the no integrity party
14
Message to Donald Trump: go ahead and open fire on Fifth avenue. AG Barr has your back. ...
Who knew that being elected president of the United States meant being officially above the law? Now Barr will go after those who initiated the investigation.
6
We are so deep into this scandal, so many months of agonizing over the details of contacts, conversations, emails, that in the depths of the report, we have lost sight of the events that unquestionably transpired.
Regardless of whether or not Robert Mueller saw a legitimate crime to charge against the President -- this administration has worked with a foreign, hostile adversary for years now. Top officials have lied about it through and through, and now many are facing jail time.
Whether or not the President will be cleared of criminal charges, there is no doubt that poisonous, treasonous, practices have served as the fundamental infrastructure to the Trump campaign from day one.
That fact will not be lost on the American people.
6
@Mia "this administration has worked with a foreign, hostile adversary for years now"--you forget who wrote the dossier--a Brit who used UNNAMED Russian sources. That's 2 foreign power right there that HC's campaign and the DNC collaborated with to get the dossier produced. So you have evidence staring in your face that the Dems collaborated with foreign entities to throw an election, but you aren't concerned at all about that??
What a great Rorschach test for America. If you hate Trump, he’s still guilty. If you like Trump, he’s innocent. Everybody sees what they want. So I guess that makes media good guy Bobby Mueller the greatest people pleaser in history. What an utter waste of time and effort. Let’s move on to some real issues like the destruction of food change in the Midwest due to climate change or chaos engulfing Central America and our years of neglected immigration reform.
2
@Wicky You will have a wicked hard time convincing Trump or the GOP to care about climate change. Trump is happily opening national park land to oil and coal 150s, sadly.companies. He is stuck in the 1950s. His idea of immigration reform is "lock them up" whether they are 2 years old or adult.
3
"Mr. Mueller said that one of the complications he faced in building an obstruction case was Mr. Trump’s authority as the head of the executive branch."
But what if this position of authority as head of the executive branch stems from collusion/coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia? Trump shouldn't benefit from what is essentially an ill-gotten gain.
9
Reading these excerpts, I cannot understand Mueller's estimation that there was insufficient evidence of obstruction of justice. I think it's impossible for an honest, impartial person not to conclude that Trump did commit obstruction of justice. Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller and ordered him to lie about having received that order. That alone should be enough, but there's much more evidence than that in the multitude of acts in the "pattern of behavior to harm the investigation." It seems Mueller wouldn't have thought Nixon committed obstruction of justice either. This is a travesty.
Also, to say that the Trump campaign's coordinating with Wikileaks on the same activities that Wikileaks was coordinating with Russia didn't amount to the campaign's coordinating with Russia is much finer parsing than insisting on the literal meaning of the word "is" ever was. You could excuse all kinds of criminal activity that way if you were allowed to. If a = b and b = c, then a = c. Does that kind of middle-man insulation protect criminals from racketeering charges?
7
@Dystopia
I've suspected for some time that Mueller is still at heart a Republican, and so therefore there's something wrong with him. Did he vote for Reagan, the Bush's and the others? I bet he did, which means all other things being 'equal', he decided to break to the side of authoritarianism.
3
@Dystopia
Yes, of course. How could anybody see it otherwise? Remind us which law school you graduated from; how many years you have been practicing law; and how many obstruction cases you have prosecuted or defended?
1
@A Science Guy Preet Bahrira, the NY prosecutor fired by Trump, explained a few weeks ago on NPR that all prosecutors have some cases in which they must defer indicting anyone because of the low probability they would obtain a conviction. If the perpetrator is acquitted in court, he could not be tried a 2nd time for the same offense. Mueller is known as a highly law abiding person.
2
I don't want impeachment. Impeachment will give Trump license to moan and lie forever about how he was treated. A good ol' fashioned whoopin' in 2020. Well, there's no way for him to spin that one. Democracy for the win.
7
This redacted report is more revealing of the investigation than anything Barr has thus far revealed to the public. His statements have been crafted to leave the President’s misrepresentations unchallenged.
5
How can anyone who values democracy move on in this side show. Aside from this report, the undoing of public protections, the multiple connections of Republicans and the president with Russia, the disfunction of the administration, the chronic antagonistic and unrelenting inappropriate language and threats, the lying, the instability of Trump, the disconnect from our allies and ultimately a government that is not serving the American people. Trump has created his own language to malign citizens of our, bringing his personal angry bravado to us every day with his incessant tweets. What is the false reality and language. The first amendment is not created to create war among neighbors.
5
There are times where the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming and everyone knows the suspect did the crime , yet he cannot be convicted. I think, for example, of Al Capone, who started a career that included as many murders as Trump's career includes lies, from the years before his twenty-first birthday---witnesses refusing to testify against him because they knew he would have them murdered---yet Capone could only be put away because of tax evasion and not for murder. The mob boss is able to hide his criminality from prosecution. I have no doubt that Trump obstructed justice---his initial reaction that his presidency could not survive the investigation and his telling the Russians about "this Russian thing was now off my head" and his open admission in the TV interview about why he fired Comey--and all the little bits of the puzzle that put together a picture of a conniving president that would do anything to stop and avoid the investigation ---point to a man cognizant of his guilt and trying to hide it.
9
I am not certain which surprises me the most--the report and the enormous effort that it took to determine that the President, did not do anything that is a chargeable offense while he continues bully, lie and participate in questionable business practices, or the fact that there are so many detailed opinions about a massive and recently released report. How fast can these opinionated people read?!
4
To all the obstruction theorist out there - you do realize that your grievance against Trump has now boiled down to how he may have impacted an investigation into a crime that we now know he never committed?
5
@CG My grievance against Trump is that he does not believe in democracy, he flouts the Constitution and Bill of Rights and separation of powers, and imagines (wrongly) that he is not accountable to anyone. Add to that putting kids in cages, mistreating immigrant families, handing over national parks to energy companies, ignoring the hurricane damage in Puerto Rico, vastly increasing the national debt, promoting violence against peaceful dissenters, calling for a 2nd amendment solution to his Hillary problem, and his recent targeting for violence of Rep Omar. Americans who support a king should be ashamed of themselves. Getting rid of kings was kind of the whole point in 1776. Add in the signs of early dementia, the lying, the ignorance, and Trump is a perfect storm of a destructive creature.
4
It's clear top Trump people did all they could to collude with Russia, just not enough to establish a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. To believe they did not inform candidate Trump is not credible. He asked Russia to get Clinton's emails in a news conference; even as a joke it shows state of mind - why didn't he ask the Chinese to do it? He was aware overtures had been made on his behalf, and that his son and son-in-law had a meeting with Russians.
He can do many acts as president but he cannot legally obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation. He knew it was an investigation when he said his presidency was over as a result. This shows a level of criminal intent in reviewing his later actions. Many facts establish he created a cover-up including firing Comey and saying this stopped the investigation, asking Sessions to step in and cover for him, etc.
We know Donald Trump and his closet team were at best grossly unethical, engaged in multiple acts of attempted collusion with a hostile foreign government, tried to negotiate with it while Obama was president undermining US sanctions policy, and when discovered attempted to cover up.
Forget meeting a beyond a criminal reasonable doubt standard, it's not relevant to this question: should he be impeached for conspiracy, attempted collusion, attempted obstruction, and a gross lack of ethics?
This is not politics as usual. It was all but treason. Those who support him now do not support the spirit of the Constitution.
5
In part, I believe disappointment comes from those who hate Trump, and he's got every reason in the world to be hated. It sounded so bad, so awful, that I think there were people who thought this would send him to jail.
And in part, that was stoked by the media. Not even saying people who believe media is left wing, because Fox did its part in hyper propagandizing their defense of Trump (obviously, they still do that), but the attention of it all, it made media a lot of money as we all focused so much on it. And we rightly did, even Trump made it sound like he was going to go to jail himself, with his complete inability to think before he speaks.
And Barr blunted this surely, even releasing it before a holiday weekend for maximum deflection.
In the end, though, here's a question: Do you really need a report from Mueller to tell you what's wrong with Trump? Or don't you already know?
3
Next up is finding out who started this Russian collusion hoax, as it has done much damage to our country. Half of our country was duped into believing this lie. The people who perpetuated this lie on the American public must be held accountable. Barr is just the man to do it.
12
@b
Only on the right would an investigation that netted multiple convictions be labeled a hoax.
15
@b
shame on you. I'm sure you'd see it differently if, say, the entire Hillary Clinton campaign, her family, her nominee for security chief, her nominee for AG, etc., had met throughout the campaign with Russians while they were illegally hacking the Republican emails to help her win. We're all sick of Trump supporters putting him before the country and never, ever asking themselves, "would I hold this position if this was coming from the other side." The list of what Trump supporters turn a blind eye and deaf ear to in order to keep backing a corrupt, criminal president continues to grow.
3
@Jordan Did you also notice how we should investigate the hoax? Spoiler alert: the left gets blamed
1
Has anyone mentioned the "backdoor" direct line to Russia?
It was brought up in December of 2016.
5
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked." Trump's reaction to Mueller's appointment clearly indicates that he committed criminal actions. This may be the most incriminating moment in this report.
46
@TenToes Not if you read a little further. Donald Trump was worried that an independent counsel investigation would cripple his presidency even if nothing criminal was ever found.
In fact, Donald Trump was right. That is exactly what happened. Robert Mueller and the Democrats ought to be ashamed of themselves for using our justice system for political purposes.
1
@John Smithson Democrats had nothing to do with the appointment of the special counsel. It is the Republicans who support our lying, corrupt president who ought to be ashamed of themselves.
3
If only it were true.
1
OJ got away with it too. “Beyond a reasonable doubt” is the law. But we all know what happened then and what’s happening now. At least those of us who have good judgement of character.
19
@The Pattern Yeah, but I always thought “beyond a reasonable doubt” was the standard for *conviction*. If it’s the standard for indictment, how is anyone ever charged for anything? Legal folks, please advise.
My fence is in need of a new coat of white paint.
Now I know who to call - not Tom Sawyer but Bill Barr.
9
While it is a terrible commentary for America, I'm glad that enough of Mueller's report is readable and tells the story of how disappointing the president is. It makes me sad what America has come to be.
11
My head is spinning.
Even after Trump "immediately recognized the threat of the investigation . . . he slumped in his chair and said, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m [blank].” at the end of the day, Trump was able to survive his worst fears, he is still the president and he was successful in appointing Barr as the Attorney General.
I fully understand why Nancy Pelosi does not want to go forward with even the thought of impeachment for fear of tearing this country farther apart. This country is already pretty torn apart and this Barr debacle only added more fuel to the fire.
Knowing and proving and two different things. Until such time that the knowing in our hearts can be proven beyond a shadow of doubt, then we're stuck with this disgusting dilemma.
What a sour and rotten way to end Holy Week.
9
Amazing reaction from the left, who were previously extolling Mueller’s virtues. BTW, are they now claiming that Rod Rosenstein is corrupt? Because he concluded there was no obstruction.
4
@Stephen Gianelli The “left” was wrong to extol the virtues of Mueller to the extent that they did. It irritated me no end to observe their (our) hero-worship on these comment boards-- an embarrassing display of grasping at the narrowest, most elusive of straws.
While Mueller concludes Trump did not direct Cohen to lie to Congress, Cohen made clear in his February appearance before the House Oversight Committee that he believed the President expected him to lie about the Trump Russia project. Excerpt below from Cohen's opening statement as published by the NYT.
"And so I lied about it, too – because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. And he made it 6 clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress."
I understand the difference between telling someone directly to lie versus conveying an expectation that person will lie on your behalf. The end result is the same, though. Cohen lied. And he lied, according to his own words, because he believed Trump wanted him to.
A distinction without a difference or am I missing something?
2
Yes, you're missing the key (real) difference: it's not possible to prove Trump's intent from Cohen's assertion of what he inferred. Whatever we confidently *believe* Trump meant, Cohen's testimony doesn't even rise to the level of hearsay.
Officials can try what they might, "redacted" texts have a habit to turn up on the doormats of media...always.
4
Well, I guess the Dems can have their arenas of 15,000 and 20,000 chant "Jail them now, jail then now..." since it appears that there were a whole lot of Trump's team who were extremely careless.
4
Can we please get over this and move forward? We already know that Trump is a terrible person and president, and spending time picking this report apart accomplishes nothing. Surely no one who voted for him actually cares about NYTimes' analysis of the report, so yet again, we're (i) choosing to waste our time in this echo chamber, which in my opinion, is absolutely useless, and (ii) bolstering those who perhaps rightly believe that the uproar over this report is a case of sour grapes.
Let's move on and focus on 2020.
7
Either the old adage "where there's smoke, there's fire" applies, or the entire Trump team, past, present and future is pathologically deranged in playing some kind of game. Either way the Swamp --truly-- needs to be drained.
3
Dear Mr. Mueller: I want my money back.
2
Shelley Silver commented. "Wow, yea, cool, I'm impressed!"
This is great. Analyzing a 400 page legal document live! What could go wrong?
1
Shocking!
And in so many ways.
3
Mueller's report focused on obstruction of justice has stripped tRump bare, “The emperor has no clothes.”
1
Imagine if President Obama engaged in even one percent of Trump's deceitful and disgraceful behavior?
Today's Republican Party would be loudly calling for his impeachment and removal from office.
5
We are back to Square -1!
1.) President Trump did not cross the threshold to crime OR his Staff prevented him from doing so!
2.) Democrats don't have enough 'Senators' nor can they drum up enough bipartisan support for an "impeachment". Speaker Pelosi has wisely prepared them for this news!
3.) The ideal way to remove a duly elected President is through another election. Republicans, 'morally' saints, tried to remove Bill Clinton for lying on adultery (actually for his sin of fiscal conservatism which they could never do or intend to do)!
We are back to Square - 1! Preparing for 2020! If you don't like Trump, defeat him in the elections!
4.) We, Democrats, can't do it by opposing Trump or GOP but supporting their non-universal Health Care! Nor by black-listing or backbiting Bernie Sanders --- just because he wants a Health Care system which does not 'deliberately' let a few million adults or children die for lack of it!
2
It is over
it is time to move on
obsessive minds, will look for the next Conspiracy Thing, perhaps in the tiny crumbs this document provides. Small minds will water those crumbs, make them in to imaginary monsters.
Obsessive minds have trouble accepting reality that they don't like.
We can accept reality, or reject it. Rejecting reality is one symptom of mental illness.
Let's move on. Accept reality. Nothing will come of this Russian conspiracy thing. we were misled.
2
Yawn! Seems the press is far more excited about this report than anybody else is.
After Barr’s remarks this morning, why, oh why, did the reporters not ask him why he used the word “spying” in his 4-page summary letter when referring to investigations?
5
@John M
Umm, because he didn't use the word "spying" in his letter
1
"There was no need for detailed electoral collusion between the Trump campaign and Vladimir Putin’s oligarchy because they had an overarching deal: the quid of help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton for the quo of a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from the Obama administration’s burdensome economic sanctions. The Trumpites knew about the quid and held out the prospect of the quo." http://tinyurl.com/yxcwtj7e
So wrote Max Frankel in The NYTimes this past March 27. This short op-ed offers a devastating interpretation of the "collusion" issue, which many Americans already and intuitively have come to understand, and which the Trump camp is trying desperately to whitewash.
4
Now, on to the Trump financial crimes investigations, where to quote the bank robber Willie Sutton: "that's where the money is".
1
Hey, what about seeking campaign help and getting it from a foreign state/organization? This is a campaign violation and a crime prima facia. Probably a felony. Let’s look at the Barr Report a little more critically, shall we?
1
So if your boss asks you to commit a crime such as fraud. And you don’t do it and report it, it’s not a crime...
Even if it’s not a crime as republicans are saying should we fire the boss asking us to commit fraud?
3
"Rtskhiladze said he was told the tapes were fake, but he did not communicate that to Cohen."....Sounds like Rtskhiladze has heard about Novichok and Polonium.
1
It appears that Mueller spent two years compiling information without coming to any substantive conclusions, allowing the fox to raid the chicken coop. To me, the facts as presented indicate a flagrant disregard for the laws and mores of our nation as well as an obvious obstruction of justice. Trump abused his authority and continues to do so in front of the entire world. He is a bully causing great harm to our nation while hiding behind a constitution that he vilifies daily. Lawyers can (and usually do) talk around facts until they find a way to distort them or render them null and void, and this is what we are seeing here. Mueller, in the end, did not give the people of this country their money’s worth, leaving everything open to one’s interpretation. However, anyone who can’t see what Trump and his minions have done must be both blinded and ignorant in the extreme. Even Fox is beginning to see the light. 2020 is coming.
4
We have the most corrupt president ever. Even Nixon pales in comparison. Lock Trump up forever. Is there no justice?!
4
After reading AG Barr's so-called "summary" of the Mueller report listening to him again "summarizing" the report this morning and then seeing what the Mueller report, even as redacted, actually says, there's only one question: Why haven't you resigned yet, Mr. Barr?
2
Resign?? Barr is doing great!
Regarding the issue of conspiracy with the Russians, It would appear that the term unwittingly assumes that Trump, Jr. Trump and his other abettors were just too dumb to understand that they were being played. If there were a way to remove a President on the grounds of being too dumb to hold the job, Trump would not have even been nominated. Trump obviously knows that he is intellectually not up to the job, thus his threat to sue any individual or institution that releases his academic record.
3
Doesn’t this mean that all white collar criminals should plead not guilty, refuse to compromise, and demand trial? If a man with Mueller’s experience and reputation cannot conclude from this mountain of evidence that a scoundrel like Trump has conspired with Russia — ?
Why would ANYone ever plead guilty to ANYthing?
Are we to understand that Mueller has concluded that no reasonable jury could find Trump guilty of conspiracy from this evidence?
Or has Mueller acted as jury and decided that HE wasn’t persuaded?
4
Prosecutorial discretion. It brought you DACA. Don’t knock it.
Can a President be compelled to testify at an impeachment trial? I know that there is support for the argument that a President is generally subject to subpoenas, but it's pretty clear that a resolution of the argument could take an extraordinary amount of time. On the other hand, impeachment proceeds along a timeframe dictated by the House of Representatives. Today's disclosures, particularly those pertaining to the inadequacy of Trump's written responses, suggest that Trump testimony could be both illuminating and damning. While nothing is certain, it might well be sufficient to undermine the support Trump currently receives from Republicans who seek to keep their heads firmly in the sand.
Our reporters are working breathlessly to report something, anything, bad about Trump..... so we can justify all of the time, money, ink and credibility we’ve wasted on this. Stay tuned!
Talk about pandering to your base...
@Chris
I can’t believe how much the GOP is disrespecting our country by selling it out to the Russian Mob. But you’re cool with that?
2
@Corbin
The Russians are coming! Please...
Yet, the AG of the U.S. this day publically proclaimed the DJT and Administration fully cooperated and supported the investigation, while knowing the report states that DJT: instructed staff to lie; refused to sit for an interview; drafted Jr.'s statement lying about the purpose of the TT meeting; and attempted to have Mueller fired. How can anyone trust Barr at this point?
5
An unanswered question: why would Trump and many of his minions go to such lengths to lie if there was nothing to hide? An innocent man would have stepped up and agreed to be interviewed. An innocent man would have welcomed a thorough investigation to clear his name. Instead, Trump and his retinue of overpaid political prostitutes (including Barr), have obfuscated, lied, then lied some more. Trump may not be legally "guilty" but he is far from innocent.
4
In trumps mind he simply couldn’t conceive that Mueller honest...that’s the bottom line
1
It must be a frustrating to be a Democratic news reporter these days. Try as they might, they just can't nail Trump as having done anything improper.
@JackC5 "Candidate Trump made public statements that included the following: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing"...Within approximately five hours of Trump's statement, GRU officers targeted for the first time Clinton's personal office. After candidate Trump's remarks, Unit 26165 created and sent malicious links targeting 15 email accounts....The investigation did not find evidence of earlier GRU attempts to compromise accounts hosted on this domain. It is unclear how the GRU was able to identify these email accounts, which were not public.,"
In case you don't know the GRU is Russia's intelligence agency and Unit 26165 is a Russia hacking center of the GRU. So Trump publicly asked Russian to hack into Hillary's email, and a few hours later, they began targeting her. All because Trump thought it would help him win the election. Tell me again how there was no collusion?
I just read the first few pages of text in the Mueller report and it is clear and obvious that this president and his campaign team stole the election from Hilary Clinton by conspiring with a foreign adversary Russia in the 2016 election. Hands down. It is disgusting and shocking. Every American capable of doing so needs to download the Mueller Report online and read it. What horror. There will be no more fair and free elections on this planet when foreign adversaries can steal our elections. And to do so with the full support and encouragement of the candidate is truly anti American and anti democratic.
4
All of this smoke and there is no fire? All of these lies told by Trump's minions and yet the big man is left unaccountable? This doesn't represent any definition of justice I've ever read.
3
Who's ready to be a hero?
I know there are plenty of people in Washington who'd like to be on the correct side of history. Famous--for something riteous.
Leak the unredacted report. Now.
2
"Mr. Barr said any campaign collusion with WikiLeaks could not amount to a criminal conspiracy because WikiLeaks’ publication of the emails was not a crime so long as it did not help Russia hacking them."
Sort of like being in possession of stolen goods is not a crime unless you stole them yourself?
What a hack Mr. Barr is.
4
Any American voter who needed a damaging Mueller report in order to abandon support for Donald Trump has not been paying attention to his policies on race, religion, sex, immigration, foreign policy, the LGBTQ community, the poor, the sick and the environment. If you can accept Trump's racist, misogynistic, science denying, ignorant and religiously intolerant attitudes nothing in the Mueller report was going to alter your views. Mueller could have suggested that the President be arrested, indicted and imprisoned and his core would not care. Wake up America. Neither Mueller, Congress or the judicial system will save America. He can only be removed by the voters at the polls.
3
Mueller just knocked the standard of acceptable conduct down about 8 levels.
6
Mueller report released. Stock market up, retail sales up, unemployment claims lowest since 1969; GDP revised upward. The media has been blowing smoke for over two years in its effort to discredit and destroy this President. The real world just doesn't seem to care. Get it?
Trump is an illegitimate president. He would not be in office were it not for Russia's help.
5
To anyone on the street with a lick of common sense there was at the very least an attempt made by members of the Trump campaign to collude with Russia. Further, while you might mot get a clear conviction on charges of obstruction of justice, that is in fact what happened. For Trump to claim exoneration is a total joke.
4
Barr has disgraced his office and the very notion of justice.
5
And what about Pence?
2
First, there was already plenty of evidence in the public record of collusion and obstruction of justice.
As has been frequently noted, the thing that has thrown prosecutors off is that Trump is so corrupt and clueless, he obstructs justice in public -- for example the interview with Lester Holt on national T.V. The man is an idiot (a point made relentlessly by those that have worked with him).
For reasons I will never understand, Trump supporters and the GOP don't care. For those that see Trump for what he is, the Mueller report simply makes official what we already knew. Thus, it is hard to see how the report makes much differences except at the margin.
Pelosi has set a practical strategy that should lead to success without guarantees. Continued investigation of the administration in accordance with Congress's constitutionally required oversight powers. It will be political death by a thousand cuts.
To impeach Trump would cast him as the victim--a role he already wraps himself in daily.
Don't get me wrong-- Trump is the biggest threat to the national security of this country both foreign and domestic. We can't afford to get this wrong. We have to remain focused on the outcome -- getting Trump out of office by the most legitimate means possible. That is through the ballot box.
Bonus: Trump could be headed to jail in 2021 when he leaves office.
4
Constantly during the IG report on the Clinton investigation, if an alternative to a biased or criminal act was possible, Horowitz chose to accept the legal alternative. Mueller is seemingly suggesting the opposite. How can Dem’s be complaining?
Sarah Sanders, the Press Secretary for the White House, blatantly lied to the American people that there was dissatisfaction with Comey in the FBI. This is directly contradicted in the Mueller report. How can we trust this administration to tell the truth?
Vote Blue 2020 and return integrity to the White House!
7
Bunch of Conspiracy Theorists... Everyone knows Russia wasn't involved with the election. Middle Americans simply did not want Hillary for president.
1
@The Dude
Here are a few quotes from the report that suggest they were.
"Candidate Trump made public statements that included the following: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing"...Within approximately five hours of Trump's statement, GRU officers targeted for the first time Clinton's personal office. After candidate Trump's remarks, Unit 26165 created and sent malicious links targeting 15 email accounts....The investigation did not find evidence of earlier GRU attempts to compromise accounts hosted on this domain. It is unclear how the GRU was able to identify these email accounts, which were not public.,"
And there was Manafort giving internal polling data to Russians.
"Gates also reported that Manafort instructed him in April 2016 or early May 2016 to send Kilimnik Campaign internal polling data and other updates so that Kilimnik, in turn, could share it with Ukrainian oligarchs. Gates understood that the information would also be shared with Deripaska, ."
"Gates stated that, in accordance with Manafort's instruction, he periodically sent Kilimnik polling data via WhatsApp; Gates then deleted the communications on a daily basis."
"According to Gates, it also included a discussion of "battleground" states, which Manafort identified as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Manafort did not refer explicitly to "battleground" states in his telling of the August 2 discussion. "
There is a lesser burden of proof for elections than FBI investigations. There is more than enough to make the case to voters in 2020 about the president’s obstruction of justice and meddling in the investigation.
2
Democrats need to get serious about 2020. Don't beat each other up in the primary, get in line behind the best candidate early and devote all the resources towards winning the election. I am tired of living in a country where this behavior is OK and goes unpunished.
6
It seems the only prediction relating to the Mueller report that proved true is that it would be a Rorschach test for the nation.
1
Mitch McConnell commented that "that's amateur, I've done much, much, much worse and have gotten away with it for years".
4
The fact of the matter is this isn't a normal Presidency. From the start of his candidacy we saw he wasn't following the usual script; and it gained him unquestioning support from 40%. Time after time he's committed mortal political sins and not only do they not stick, they enhance his maverick, for the underdog, status.
Mueller is a straight shooter and has endured tremendous pressure for two years. He didn't think he had the legal evidence to get a conviction, so he let Barr make the decision.
The report confirms what I thought. If this was 20 years ago he would be promptly impeached and ejected from office. But this is a new era. Impeachment at this time would be disastrous for the US. Trump would incite his followers to violence. The best course of action is for him to lose the upcoming election. Unfortunately it looks like the Democratic Party is going to sabotage itself.
1
Let them do violence. We should not be afraid if the deplorable who seek to make us kowtow to their partisan agenda!
This report does NOT exonerate the President. It does NOT find that he did not obstruct justice. This should be part of the NYT headline. The concluding paragraph of the report reads: "if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
The deceitful tactics of this President are infamous. I pray that the "swing state" voters in MI, WI, PA, MN who were explicitly targeted by the Russians - as detailed in the report - can see through the noise and vote him out.
1
Apparently Trump's royal appointment that brings him immunity is also enjoyed by his offspring.
If it were anyone else Donald - AS WELL AS - Donald Jr. would have been taken away in handcuffs.
What's Barr's excuse for granting Trump's son immunity other than that he's Trump's son.
1
Seems pretty clear Trump did collude with the Russians and did obstruct justice. Mueller seems not to be as even-handed as we would have liked.
3
In the military, "conduct unbecoming. . .", covers many serious offenses and can often result in expulsion, or worse.
That's because military officers are held to additional and higher standards than criminal behavior in a civilian .
court of law. And it's because of the risk that soldiers with access to weapons can do far greater harm than civilians.
Clearly our President has been evaluated with an incredible amount of "conduct unbecoming..." for his powerful role as President.
As the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, that may separately grounds for military indictments. Especially now he has put his authorization and support for continuing the Yemen conflict, involving thousands of civilian casualties.
2
The time has come for the Democrats, the people, and Congress to move on and concentrate on presenting an electable candidate to take on Trump next year.
Thus far, to my eye, it doesn't look like any of the Democratic hopefuls stands a chance. But, it's still early days, and one can only hope that someone electable will make an appearance.
Elect this ego maniac then and let him be king. All of them are better than Trump. If you can’t see that the problem is you.
1
So Trump was right, there was no collusion and no obstruction; but it wasn't for a lack of trying.
Seems to me that Mueller did his job, reported the facts, then turned it over to the AG. Now it is up to Congress to do their job and either impeach or not. This is how it should have gone, and how it was meant to go by our government,
Ignore what Trumps says now, ignore what the media says now, ignore what the DNC or RNC say now. Use the facts of the report to impeach or not. What's it gonna be?
As wretched as this president is, Democrats run a real risk of overstepping here. The public is inoculated. Formal investigations with credibility, i.e. apolitical, would be very difficult to pull off. No public inquiry would bear fruit before election season is in full swing. I would love to see this report simply bouncing around the sphere of public opinion until election time. 2020 is coming folks.
1
Based on the excerpts here, the President is certainly an unseemly fellow.
I think there may be enough here for an impeachment case. Will Nagler or Pelosi have the political will to start such proceedings?
I think they will not, but will continue to investigate the President up through the 2020 election in hopes that some of the dirt in this report will stick.
But since quite a lot of it has already been reported in the press, I doubt this report will have much impact.
I am going to download a copy and give it a good read to decide for myself whether he should be impeached.
1
If Mueller was unhappy with the Presidents written responses, or they were contradicted by other testimony, he should have subpoenaed Trump and gone through the process. Mueller’s biggest fail here is not speaking face to face with Trump.
2
The Times' principle headline is grossly misleading. It is not that the "evidence of crime was 'not sufficient'." The fact is that Mueller was constrained by the opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted. That is the ONLY reason that obstruction was not charged. There is plenty of evidence.
@zeuxis
ummm. no. That is not what Mueller says in the report
1
I'm an attorney but have no expertise in criminal law. I have read the "meat" of volume II on the investigation into possible obstruction of justice. There is a lot of evidence that the President committed serious misconduct. I personally believe he did, based on what I read. Just because there was no indictment or ultimate conclusion on the part of the Special Counsel, I think we are all free to reach the conclusion that I did, without going against the spirit of Mueller's report.
1
As Winston Churchill once stated, "this is end of the beginning." There are still over 12 ongoing criminal investigations that were farmed out to other districts. The Mueller report on its own is very damaging to Trump and all in his orbit. So much lying by the people in Trump's orbit, even when they did not need to. A man with a "great memory" could not remember much or "I can't recall" when he submitted his answers to Mueller. All of Trump's children are implicated in one way or another as they had different roles. We now know Don Jr. was the conduit to Wikileaks. The list goes on. This is a sad day for the country, but I fear there are many more as the GOP will now continue the obstruction in their desperate bid to hold on to the Trump presidency instead of running a solid candidate in 2020.
I consider what Russia did to be an act of war to subvert our election and harm our democracy. Whatever position you take on whether the Trump campaign colluded or coordinated with that is secondary and perhaps will now never be solved but we do know now how far Russia went to exert influence on our elections. What is our government, including the federal and legislative branches going to do to protect our country and respond to this act of aggression by a foreign power?
The Mueller investigation was little more than a two year media distraction, used in diverting attention away from the real outside meddling, that has turned out the political establishment in favor of an outsider politician. A fire that won't go out, a burn career politicians choose to avoid, even though it continues to smolder in its damnable truth.
Anyone with real understanding of the times we're in knows this political awakening our world is passing through is far from having run its course, a process that will not be suppressed in this increasing light, even by a media working 24/7 attempting to head off these changes that are coming our way.
Personally I’m glad it’s over, I would like to see media turn its attention and considerable talent and influence to the more pressing issues facing our nation: at the top of that list should be inequality from which so many other issues emanate, inequality which is now reaching plutocratic levels from which a democracy will be no longer sustainable: then we won’t have to worry about reports of possible collusion or malfeasance, we will be like Mexico where journalists attempting to do their job are routinely murdered and the smiley little factotums of the plutocrats go about the business of ruling for the 1% as they have for centuries.
I really don't have the bandwidth to understand either the excerpts or the explanations of the excerpts or the summaries of the excerpts, much less if I had the entire report in my hands.
I'm literate, educated and experienced. I'm well traveled, informed and older. I follow 10+ news feeds. Pity me. Pity us.
1
I'm somewhat disappointed in Mueller complaining about Trump's lies and evasions in written answers to his questions but then not following up with a subpoena demanding an in-person interview. Seems like the special counsel felt himself to be powerless in getting answers from the president or even seeking them because of DOJ guidelines about not being able to indict a sitting president. What about providing Congress with the evidence it needs to impeach a sitting president?
At first glance, it appears that Mr. Trump tried, many times, to obstruct justice but did not succeed because people around him would not carry out the orders. Maybe that's good news.
Also, it appears that Mr. Trump suspected himself of being guilty of something, and behaved so on occasion.
In any case, if we don't want him as President, we need to find someone else to replace him, the old fashioned way: an election.
Well, another fantasy about America bites the dust. "No one is above the law."
So, "of the people, by the people and for the people", was a shown to be a lot of baloney when Clinton beat Trump by three million votes, now this.
Perhaps Trump will try in 2020 to not have elections at all. Seems that's the way we're heading.
A defense attorney is obligated to present he best defense possible for his client. AG Barr
, by all accounts, is an excellent attorney. However, there is a question as to whether he is also “brilliant”. In that regard I describe him as “too smart by half.”
His 19 page partisan audition for the AG position, the 4 page slanted summary of the Mueller report, the loaded allegation that Trump’s campaign was “spied” upon and finally his summation of the case “before the airing of the evidence” , Barr has established himself as a partisan advocate for Trump.
The actual Mueller report has laid out detailed behavior by Trump and his cohorts which is troubling, and in some cases illegal. Most importantly, Mueller virtually invited Congress to further investigate and adjudicate conduct he could not bring to legal conclusion. The Mueller report is so far divergent from Barr’s description of the findings that over time public opinion will support impeachment hearings. Furthermore, the conduct described indicates that legislative hearings to craft laws proscribing conduct of future political campaigns are also needed. Barr’s conduct will be viewed as supplementing Trump’s obstructive behavior, and has undermined the credibility of any defense of Trump’s behavior.While Barr’s behavior may be out to lunch, he may be sending his client up the River.
This is a report for Congress to use and act on, not meant as exoneration, although Trump and his supporters will claim that. I hope Congress fully understands its responsibilities. The bottom line for me is Trump does not care if our elections are free. He doesn't care if Russia influenced them, in fact, likes it. He doesn't care that lies were told that needy, gullible people still believe and he doesn't care about the ethical aspects of the Presidency. The Mueller report is about an unethical power grab that was engineered by Trump with the knowing aid of a foreign country. They relied on people believing engineered lies on social media on social media sites specifically designed to appeal to a certain type of person. Also, they had the money and power to influence a few key states, which the Electoral College makes very easy to do. The Republicans are continuing to narrow who will vote and when. We are not a democracy.
1
@Barbara Snider
The GOP would respond that we are a republic. And they would be right. The charade continues that we are a democratic republic. We haven't quite achieved that yet and the GOP will continue to prevent it and to reduce what has been gained in that direction.
I am anxiously waiting for Rod J. Rosenstein's book. The poor man looked so uncomfortable standing behind Barr. Not to worry Mr Rosenstein - everything that goes around comes around. Believe me, I am an old lady and I am finding that cliche to be absolutely true!
1
If members of the Trump campaign, including Individual 1, were aware of Russian internvention in the campaign, didn't they have a legal duty to report that crime? It appears instead that they attempted to conceal their knowledge of this and (in the case of Individual 1) pubically question whether or not Russian interference occurred even when they clearly knew that it did.
How low we have fallen in this nation that the only difference between right and wrong to millions of people is whether the ‘wrong’ was a crime. There once was a time when character was assessed for actions well inside the lines of what constituted ‘legal’ activities. Now, if actions can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, millions are saying ‘all is well’.
For me, the most jarring realization I had on the morning after the election was that 63 million Americans were just fine with a president who openly bragged about assaulting women. To this day that realization still leaves me speechless.
Today I realize that millions of Americans are just fine with Russia interfering in our election to help one candidate specifically. Those Americans are fine with that candidate knowing about it and even encouraging it. It is all good—in fact, that assistance from that adversary wasn’t even worth examining—since the candidate didn’t commit a crime.
My husband spent 31 years in service to the United States of America. The nation he swore to defend with his life no longer exists when 40% of the country is perfectly fine with an adversary helping to choose our president.
What an unspeakably sad day this is. Too bad millions just don’t care enough about the nation to realize that.
2
You are right on! That nation you all defended no longer exists
1
Reading Trump's written answers "I do not recall" mantra. This is surreal. Why did Trump's attorney say he "could not testify" in person? Is "I do not recall" that difficult to recall? Truly disgusted.
If Russia actively interfered with the 2016 election with the specific goal of insuring a Trump victory, which I understand the report concluded, doesn’t that de-legitimize the election, nullifying the ascension of Trump to the presidency (a job he admits he didn’t really want and a job that he demonstrates several times daily he has no clue about how to do it)? I have long believed this was true and that to follow the path along all its winding byways would lead to an heretofore never anticipated Constitutional crisis.
So what’s next? No, the President is not exonerated, no matter how you spin it. And what is the intelligence community doing to prevent this from happening again? And why has the President not proclaimed, “Russian interference? Let’s get to work on that!”’ instead of his ludicrous cries of “No collusion! Totally exonerated!”?
My head spins.
Many of the redactions that are justified as "Harm to Ongoing Matter" seem to be covering up things that would be harmful to Trump.
Harm to what ongoing matter? The matter of Trump's illegitimate presidency? The matter of Trump being a Russian patsy bent on destroying America?
The truth will emerge.
My summation of the 400 page report: Without Russia's help (and his campaign staff's collusion), Trump would not be president.
2
No collusion, no obstruction - right ...
There's cold comfort to know Donald Trump cannot help but eventually crash & burn due to his ego, greed, indecency and ineptitude. Mostly because he's the antithesis of a leader -- especially in time of true crisis.
Regrettably, when that crisis occurs, this country will then pay a much bigger price for keeping such a little man -- at such a big position of responsibility.
1
So, why is it that Trump Jr. is immune from having his wrists slapped with handcuffs and getting indicted?
I could have sworn we had this war in the 1700s that did away with Kings in our country.
Apparently, that's no longer applicable.
2
2020 is clear as crystal to me. If the dems put forth another weak candidate, they'll lose. A strong dem will win; it's theirs if they don't botch it.
2
The American government is so corrupt that law inforcement is impossible.
This is the kind of scenario that results in a military coup in some countries.
This plus the advent of Trumpism as a corrupt level of government makes the United States a discredited country in the eyes of its traditional allies.
2
Imagine if this had been about a Democrat.
The GOP would be losing their minds.
2
If this report doesn't prove that the DOJ "policy" not to indict a sitting president doesn't ill-serve the People and jeopardize our Republic, than nothing does. Mueller should have ignored the "policy" - it's not a law. If ever there was a time to challenge the policy, the actions of Trump and his gangsters have proven that this is the time. Congress: compel an appearance by Mueller, NOW! Subpoena the full report, NOW!
2
Bottom line
1. No collusion/conspiracy with Russia
2. Any evidence cited that might support an obstruction charge does not include eye poppers (like bribing people or destroying evidence) that would be needed (politically and optically) to instigate impeachment proceedings.
It's over
Focus on 2020
1
Why is Trump so afraid of showing his taxes and company financials?
Why does Trump believe Putin instead of the US Intelligence with regard to Russian hacking?
Robert Mueller for President. Run on 3rd Party he will win.
This document provides as road map for all future Presidential candidates to communicate with powers that are hostile to America and not be charged with a crime.
I talk to Person A about how my business is failing. I give money to Person B to help them with a financial situation. Person A talks to Person C about my troubles. Person B helps person D with some of my money. Person C and Person D talk to Person E.
Arson happens at my business. No crime except for whomever lit the fire.
Focus on the conduct Mueller lays out, not the legal technicalities..
Criminal “collusion”, maybe not. But collusive conduct between Manafort and Kilimnik, sure. Collusive conduct between Wikileaks and Trump and his Campaign, sure.
Criminal obstruction, no because Mueller couldn’t get Trump’s personal interview and Mueller’s disinclination to indict a sitting President.
But Trump impeded the Russian interference investigation by dangling pardons, by suggesting untrue testimony to witnesses, by lying.
Trump’s conduct makes him unfit to be President and Commander-in-Chief.
1
The President is clearly unfit for office, benefiting financially in nefarious ways while in office, as are his children. Old school lawyers believe DOJ cannot indict a sitting president. Thus the Mueller Report was definitively meant for Congress to make the call
This is not an exoneration. Obstruction is everywhere, and so are high crimes and misdemeanors with regard to the Emoluments Clause. A Billion dollar real estate deal with Putin in exchange for favors? Gates talking Wikileaks during the summer of 2016? Get woke people.
3
Ok, now that many of us are disappointed in the words emanating from AG Barr at the press hearing, question is what did you expect. He focused exclusively on the reason the Mueller investigation was first started. Collusion and obstruction. Just not enough evidence to prove the case. Period.
The second act to this corrupt presidency is yet to start. Whatever the results of forthcoming investigations, Congress needs to focus on the important issues facing the nation. The list is long and in desperate need of attention.
We the people are the judge and jury of this presidents future. It lies in our hands, get out and VOTE. Take the advise of the un-esteemed senator from Kentucky 'our job is to make this a one term presidency". VOTE!
Whether or not it was "specifically agreed" the quid pro quo here is stunningly corrupt: Russia helps Trump win with social media, organizing rallies, and hacking Hillary. Trump helps Russia by ignoring Ukraine violations, not imposing sanctions, and acting as Putin's Western PR firm.
If all that is legal then the law is seriously deficient. We will face further outrages against our democracy until it is amended and vigorously enforced.