Category Archives: Trump-Russia investigation

The key unanswered questions from the Mueller report

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Almost two-thirds of the section on Russian hacking is redacted and the special counsel refrained from deciding whether Trump committed a crime

The public release of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Thursday finally brought into the open key findings from the two-year investigation into Russian interference in the US election. The special counsel team found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow but disclosed damning revelations about Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to interfere with the Russia investigation and possible obstruction of justice.

But the 448-page report includes substantial redactions – on the subject of Russian hacking, nearly two-thirds of the section is blacked out. Those redactions, as well as Mueller’s decision to punt on the question of whether Trump committed a crime, raise a series of fresh questions about the conduct of Trump and his aides.

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Nadler says Mueller report shows ‘disturbing evidence’ of obstruction of justice – video

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US judiciary committee chair Jerry Nadler has said the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation report outlines 'disturbing evidence' that Donald Trump engaged in obstruction of justice. Nadler also accused US attorney general William Barr of undermining his own department in order to protect the president. He said it was 'disingenuous and misleading' of Barr to say Trump is 'clear of wrongdoing'. 

Barr is scheduled to testify before the committee on 2 May and Nadler has requested Mueller testify before the committee as well because 'we can’t believe what Barr tells us'

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Mueller’s report would have signaled the end for anyone other than Trump

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Analysis: activity discovered by Mueller was not, as Trump and his allies falsely insist, standard stuff for a political campaign

For all his bluster about being a master builder, Donald Trump really made his millions through branding. From chewy steaks to failing casinos, Trump has spent decades putting lucrative lipstick on pigs.

So when faced with a sprawling criminal investigation into how Russia worked to get him elected – and how he then repeatedly tried to obstruct the inquiry – the president devised a brutally effective public relations campaign.

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Mueller report: the key takeaways from the Trump-Russia investigation

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The special counsel found 11 instances in which Trump and his campaign’s actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s highly-anticipated report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was made public on Thursday, examining potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow and whether Donald Trump obstructed justice.

The special counsel found 11 “episodes” in which Trump’s actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice, detailing several instances in which the president’s demands to interfere with the investigation were blocked by his aides.

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William Barr: bottom line is that Mueller found no collusion – video

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The US attorney general, William Barr, has said the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not find Donald Trump or members of his campaign worked with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Addressing a news conference before the report’s release, Barr said there were 10 episodes involving Trump that were scrutinised for possible obstruction of justice

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Five key things to look for in the Mueller report

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Barr has said the report has two parts: one on Russian tampering efforts and one on alleged obstruction of justice by Trump

On Thursday, the US justice department is expected to release a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report on Russian election tampering and the Donald Trump campaign to the public. The attorney general, William Barr, has announced a press conference at the justice department at 9.30am to discuss it.

Related: Mueller report: redacted Trump-Russia findings to be released today – live

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Justice department discussed Mueller’s findings with White House, report says – as it happened

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Democrats condemn Barr’s handling of report’s release following news it will not come until after press conference

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that House Democrats, looking into President Trump’s financial interests, have subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corp., Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto Dominion Bank.

Investigators on the House Financial Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee have focused their early efforts on Deutsche Bank, which has said it in engaged “in a productive dialogue” with the committees.

Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Mr. Trump goes back decades. Since 1998, the bank has led or participated in loans of at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Mr. Trump, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

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Democrats condemn attorney general’s plan for rollout of Mueller report

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Attorney general has sought to ‘put his own spin’ on special counsel’s report, say lawmakers before report’s release

On the eve of the long-anticipated release of the report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian tampering in the 2016 election and alleged Trump campaign involvement, Democrats accused the attorney general, William Barr, of trying to “cherry-pick” and “put his own spin” on the conclusions of the investigation.

Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House judiciary committee, appeared with colleagues at a press conference in New York City late Wednesday to protest against Barr’s plan for rolling out a redacted version of the Mueller report.

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Trump 2020 team spending almost half of Facebook ad budget to target seniors – live

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Trump camp is spending 44% of its Facebook ad budget to target users 65 years and older, Axios reports, while top 12 Democrats have allotted 27%

Cory Booker – US senator from New Jersey, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate

Bodega Boys – the entertainers Desus and Mero, Bronx-bred pop podcasters turned stars of the late-night Showtime show “Desus and Mero”

Bodega Boys made it over to Brick City. And yeah, it was indeed brick city for much of the night, but my floater wasn't half bad. Catch me on @SHODesusandMero this Thursday (11pm ET/PT) -- don't miss this game. pic.twitter.com/r3iZWYmefd

Brave political opinions...[John Kerry?!?]

Joe Biden/Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden/John Kerry will be a good ticket.
Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto are completely useless and time wasters.

Trump's logo looks like the Tesco cheap range logo. (Says it all I reckon, except that Trump is a leech on society, and definitely not cheap or value for money) I wonder if Tesco will sue for the misuse of their logo.

As a European, I am deeply envious of what is going on in US politics. Yes, there is a powerful right wing side, but there is also a vibrant and powerful emerging left too.

German voters and politicians are so stuck in 90s politics. They are sleep walking. No urgency on the climate or to how an erstwhile social democrat party could have lost its roots so badly. There is nothing going on here. And about the only party that hasn't sold out to neoliberalism, the Linke, are also not supported.

Old white people. What IS their problem?

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Full Mueller report may have ‘proof of bad deeds’ and must be seen – Democrat

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House judiciary chair Jerrold Nadler accuses attorney general William Barr of ‘acting as a personal agent of the president’

The chairman of the House judiciary committee on Sunday said a report filed by special counsel Robert Mueller could contain “proof of some very bad deeds” and warned that the entire document must be made available to Congress.

Mueller, a former director of the FBI, was appointed to investigate election tampering, alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives and related matters. He filed what has been described as a nearly 400-page report last month.

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Former White House counsel for Obama charged in Mueller-related case

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Gregory Craig was charged with lying to US authorities about his work alongside Paul Manafort

Gregory Craig, a former White House counsel to Barack Obama, has been charged with lying to US authorities about his work alongside Paul Manafort for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

Related: William Barr says 'spying did occur' on Trump campaign during Obama era

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William Barr claims Trump campaign was ‘spied’ on under Obama – live

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Attorney general tells Senate subcommittee he intends to release reacted version of Mueller’s Trump-Russia report itself

Washington Gov. and presidential candidate Jay Inslee has been writing and illustrating children’s books for his grandkids for the last decade, CNN reports.

And they’re very on brand, with several of the books focusing on the warming climate and its effect on the environment.

Senator Elizabeth Warren raised $6 million for her presidential campaign in the first three months of the year.

She got 213,000 contributions from more than 135,000 donors, with an average donation of $28, according to the New York Times.

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William Barr says redacted Mueller report will be made public ‘within a week’ – live

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The attorney general says the Trump-Russia investigation findings will be available and any redactions will be color coded

Barr says he doesn’t not know why members of Mueller’s team might be frustrated with him as reported in several outlets.

No I don’t. I suspect that they wanted more put out but in my view, I was not interested in putting out summaries.”

Barr declines to get into more detail about whether the Mueller report cleared Trump, as the president insists and relies on his letter.

Rep. GRAVES tries to get Barr to agree that his four-page memo concluded "No collusion, no obstruction."

BARR doesn't bite: "Well, the letter speaks for itself."

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Nadler: Barr is ‘biased’ and Mueller’s Trump-Russia report must be released

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  • Democrat: attorney general is ‘agent of the administration’
  • President tweets angrily about leaks to ‘fake news media’

Senior Democrats are keeping up pressure on attorney general William Barr to release the full Mueller report, claiming collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia happened “in plain sight”.

Related: William Barr: attorney general plays Republican spear-catcher again

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Trump: Mueller report a ‘total waste of time’ – but it proves no collusion

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Donald Trump said on Saturday he has not read Robert Mueller’s report about contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia, which his Democratic opponents say should be released in full.

Related: Barack Obama warns progressives to avoid 'circular firing squad'

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Joe Biden jokes about inappropriate touching complaints – live

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Former vice-president makes joke at union event in Washington, while 20 states move to block funding for Trump’s border wall

A source tells CNN Donald Trump is willing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to block a House Democratic request for his tax returns.

“This is a hill and people would be willing to die on it,” the official said.

California has filed its 50th lawsuit against the Trump administration. This one targets the feds’ withholding of data on the weakening of car emission standards, CNBC reports.

California files 50th lawsuit against Trump administration - Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom just announced state is suing fed govt "for withholding data on efforts to weaken vehicle emission regulations that place the health of millions of kids, families and communities at risk."

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White nationalism a ‘persistent, pervasive threat’, says FBI chief – live

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•FBI director Christopher Wray warned that white nationalism is a “persistent, pervasive threat”, breaking with Donald Trump’s comments in the wake of the New Zealand terror attacks. “The danger. I think, of white supremacists, violent extremism or another kind of extremism is of course significant,” Wray said. Trump played down the threat of white nationalism after a white nationalist murdered 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand in March.

•Congress has passed a resolution to end US military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, in an unprecedented attempt to curtail the president’s power. The House voted 247 to 175 to send the resolution to the president’s desk, where it is likely to be met with a veto. The Senate passed the resolution last month, with seven Republicans breaking rank to support the resolution.

Lindsay Graham has joined those calling for Donald Trump to release his tax returns, in an extremely rare act of defiance towards the president.

“I think you should release your tax returns if you’re running for president in 2020,” Graham told reporters on Thursday,

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Trump’s taxes: Democrats request president’s returns from IRS – as it happened

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Committee chairman seeks six years of personal returns and some business returns, calling for ‘accountability’

That’s it for me tonight! Here’s what happened Wednesday evening in politics:

Related: Trump’s Federal Reserve pick owes $75,000 in taxes, US government alleges

The President’s son-in-law has been identified as the “Senior White House Official” who appeared in reports to the House Oversight Committee, the Washington Post reports. The documents were released this week after whistleblower Tricia Newbold shared concerns with the committee, over Trump overriding career intelligence officers to grant clearances despite “significant disqualifying factors”.

Kushner was flagged for significant issues raised during his background investigation, including his potential to be swayed by foreign influence, his personal conduct, and business conflicts of interest.

The new details about the internal debate over Kushner’s clearance revives questions about the severity of the issues flagged in his background investigation and Kushner’s access to government secrets.

Last year, President Trump directed his then-chief of staff, John F. Kelly, to give Kushner a top-secret security clearance, despite concerns expressed by career intelligence officers”.

Related: Trump ordered officials to give Kushner top-secret security clearance – report

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William Barr to give Congress redacted version of Mueller report by mid-April

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Lawmakers will receive findings from the Trump-Russia investigation, with no plans for Trump to add his own edits

Congress will be given a redacted version of Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia report by mid-April and there are no plans for Donald Trump to add his own edits, the US attorney general, William Barr, said on Friday.

Related: Mueller report release: Barr says Congress will get redacted version by mid-April – live

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Donald Trump rails against ‘greatest hoax’ at first rally since Mueller report

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President wrongly claims special counsel’s report fully exonerated him as he woos voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Donald Trump continued his assault on the media and Democrats on Thursday night, wrongly claiming “total exoneration, complete vindication” at his first rally since Robert Mueller submitted his report.

Trump dedicated about half of his approximately 90-minute speech in front of a raucous audience at Grand Rapids to the topic, labeling the accusations and investigation “ridiculous bullshit”. The president bounced between theories about why the special counsel’s investigation happened and attacks on his opponents.

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