Category Archives: Robert Mueller

Barr reportedly to skip House testimony after Senate grilling – live

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Trump’s attorney general testified before the Senate Wednesday after Mueller criticized his summary of the Trump-Russia investigation report

Here’s the full statement from House judiciary chair Jerry Nadler:

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says if Attorney General William Barr doesn't provide the unredacted Mueller report to Congress in the next day or two, "the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general." https://t.co/muIkjgd0aT pic.twitter.com/s0q6kBctHw

Here’s attorney general William Barr’s full statement for why he won’t be testifying tomorrow before the House judiciary committee:

Barr’s statement makes clear that the sole basis for his refusal to testify before House Judiciary is that they intended to have a staff attorney ask questions.

Apparently Barr doesn’t want to face 30 minutes of well-crafted questions. pic.twitter.com/4pWMoFzKHp

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Mueller criticized attorney general’s memo on Russia findings

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In letter to Barr, special counsel said attorney general ‘did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance’ of investigation

The special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to US attorney general William Barr expressing frustration with how the attorney general characterized the conclusions of Mueller’s investigation into potential ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, according to multiple reports.

The Washington Post, the New York Times and NBC reported on Tuesday that Mueller penned the letter in late March, after Barr wrote a four-page summary of the special counsel’s work that largely cleared Trump on potential obstruction of justice.

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Barr threatens to skip House hearing on Mueller report over format dispute

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Attorney general has expressed objections to House judiciary committee’s questioning format, according to Democratic aide

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has informed the powerful House of Representatives judiciary committee that attorney general William Barr may not attend a Thursday hearing to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Barr has expressed objections over the panel’s questioning format, according to a senior Democratic committee aide.

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Fox News analyst says Mueller report proves Trump did obstruct justice

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Andrew Napolitano argued in an op-ed the president obstructed justice with ‘unlawful’ behavior related to the Russia inquiry

Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano has argued that Donald Trump did obstruct justice, with “unlawful, defenseless and condemnable” behavior related to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In the opinion column Did President Trump obstruct justice?, the host of the Liberty File on Fox Nation argued that the Mueller report illustrates clear and intentional obstruction of justice, constituting legal grounds for impeachment.

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Trump claims ‘I did nothing wrong’ as Democrats talk impeachment – live

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The president has already been tweeting about the Mueller report this morning, ahead of two Democratic town halls today

This is also not true.

“Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson accuses United Kingdom Intelligence of helping Obama Administration Spy on the 2016 Trump Presidential Campaign.” @OANN WOW! It is now just a question of time before the truth comes out, and when it does, it will be a beauty!

GCHQ on Trump tweet: "As we have previously stated, the allegations that GCHQ was asked to conduct 'wire tapping' against the then President Elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored."

While railing against the Mueller report this morning on Twitter, Trump said the 448-page document was crafted by “angry Democrats” and had unlimited money/$35m behind it - one lie and one maybe truth.

Not to mention, his suggestion that the Supreme Court could intervene in impeachment is something the Supreme Court ruled it wouldn’t do in 1993.

The Mueller Report, despite being written by Angry Democrats and Trump Haters, and with unlimited money behind it ($35,000,000), didn’t lay a glove on me. I DID NOTHING WRONG. If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not only......

.....are there no “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” there are no Crimes by me at all. All of the Crimes were committed by Crooked Hillary, the Dems, the DNC and Dirty Cops - and we caught them in the act! We waited for Mueller and WON, so now the Dems look to Congress as last hope!

Related: Trump says aides need not testify to Congress amid growing power struggle

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Giuliani rails against Mueller report as Democrats mull Trump impeachment

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As the White House mounted a furious assault on the Mueller report and critics of a president not found to have conspired with Russia but not cleared of obstruction of justice, the chair of the House judiciary committee said obstruction, if proven, “would be [an] impeachable” offence.

Related: Trump and impeachment: where Democrats stand after Mueller

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All the president’s men and women: how disobedient aides saved Trump

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Mueller report reveals how staff told to do illegal things did not but some say that doesn’t mean Trump is not guilty of a crime

The myth of Donald Trump presents him as a man of authority, a leader loved and feared, a boss who demands loyalty – and gets it.

Related: The 14 current Republican senators who voted to impeach or convict Bill Clinton

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What’s missing? The clues to Barr’s 1,000 Mueller report redactions

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Nearly 40% of the 448 pages have parts blacked out but that content – including remarks by Trump – is not a total mystery

The Mueller report contains tantalising details of Trump campaign dealings with Russia and of the president’s possible attempts to obstruct justice. But much of it is blacked out. Nearly 40% of the pages in the document contain at least one redaction, totalling nearly 1,000 in all. In some parts, entire sections have disappeared.

Related: The full text of Robert Mueller's report on Trump and Russia

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Mueller report contains nearly 1,000 redactions – live updates

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Analysis counts up attorney general William Barr’s redactions, as House issues subpoena for version of the report without anything removed

Another former federal prosecutor weighs in on CNN:

If this was any person other than the president of the United States, I can say as a former prosecutor, this would be a knock-down case for obstruction,” said CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. “I’ve charged and convicted on obstruction of justice based on a fraction of this evidence.

- Elie Honig

"If this was any person other than the President of the United States...this would be a knock down case for obstruction of justice," says former federal prosecutor @eliehonig as he lays out his biggest takeaways from the Mueller report. https://t.co/QtOw6uvA9r pic.twitter.com/ydPr42khbg

In an opinion column for Politico, a former federal prosecutor describes the Mueller report as “case meticulously laid out by a prosecutor who knew he was not allowed to bring it.”

The case is so detailed that it is hard to escape the conclusion that Mueller could have indicted and convicted Trump for obstruction of justice—if he were permitted to do so. And the reason he is not permitted to do so is very clear: Department of Justice policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president.”

"...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." -Mueller report pic.twitter.com/PvYaWVAjb3

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Mueller report: House issues subpoena for full unredacted version

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Jerry Nadler issues subpoena for Robert Mueller’s full report and the underlying documents ‘to make informed decisions’

The House judiciary chairman, Jerry Nadler, on Friday issued a subpoena for the full, unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 US election and the Trump campaign.

Related: 'No new information': Russia shrugs off Mueller report

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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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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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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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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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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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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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