Full Mueller report released. Here's what it says.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has released the Mueller report to Congress and the public.

The nearly 400-page report was partially redacted to protect ongoing investigations, grand jury information, personal privacy, and classified information.

What the report found

Special Counsel Robert Mueller found that the Russian government tried to help President Donald Trump win the 2016 election, and that the Trump campaign thought it would benefit from the Kremlin's hacking and influence campaign.

However, despite "numerous links" between the Trump campaign and people with ties to the Russian government, Mueller found that "the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges" against campaign members.

Investigation stymied by witness deception

The report noted that the investigation was stymied by witnesses who lied or provided incomplete information, deleted relevant communications, or used encrypted apps. The deception prevented investigators from corroborating statements or to "fully question witnesses about statements that appeared inconsistent with other known facts."

Due to those gaps, "the Office cannot rule out the possibility that the unavailable information would shed additional light on (or cast in a new light) the events described in the report."

Compared to Barr's summary

The report states...

"Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

In his four-page letter about Mueller's findings, Attorney General William Barr quoted the report, writing...

"...[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

Barr excluded the first part of the report's quote regarding Russia's involvement and the Trump campaign's awareness of it.

Collusion or conspiracy?

Trump consistently has used the phrase "no collusion" when referring to the investigation. The claim was reiterated by Barr in his press conference regarding the release of the report.

In the report, Mueller points out that the investigation did not examine collusion, which "is not a specific offense or theory of liability found in the United States Code, nor is it a term of art in federal criminal law."

Instead, he investigated conspiracy and other federal crimes.

The report confirmed much of the information already in the public domain about the Trump campaign's contacts with individuals linked to the Russian government, while adding new details. The investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign's numerous interactions with Russians rose to the criminal level of conspiracy.

For example, it determined:

Obstruction of justice

The investigation found extensive evidence that Trump may have obstructed justice by engaging in "public attacks on the [Mueller] investigation, non-public efforts to control it, and efforts in both public and private to encourage witnesses not to cooperate with the investigation."

However, Mueller declined to make "a traditional prosecutorial decision" on obstruction, partly because Department of Justice policy prohibits indicting a sitting president.

Those are not the only concerns regarding Trump

The report covered potential crimes related to Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, and what involvement there was from the Trump campaign.

It did not include certain national security issues, including whether Trump was compromised financially or otherwise by Russia.

It also did not address other investigations into Trump and his businesses, including those by the State of New York.

Mueller also has referred a number of cases to other prosecutors. Details have been redacted about more than a dozen of these because they currently are under investigation.

The original report can be obtained on the Justice Department website. It's a very large file and is not searchable.

We have created a searchable version, and we've separated it into its two volumes.
Click here to view Volume 1 (Russia)
Click here to view Volume 2 (Obstruction of Justice)

AG summary of Mueller report narrow and non-committal

Attorney General William Barr has turned over a summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation results to Congress.

According to the summary, Mueller "did not establish" that members of President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia in its efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

Mueller opted not to evaluate whether Trump had committed obstruction of justice, instead leaving the decision to Barr, according to the summary. Barr stated that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded the evidence "is not sufficient" to establish that Trump obstructed justice.

"While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him," Mueller wrote, according to the summary.

Barr wrote that he plans to make public as much of the report as possible - redacting sections related to grand jury secrecy rules and ongoing investigations.

What the summary addresses

The narrowly tailored summary merely asserts that the investigation did not establish that any campaign official "conspired or knowingly coordinated" with the Internet Research Agency in its interference efforts or with the Russian government in its hacking campaign.

"Coordination" was narrowly defined as an "agreement - tacit or express - between the Trump campaign and the Russian government on election interference."

What the summary does not address

More may be discussed in the full report, but the summary does not address...

More of what Mueller uncovered on these and other matters, and his conclusions about them, may be included in the full report.

Some still may be under investigation by other prosecutors. Mueller also referred "several matters to other offices for further action," but it's unclear how many cases there are or what they involve. Mueller has not obtained any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public, but it's unclear if other prosecutors have. The report does not recommend any further indictments.

Click here to read Barr's summary to Congressional leaders

Click here to read News in FiVe News Editor Rob Dennis' perspectives on the summary.

Mueller delivers report on Russia investigation

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has delivered a report to the attorney general detailing his findings in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump's campaign assisted those efforts.

In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees, Attorney General William Barr wrote that he might be able to provide them with Mueller's principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.

Click here to read Barr's letter.

House wants Russia investigation results made public

A Concurrent Resolution in Congress would demand that results of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia be turned over to Congress and the public.

Parts of the report, such as information obtained about those not criminally charged, would be kept from the public. This does not include the president, as Department of Justice (DOJ) policy currently prevents a sitting president from being indicted.

Concurrent resolutions do not need to be signed by the president. So, while it expressed the intentions of representatives, it cannot be enforced.

The Trump administration has said it will release the report.

At his confirmation hearing, Attorney General William Barr testified, "I believe it is very important that the public and Congress be informed of the results of the special counsel's work. For that reason, my goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law."

Trump told reporters on March 20, "... let it come out. Let people see it."

The vote in Congress

The resolution passed 420-0 in the House of Representatives (4 Democrats and 7 Republicans did not vote either way).

It might not even be voted on by the Senate, as Sen. Lindsey Graham has blocked it. Senate rules allow for any senator to block a vote.

Click here for more about the resolution.

FBI investigated whether Trump worked for Russia

Has President Donald Trump been working for Russia against American interests?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began investigating that less than six months after Trump took office, the New York Times reported.

The counterintelligence investigation, which began days after he fired then FBI Director James Comey, sought to determine whether Trump "was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow's influence," and whether his actions constituted a threat to national security.

It was combined with a criminal investigation into whether the president had committed obstruction of justice by firing Comey. The decision to launch it was based in part on Trump's linking of the firing to the Russia investigation in a draft letter explaining Comey's dismissal and in a TV interview.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed shortly afterward to take over the investigation.

In an interview after the Times story was published, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro asked Trump if he is or has ever been working for Russia. Trump did not answer the question directly.

The following day, he did deny it.

For more, read the New York Times story.

Trump inaugural committee investigated for corruption

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether donations to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee were in exchange for access and influence, the Wall Street Journal reported.

And whether some of those donors were from Ukraine and Middle Eastern countries.

They also are investigating whether the inaugural committee misspent some of the $107 million in donations it received. Much of the money came from donations of more than $1 million - from corporations and wealthy individuals.

Felonies

Federal law prohibits buying influence. It also prohibits diverting funds from a nonprofit organization (the inaugural committee was registered as a nonprofit).

Foreign nationals are prohibited from donating to U.S. political groups.

In August, Republican lobbyist Sam Patten admitted as part of a plea agreement that he helped steer $200,000 in illegal foreign contributions to the inaugural committee, through a straw donation.

U.S. citizens are prohibited from knowingly making political contributions in another's name.

Update 2019-Feb-4: Federal prosecutors have issued a subpoena for documents related to the Trump inauguration - including those related to banking information, donors, guests, and benefits given out.

For more, read the New York Times story.

Congress tries to impose its will on Russia investigation

As the 115th Congress approaches its final two weeks before adjourning, it faces several bills regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

President Trump has called for Mueller to be fired since Mueller's first month on the job. It's likely that he lacks the authority, and that Mueller can be fired only by the person overseeing the investigation.

Previously, that was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had the role because then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. But Trump fired Sessions and appointed Matthew Whitaker to be acting attorney general. Whitaker had spoken out against the investigation - and now he oversees it.

Measures call for both protecting the investigation and for ending it

Some of the bills call for protecting the investigation:

There also are resolutions calling for an end to the investigation:

Highly unlikely any of them would pass on their own

The anti-investigation bills, being resolutions solely in the House of Representatives, could not enforce any action even if approved.

The bills to protect the investigation would need to pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives. To become law, they would need to be signed by the president.

Congress also could include one of the bills in a must-pass budget bill, risking a government shutdown if not passed.

For more on how Congress is acting on the Special Counsel Integrity Act, read the Politico story.

Trump's law-enforcement targets are organized crime experts

Trump's Top Targets in the Russia Probe Are Experts in Organized Crime

Lawsuit could keep Mueller from sharing Trump-Russia findings

For more than a year Robert Mueller has been investigating what role Donald Trump's campaign played in Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. He's secured indictments, convictions, and the testimony of those in Trump's inner circle.

But he may not be able to tell anyone - including Congress - what he's learned.

The outcome could hinge on a court case that has nothing directly to do with the investigation.

Attorney and author Stuart McKeever has been investigating the disappearance of Columbia University professor Jesus Galindez in 1956. He is asking a federal court to release grand jury information on the disappearance. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is arguing that the secret information can be released only under specific exemptions.

If the court rules that the Galindez information cannot be released, it is possible the ruling could apply to Mueller's investigation also, meaning he wouldn't be allowed to release the information revealed by grand jury testimony. Not to the public, not to Congress.

With one exception. The House of Representatives could subpoena the findings in an impeachment inquiry.

For more, read the Politico story.

Devin Nunes goes to London to question Trump evidence

Devin Nunes's Curious Trip to London

Zero spent of allocated $120M to stop election interference

Since late 2016, the State Department has had $120 million to investigate foreign attempts to influence U.S. elections. It has used none of it.

It has 23 analysts whose job it is to counter Russia's disinformation activities in the United States. None of them speaks Russian.

The lack of a Trump administration investigation comes in spite of...

Still, Trump has supported no actions to counter Russian activities.

He expressed doubt over the agencies' report, going as far as saying he believed Putin's denials.

After Mueller's indictments, his first response was not to express concern that elections were interfered with by a foreign government, but rather merely to claim in a Twitter posting that the Russian efforts started in 2014 - before Trump began his presidential campaign.

Regardless of the significance or insignificance of Trump's comparison - it is factually incorrect. He applied to patent his Make America Great Again campaign slogan in 2012.

Now-departing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a Fox News interview that Russia is already attempting to interfere in the 2018 Congressional elections, but "if it's their intention to interfere, they are going to find ways to do that. We can take steps we can take but this is something that, once they decide they are going to do it, it's very difficult to preempt it."

On March 15, Trump did impose sanctions on Russia, but he stated they were in response to the killing of a former Russian spy in Britain. He did not mention election interference.

For more, read the New York Times story.

Trump ordered Mueller fired. White House counsel refused

President Donald Trump ordered the firing of Special Counsel Robert Mueller in June, just a month after Mueller had been appointed to oversee the Russia investigation, the New York Times reported.

Trump backed down after White House Counsel Don McGahn refused to obey the order and threatened to quit if the president insisted. The president can't directly fire Mueller. Only the deputy attorney general who appointed the special counsel can fire him, and only for cause.

Mueller was appointed after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May. He was appointed to conduct the investigation into the Russian government's interference in the 2016 presidential election, and its possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump said he fired Comey in part because of "this Russia thing."

Trump claimed Mueller had three "conflicts of interest" that justified his firing:

McGahn disagreed that these were valid reasons, and refused to call the Department of Justice to have Mueller fired.

For more, read the New York Times story.

Click here for our discussion of Trump's involvement with Russia.

Mueller subpoenas Deutsche Bank data

Trump-Russia probe: Mueller 'demands Deutsche Bank data'

Senate bills would make it hard for Trump to fire Mueller

Two bipartisan groups of senators have introduced bills that would make it harder for President Trump to fire the investigator hired to investigate him.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was hired by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein soon after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. He was hired to investigate possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Trump has suggested that he would consider having Mueller fired if Mueller's investigation led to areas Trump does not approve of.

Trump cannot directly fire Mueller. That likely would need to be done by the attorney general. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the investigation, however, so it is unclear how a firing would take place.

The bills have yet to be considered by the Senate. Either one would need to pass both houses of Congress and then be signed by Trump in order to become law. Sen. Tom Carper, a sponsor of one of the bills, said they are mostly symbolic at this point - a way to let Trump know that Congress wants Mueller to be allowed to perform his investigation without outside influence.

In the same timeframe as these bills, 20 Republicans sent a letter to Sessions asking him to investigate "a plethora of matters" related to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and officials in the administration of then-President Barack Obama.

For more, read the Politico story.

The bills are S-1735 and S-1741.

Click here to read the letter from Republicans to Sessions asking him to investigate Clinton and members of the Obama administration.