Mueller report summary: Every detail in the explosive Trump-Russia investigation document
The most explosive updates from the highly-anticipated report
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report has finally been released to the public — and we're beginning to get a sense of what's inside.
The Department of Justice released a redacted version of the report into Russian interference in the 2016 election Thursday following a press conference held by Attorney General William Barr.
The Independent's Chris Riotta, Victoria Gagliardo-Silver and Lily Puckett reviewed the report, finding numerous examples of inappropriate contacts between Russian operatives and members of the Trump campaign throughout the 2016 presidential election, as well as extensive business discussions between Mr Trump and his associates to discuss a major real estate project in Moscow as he was running for the White House.
Mr Trump’s efforts to influence the Russia investigation “were mostly unsuccessful,” according to the report, but that was because the people surrounding the president “declined to carry out orders to accede to his requests.”
Mr Mueller’s report details instances by several officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, ignoring or refusing the president's requests to interfere in the investigation.
The most heavily redacted portion of the report appears in its first section, which covers Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and examines contacts between Russian representatives and the Trump campaign. The report concludes there was no criminal culpability by Trump aides.
Several pages in that first section are almost entirely blacked out. The report’s second section, examining possible obstruction by Mr Trump, appeared more lightly redacted.
The Justice Department’s careful excisions begin as early as the fourth page of the report.
Mr Barr said he was withholding grand jury and classified information as well as portions relating to ongoing investigation and the privacy or reputation of uncharged “peripheral” people.
In referencing an oligarch who headed up a team of Russian tech experts who used US social media to exploit American political controversies, Justice officials blacked out details about the man’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Additional reporting by AP. Check out The Independent's initial live-read of the document below.
Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load
Independent reporter Lily Puckett also noted that in 2016 a redacted "author" in the IRA-controlled Facebook group Secured Borders 'criticized the "lower number of posts dedicated to criticizing Hillary Clinton" and reminded the the Facebook specialist "it is imperative to intensify criticizing Hillary Clinton."
Independent reporter Victoria Gagliardo-Silver notes that in the Fall of 2016, the report indicates that Wikileaks released a second wind of the hacked emails to draw media attention away from the infamous video where then-candidate Trump used pejorative terms referring to women, saying “grab them by the pussy”.
The report says this video was “considered damaging to his candidacy”, and as a result, “Less than an hour later, WikiLeaks made its second release: thousands of John Podesta’s emails that had been stolen by the GRU in late March 2016.”
We knew the report would be redacted, but some pages are virtually blank thanks to Attorney General William Barr's deletions.
Independent reporter Lily Puckett notes the following:
According to the report, IRA's attempts to influence via social media began as early as 2014. "IRA employees travelled to the United States in mid-2014 on an intelligence-gathering mission to obtain information and photographs for use in their social media posts" has a very montage feel to it, and sort of explains the quality of posts on these groups (page 14). A group of four IRA employees "claiming to be four friends who met at a party" attempted to gain entry to the US by lying about the purpose of their trip. "Ultimately, two IRA employees - Anna Bogacheva and Alekasandra Krylova" - received visas and entered the United States on June 4, 2014." (page 21)
IRA Facebook group names active in the 2016 include "Being Patriotic," "Stop All Immigrants," "Secured Borders," and "Tea Party News." Their seemingly liberal-geared groups: "Black Matters," "Blactivist," "Don't Shoot Us," "LBGT United," and "United Muslims of America." (page 25)
Here's an IRA poster for a pro-Trump rally in Pennsylvania, 2016. The rally was part of a series of rallies that eventually "drew the attention of the Trump Campaign" in Florida, about which then-candidate Trump posted on his personal Facebook page. (page 31)
Independent reporter Victoria Gagliardo-Silver notes the investigation into the suspected Russian interference and influence the Presidential election was ongoing. The report states “That same day, October 7, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint public statement “that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.”
The report further states, “Those “thefts” and “disclosures” of the hacked materials through online platforms such as WikiLeaks are intended to interfere with the US election process.” (Page 7)
Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive officer of the Russian sovereign wealth fund, was one of the Russian businessmen who attempted to make contact with the incoming administration. The report states he was put in contact with Erik Prince, a Trump supporter and associate of Steve Bannon, who was then a senior advisor. (Page 7)
The Mueller report goes into extensive details about how Donald Trump sought to curtail the Special Counsel’s investigation. The president attempted to prevent public disclosure of evidence, asked Jeff Sessions to reverse his recusal.
“Although the obstruction statutes do not require proof of such a crime, the absence of that evidence affects the analysis of the President’s intent and requires consideration of other possible motives for his conduct,” the report reads.
For their work together in 2016, Jerome Corsi asked Ted Malloch to put him in Julian Assange for an interview for WoldNetDaily, where Corsi worked. Corsi also asked Malloch to suggest "individuals in the 'orbit' of U.K. politician Nigel Farage" who might be able to put him contact with Assange. Malloch claims he made no real attempt to do any of this. (Page 54)
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