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As it happenedended

Trump-Mueller report: President retreats to Mar-a-Lago as Democrats issue subpoenas and talk impeachment

Document paints damning picture of a White House torn apart by lies and mistrust

Chris Riotta
New York
,Tom Embury-Dennis
Friday 19 April 2019 21:08 BST
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Donald Trump says he's 'having a good day' following Mueller report release

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Donald Trump has flown to his private resort in Florida for the Easter holiday, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill issue subpoenas and discuss impeachment proceedings in the wake of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

The president exploded on Twitter the morning after the report’s release to the public, calling statements included in the nearly 450-page document “bulls**t.”

“Statements are made about me by certain people in the Crazy Mueller Report, in itself written by 18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters, which are fabricated & totally untrue,” he tweeted Friday. “Watch out for people that take so-called ‘notes,’ when the notes never existed until needed. Because I never agreed to testify, it was not necessary for me to respond to statements made in the ‘Report’ about me, some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad).”

Meanwhile, the House Oversight Chairman has suggested the possibility of impeaching Donald Trump in the wake of the explosive Mueller report.

“A lot of people keep asking about the question of impeachment. We may very well come to that very soon,” Elijah Cummings said in an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

He added, “But right now, let’s make sure we understand what Mueller was doing, understand what [Attorney General William] Barr was doing, and see the report in an unredacted form, and all of the underlying documents.”

Mr Mueller laid out multiple episodes in which the president directed others to influence or curtail the Russia investigation after the special counsel’s appointment in May 2017.

The report says those efforts “were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests”.

The attorney general said on Thursday a version of the report with fewer redactions will be made available to a small group of lawmakers.

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He said all redactions would be removed from that version of the report except those relating to grand-jury information.

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Stats guru Nate Silver points out that the Russia issue was not an important issue for many midterm voters. People who voted in the midterms also opposed impeachment by a wide margin.

Clemence Michallon19 April 2019 20:01

The House Oversight Chairman has suggested the possibility of impeaching Donald Trump in the wake of the explosive Mueller report. 

“A lot of people keep asking about the question of impeachment. We may very well come to that very soon," Elijah Cummings said in an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe. 

He added, “But right now, let's make sure we understand what Mueller was doing, understand what [Attorney General William] Barr was doing, and see the report in an unredacted form, and all of the underlying documents.”

Chris Riotta19 April 2019 20:26

Melania Trump reportedly told the president not to speak with press outside of the White House about the Mueller report after its release. 

Bloomberg is reporting the first lady told Donald Trump to avoid discussing the details with the media, despite his initial inclination to “show defiance” -

Chris Riotta19 April 2019 20:47

It should be noted that the president still has not completed his Twitter statement from earlier today...

Chris Riotta19 April 2019 21:00

Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican, posted the following message to Twitter in response to the explosive report. 

"I am sickened at the extent and pervasiveness of dishonesty and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land, including the President," he wrote. 

Chris Riotta19 April 2019 21:15

That's all for today's live coverage from the fallout surrounding Robert Mueller's report.

Chris Riotta19 April 2019 21:30

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