Trump-Mueller report: Explosive document reveals '11 instances of possible obstruction' as Democrats attack 'partisan' handling
The president is claiming victory. Democrats say not so fast.
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Your support makes all the difference.The explosive, and much-anticipated, release of the Mueller report has come.
Just after attorney general William Barr stood behind a podium and largely seemed to defend Donald Trump, the damaging report was released, showing that Mr Trump attempted to fire Robert Mueller multiple times and that he said he thought his presidency was "f****d" after the special counsel was appointed.
Mr Barr has declined to prosecute Mr Trump for obstruction, a decision he announced last year. But, the special counsel investigation highlights an incredible amount of damaging nuance to that decision.
And, Democrats were quick to challenge the assumption that Mr Trump did not commit a crime, or that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Instead, the 400 page document detailed dozens of interactions between the Trump campaign and Russian officials seeking to flip members of the Trump team.
In addition, the report detailed a shocking propensity for White House officials to disregard the president when it comes to the Russia investigation — and that willingness to ignore the president could be a saving grace for Mr Trump.
According to the report, Mr Trump attempted repeatedly to get his staff to force Mr Mueller's firing. Those staff members just ignored him, though.
There's a lot to unpack — and we've done most of that work for you below.
Please read along for the updates we posted throughout the day — from Mr Barr's press conference, to the shocking revelations of the report, to the reaction as Washington transitioned into its next phase of the Trump presidency:
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Mueller looked into news of 'compromising tapes' of Trump in Russia said to be uncovered in Steele dossier... better known as the 'pee tape'
The report says in a footnote that Michael Cohen was in touch with Russian sources who said that they "stopped flow of tapes from Russia but not sure about anything else".
The so-called Steele dossier details an incident from 2013 when Mr Trump was a private citizen in which he reportedly asked prostitutes to urinate on a bed that former President Barack Obama had slept in. The incident, if it happened, is said to have occurred during the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant.
The report doesn't say if it happened, but does note that the tapes were suppressed in some way or another — whatever those tapes were.
Nadler accuses Barr of 'undermining' the Justice Department to protect the presidentMr Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused the attorney general of using his office to protect the president, and has promised a strong inquiry into the president's conduct now that the Mueller report has been released.
"Attorney general Barr appears to have shown an unsettling willingness to undermine his own department in order to protect President Trump," Mr Nadler said during a press conference.
The Mueller report, notably, stated that investigators were not certain that Mr Trump had not obstructed justice, and explicitly mentioned that Congress retains the right to prosecute the president even if the attorney general refuses to.
HBO wants Donald Trump to quit using their font for his tweetsPer the Press Association:
HBO has asked Donald Trump to cease using its intellectual property after the US President shared another Game Of Thrones-style meme on Twitter. The US television network responded after Mr Trump posted a picture of himself walking into smoke, with the words "No collusion. No obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats - Game Over" in the font of the hit fantasy show.
Trump isn't a criminal mastermind, he's just a narcissist — Indy VoicesIf you're looking for silver linings in the Mueller report, one of our latest in Indy Voices is not for you.
Attorney Carli Pierson lays out why the fact that Donald Trump isn't a cunning criminal is actually pretty horrifying.
AOC accused Republicans of having a 'double standard' on impeachmentHere's our report on Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's tweets this afternoon calling out her Republican colleagues.
Missed your chance to read the full Mueller report yourself? Think again.
Sure, the internet and newspapers around the globe are full of *spoilers* right now, but if you're looking to sit back and really get a good read out of the Mueller report, you still can.
Where, you ask? Well, right here at The Independent, of course:
'That is not the subject of vindication, that is the subject of condemnation' — Schiff calls out Trump for misleading the American peopleHouse Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff has weighed in on the Mueller report, from California.
He criticized the attorney general for his handling of the special counsel's investigation, and suggests that Mr Barr did a disservice to the American people by misleading and mischaracterizing the report.
"The attorney general did a great disservice to the country by misrepresenting significant parts of the Mueller report, by attempting to put a positive stint on the special counsel's findings. The attorney general is not the president's personal lawyer, although it appears he thinks he is," Mr Schiff said.
"On the issue of obstruction of justice, the report outlines multiple attempts by the president to mislead the country," Mr Schiff continued, noting that Mr Trump also asked others to lie.
Mr Schiff also said that the special counsel's report outlined a range of evidence that could incriminate Mr Trump — but that Mr Barr ignored that.
"The attorney general's actions would make the president above the law," Mr Schiff said.
Mr Schiff finished his planned remarks by saying that — regardless of whether it was illegal — Mr Trump took great effort to lie to the American people. "That is not the subject of vindication, that is the subject of condemnation," Mr Schiff said.
Democrats set their sights on the 2020 election — not impeachment — in wake of Mueller reportHouse majority leader Steny Hoyer — the second most powerful member of that body, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi — has said that the Democrats don't plan on impeaching Donald Trump.
While many have pointed out that the Mueller report appears to contradict Mr Barr's assessment that the president did nothing wrong in several ways, Mr Hoyer is noting that impeachment would be fraught with political calculations. Democrats have no interest in alienating moderate Republicans who may dislike the president and be open to voting for a Democrat, but would perhaps be turned off by the harsh impeachment effort.
"Based on what we have seen to date, going forward on impeachment is not worthwhile at this point. Very frankly, there is an election in 18 months and the American people will make a judgement,” Mr Hoyer told CNN's Dana Bash.
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