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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Donald Trump last week said he "knows nothing" about WikiLeaks, after its founder Julian Assange was arrested in London and the US issued an extradition request over the hacking and dissemination of US intelligence documents.
The extent of WikiLeaks' communications with the Trump campaign in 2016 are set to be revealed when the Mueller report is made public later today.
Here's a reminder of what Mr Trump said about the organisation during the presidential campaign.
The media are assembling outside the Department of Justice ahead of sunrise, and more importantly ahead of William Barr's press conference, which is scheduled to begin in three hours' time.
Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House speaker, and Senate minority leader Chuch Schumer have released an early morning statement about the attorney general's upcoming press conference:
Attorney General Barr’s regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report, including his slanted March 24th summary letter, his irresponsible testimony before Congress last week, and his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference later this morning — hours before he allows the public or Congress to see it — have resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality. We believe the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling of the Special Counsel’s investigation is for Special Counsel Mueller himself to provide public testimony in the House and Senate as soon as possible. The American people deserve to hear the truth.
This is Donald Trump's schedule for today, before he heads off for Mar-a-Lago later in the day. No mentioned of a press conference he last night suggested he may hold.
Opinion: At 2.54am on Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani texted Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn that the president’s “counter report” will come out at the same time as the redacted Mueller report and that it will be 34 or 35 pages. Originally, Rudy G had promised to deliver 140 pages of delicious, bodice-ripping, lib-owning content, but as this writer can tell you, there are only so many gifs, emojis and Venn diagrams you can put in a piece of writing before you start to look like you're just trying to fill the pages.
Speculation is wild about what will be in the Rudy Rebuttal but luckily for me, Julian Assange sent me an early copy on the condition that I publish it immediately (because that’s what you do when you're totally not a cut-out of the Russian government at all.)
Read more...
A word this morning from Donald Trump's arch-nemesis, and husband of the president's chief surrogate Kellyanne Conway.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has tweeted his statement calling on Robert Mueller to testify to Congress.
Cory Booker, Democratic presidential candidate, calls on a full, un-redacted version of the Mueller report to be made publicly available.
According to CBS News, William Barr will today reveal at his press conference whether Donald Trump imposed executive privilege over any of the Mueller report. In effect, whether the President demanded any portion of the findings remain secret.
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