Trump sends memo to TV producers pressuring them not to book people who said there was evidence of Russia collusion

'They made many of these false claims, without evidence, on your airwaves,' Trump communications chief says

Donald Trump’s team is sending letters to TV producers demanding they reconsider booking guests they perceive lied about Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The memo was sent on Monday to a number of networks, including MSNBC, CNN and NBC, by Mr Trump’s 2020 campaign communications chief Tim Murtaugh, under the headline, “Credibility of Certain Guests”, according to a copy obtained by Axios.

The document highlighted the conclusion reached by special counsel Mr Mueller that Mr Trump did not conspire with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election, and the decision by attorney general William Barr there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the president for obstruction of justice.

“The only way to interpret these conclusions is as a total and complete vindication of President Trump,” Mr Murtaugh argued.

“The issuance of these definitive findings comes after two years of Democrat leaders and others lying to the American people by vigorously and repeatedly claiming there was evidence of collusion. They made many of these false claims, without evidence, on your airwaves.”

In fact, members of Congress and the public remain in the dark as to whether Mr Mueller’s findings were definitive. The full report has yet to be made public, and only a handful of quotes were used to support Mr Barr’s conclusions in his four-page letter.

On obstruction, Mr Mueller conspicuously refused to rule either way, and was quoted by Mr Barr as saying in his report that although he “does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it does not exonerate him”.

In the memo, Mr Murtaugh singled out six guests who he claimed made “outlandish, false claims” about the probe over the last 18 months: Congressional democrats Richard Blumenthal, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell; Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez; and former CIA director John Brennan.

The memo claims those who made “outrageous and unsupported” claims about the president is “not limited” to the six highlighted critics, and asks networks to reconsider booking them in future.

“At this point, there must be introspection from the media who facilitated the reckless statements and a serious evaluation of how such guests are considered and handled in the future.”

But Mr Swalwell hit back, tweeting: “The only person who has been caught lying about Russia is Donald Trump. If he thinks I’ve made a false statement, he can sue me. And I’ll beat him in court.”

The memo was sent the same day Mr Trump, addressing the Mueller report, accused “a lot of people” of doing “some very, very evil things” and “treasonous things”, and promised ominously they would “certainly be looked at”.

Appearing on Fox News, Mr Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr echoed his father, calling for investigations into people he believed were responsible for what he called the “greatest farce in our democracy”.

Sarah Sanders, Mr Trump's White House press secretary, later tweeted out a mock chart inviting supporters to vote for which of the "Trump haters" prominent in US media were "most embarrassingly wrong".

Despite Republican triumphalism over Mr Barr’s letter, many in the party appear keen to keep the full report away from Congress and the public.

Though Mr Trump said it “wouldn’t bother me at all” if the document was released, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blocked a Democratic resolution to do so. Mr McConnell said the Justice Department should not be rushed.