Tag: Mueller Report

On eve of Mueller report’s release, Nadler accuses Barr of protecting Trump

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler accused Attorney General William P. Barr of trying to protect President Trump and “bake in the narrative to the benefit of the White House” by holding a news conference about the special counsel’s report hours before Nadler says the report will be made public.

In a hastily assembled news conference of his own Wednesday night on the eve of the release of the redacted findings of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, the New York Democrat said he’d been informed by the Justice Department that Congress would receive the report between 11 a.m. and noon. Barr is scheduled to speak to the press at 9:30 a.m.

“The attorney general appears to be waging a media campaign on behalf of President Trump — the very subject of investigation at the heart of the Mueller report — rather than letting the facts speak for themselves,” Nadler said.

View the complete April 17 article by Colby Itkowitz and Rachael Bade on The Washington Post website here.

Rep. Phillips Statement on Release of Mueller Report

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) issued the following statement on the release of the Mueller Report:

“As the Mueller Report confirms, Russia interfered with our 2016 election ‘in a sweeping and systemic fashion.’ The President must acknowledge this truth and work with Congress to ensure such meddling never happens again.

I am also troubled by the pattern of lies, deceit, and efforts to undermine the investigation exposed by the report. We should demand and expect a higher standard of behavior and ethics from our elected officials, particularly the President of The United States.

Congress must be presented the unredacted report, and hear testimony directly from Special Counsel Mueller. Only then can we in Congress fulfill our constitutional duty to provide oversight and ensure accountability.”

Congress won’t get Mueller report until after Barr press conference

The Department of Justice (DOJ) won’t deliver the redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s report to Congress until after a press conference from Attorney General William Barr, a Democratic aide told The Hill.

The aide said lawmakers on Capitol Hill would receive the report at 11 a.m. on Thursday, more than an hour after Barr is expected to begin his press conference.

The decision immediately led to complaints from Democrats and criticism from the media, which said it would allow the administration to spin news favorably for the White House before anyone sees Mueller’s full report.

View the complete April 17 article by Jacqueline Thomsen and Brandon Conradis on The Hill website here.

Fearing Mueller Report Release, Trump Resumes Smear Campaign

Trump was feeling great about Attorney General William Barr’s very short summary of the Mueller report when Barr first released it last month. Trump even declared that the Mueller report, which he has not seen, was a “complete and total EXONERATION” — despite Barr’s summary stating that the report “does not exonerate” Trump.

Since then, however, Trump’s confidence has been steadily crumbling before our eyes. Now, with the Justice Department announcing a redacted report will be released Thursday, Trump is launching a desperate attack on the report he once bragged about.

“The Mueller Report, which was written by 18 Angry Democrats who also happen to be Trump Haters (and Clinton Supporters), should have focused on the people who SPIED on my 2016 Campaign, and others who fabricated the whole Russia Hoax,” he tweeted Monday. “Since there was no Collusion, why was there an Investigation in the first place! Answer – Dirty Cops, Dems and Crooked Hillary!” he added.

View the complete April 15 article by Kaili Joy Gray on the National Memo website here.

White House officials concerned about being exposed by Mueller report

“They got asked questions and told the truth, and now they’re worried the wrath will follow,” one former White House official said.

WASHINGTON — Some of the more than one dozen current and former White House officials who cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller are worried that the version of his report expected to be made public on Thursday will expose them as the source of damaging information about President Donald Trump, according to multiple witnesses in the investigation.

Some of the officials and their lawyers have sought clarity from the Justice Department on whether the names of those who cooperated with Mueller’s team will be redacted or if the public report will be written in a way that makes it obvious who shared certain details of Trump’s actions that were part of the obstruction of justice probe, people familiar with the discussions said. But, they said, the Justice Department has refused to elaborate.

Of particular concern is how Trump — and his allies — will react if it appears to be clear precisely who shared information with Mueller, these people said.

View the complete April 16 article by Carol E. Lee, Hallie Jackson and Kristen Welker on the NBC News website here.

Terrified Trump takes deep-dive in manic Monday morning meltdown ahead of Mueller report release

President Donald Trump, clearly terrified of the impending release of the Mueller report to Congress, turned into a madman Monday morning, taking a deep dive into a manic tweetstorm.

After being excoriated for his claim that all Boeing needed to do to fix the problem with its 737 Max jets was rename and rebrand them – even though hundreds of people have already died, Trump appeared to try another rebranding effort.

The President of the United States is now using the phrase so many Americans and people around the world used after 9/11, and after the Holocaust, and after other historic, tragic events involving mass murder, to describe the Mueller investigation:

View the complete April 15 article by David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement on the AlterNet website here. 

Mueller report to be released Thursday

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report will be released on Thursday morning, a Justice Department spokesperson said.

Democrats in Congress have been insisting on the release of the full report, but Attorney General William Barr has said that certain information — like grand jury material and information relating to other ongoing investigations — will be redacted from the document.

Barr sent a letter to Congress late last month announcing the end of Mueller’s probe and outlining the core conclusions of the special counsel’s investigation, including a finding that the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia during the 2016 election.

View the complete April 15 article by Jacqueline Thomsen on The Hill website here.

Fox News Judge: Barr’s Four-Page Memo Didn’t ‘Exonerate’ Trump

When Attorney General William Barr released his four-page assessment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 400-page report, I was disappointed at many of my colleagues who immediately jumped on board the “no collusion” and “no obstruction” and “presidential exoneration” bandwagons.

As I write, Barr and his team are scrutinizing the Mueller report for legally required redactions. These include grand jury testimony about people not indicted — referred to by lawyers as 6(e) materials — as well as evidence that is classified, pertains to ongoing investigations or the revelation of which might harm national security.

Mueller impaneled two grand juries, one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Arlington, Virginia. Together they indicted 37 people and entities for violating a variety of federal crimes. Most of those indicted are Russian agents in Russia who have been charged with computer hacking and related crimes in an effort to affect the 2016 presidential election. They will never be tried.

View the complete April 13 article by Andrew Napolitano on the National Memo website here.

Five things to watch for in restricted Mueller report

Attorney General William Barr is expected to release a restricted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report sometime next week, leaving Washington on edge with questions about its contents.

Barr already laid out what he described as Mueller’s bottom-line conclusions in a four-page letter, saying the special counsel did not find evidence to establish that members of the Trump campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.

Barr also said Mueller did not come to a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice. However, the attorney general reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient to accuse Trump of obstruction.

View the complete April 13 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

More information from Mueller won’t shift public opinions, poll finds

The vast majority of Americans say their opinions of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s findings are unlikely to change after more information from his investigation is released.

In a Hill-HarrisX survey of registered voters, an overwhelming 72 percent said that more information from Mueller’s probe into Donald Trump‘s 2016 presidential campaign and Russian interference in the election would be unlikely to make them re-think their beliefs. Only 28 percent said that their opinions could shift.

The results come amid a bruising battle in Washington over the release of Mueller’s full report.

View the complete April 10 article on The Hill website here.