Mueller Report
The Mueller Report, officially the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 United States presidential election, allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, and allegations of obstruction of justice. The report was submitted to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019, and a redacted version of the 448-page report was publicly released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 18, 2019. It is divided into two volumes.
Volume I of the report concludes that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election occurred "in sweeping and systematic fashion" and "violated U.S. criminal law". It lists two methods by which Russia attempted to influence the election. Firstly, a social mediacampaign by the Internet Research Agency (IRA) which supported the Trump presidential campaign, attacked the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, and aimed to “provoke and amplify political and social discord". Secondly, Russian intelligence GRU conducted computer hacking and strategically released damaging material stolen from the Clinton campaign and Democratic Party organizations. The report identifies links between Trump campaign officials and individuals with ties to the Russian government, about which several persons connected to the campaign made false statements and obstructed investigations. During the investigation, the special counsel recommended the indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former deputy Rick Gates, and they were found guilty of criminal offenses stemming from their prior lobbying work for the Ukrainian Party of Regions. However, the investigation did not establish that the campaign "coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities" and did not pursue charges for others beyond Manafort and Gates under statutes governing conspiracy or foreign agents.
Volume II of the report addresses obstruction of justice. The investigation intentionally took an approach that could not result in a judgment that Trump committed a crime. The Mueller team refrained from charging Trump because investigators abided by an Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion that a sitting president cannot stand trial, and they feared that charges would affect Trump's governing and possibly preempt his impeachment. Meanwhile, investigators felt it would be unfair to accuse Trump of a crime without charges and without a trial in which he could clear his name. As such, the investigation "does not conclude that the President committed a crime"; however, "it also does not exonerate him", as investigators were not confident that Trump was innocent after examining his intent and actions. The report describes ten episodes where Trump could potentially have obstructed justice while president and one before he was elected, noting he privately tried to "control the investigation" in multiple ways, but mostly failed to influence it because his subordinates or associates refused to carry out his instructions. The report further states that Congress can decide whether Trump obstructed justice, as Congress has the authority to take action against a president in reference to potential impeachment proceedings.
On March 24, Barr described the conclusions of the report to Congress in his letter, stating: "The Special Counsel's decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime", further stating that "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense". On March 27, Mueller privately wrote to Barr, stating that the March 24 Barr letter "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of [the Mueller team's] work and conclusions", and that this led to "public confusion". Mueller asked Barr to release the report's introduction and executive summaries ahead of the full report; Barr declined, saying he preferred to avoid "piecemeal" release of part of the report before releasing a redacted version of the entire document. Justice Department officials described a March 28 call where Mueller expressed to Barr concerns about public misunderstandings of the obstruction investigation due to media coverage. On May 1, Barr testified that he "didn't exonerate" Trump on obstruction; and that neither he nor Rosenstein had reviewed the underlying evidence in the report.
Volume I of the report concludes that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election occurred "in sweeping and systematic fashion" and "violated U.S. criminal law". It lists two methods by which Russia attempted to influence the election. Firstly, a social mediacampaign by the Internet Research Agency (IRA) which supported the Trump presidential campaign, attacked the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, and aimed to “provoke and amplify political and social discord". Secondly, Russian intelligence GRU conducted computer hacking and strategically released damaging material stolen from the Clinton campaign and Democratic Party organizations. The report identifies links between Trump campaign officials and individuals with ties to the Russian government, about which several persons connected to the campaign made false statements and obstructed investigations. During the investigation, the special counsel recommended the indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former deputy Rick Gates, and they were found guilty of criminal offenses stemming from their prior lobbying work for the Ukrainian Party of Regions. However, the investigation did not establish that the campaign "coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities" and did not pursue charges for others beyond Manafort and Gates under statutes governing conspiracy or foreign agents.
Volume II of the report addresses obstruction of justice. The investigation intentionally took an approach that could not result in a judgment that Trump committed a crime. The Mueller team refrained from charging Trump because investigators abided by an Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion that a sitting president cannot stand trial, and they feared that charges would affect Trump's governing and possibly preempt his impeachment. Meanwhile, investigators felt it would be unfair to accuse Trump of a crime without charges and without a trial in which he could clear his name. As such, the investigation "does not conclude that the President committed a crime"; however, "it also does not exonerate him", as investigators were not confident that Trump was innocent after examining his intent and actions. The report describes ten episodes where Trump could potentially have obstructed justice while president and one before he was elected, noting he privately tried to "control the investigation" in multiple ways, but mostly failed to influence it because his subordinates or associates refused to carry out his instructions. The report further states that Congress can decide whether Trump obstructed justice, as Congress has the authority to take action against a president in reference to potential impeachment proceedings.
On March 24, Barr described the conclusions of the report to Congress in his letter, stating: "The Special Counsel's decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime", further stating that "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense". On March 27, Mueller privately wrote to Barr, stating that the March 24 Barr letter "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of [the Mueller team's] work and conclusions", and that this led to "public confusion". Mueller asked Barr to release the report's introduction and executive summaries ahead of the full report; Barr declined, saying he preferred to avoid "piecemeal" release of part of the report before releasing a redacted version of the entire document. Justice Department officials described a March 28 call where Mueller expressed to Barr concerns about public misunderstandings of the obstruction investigation due to media coverage. On May 1, Barr testified that he "didn't exonerate" Trump on obstruction; and that neither he nor Rosenstein had reviewed the underlying evidence in the report.
| Mueller Report - April 18, 2019.pdf |
| U.S. Attorney General William Barr 4-Page Letter About Mueller's Report - March 24, 2019.pdf |
