U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Thursday released a redacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s highly anticipated report on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The report was released around 11 a.m., weeks after Mueller completed his investigation. President Donald Trump hailed the report as a victory over his critics.
Update 6:45 p.m. EDT April 18: The Justice Department said it will provide Congress with a second version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report that has fewer redactions in the coming two weeks.
Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said in a letter to lawmakers Thursday that the Justice Department will make the report available to House and Senate leaders, as well as the top Republicans and Democrats on the judiciary and intelligence committees. Each lawmaker can also have a staff member present.
Boyd said the report will be provided in a secure reading room at the Justice Department next week and in a secure room in the Capitol the week of April 29.
The unredacted material will include classified information and material involving private citizens who were not charged. It won’t include secret grand jury information.
Update 3:45 p.m. EDT April 18: Mueller's report shows the Russian-based Internet Research Agency worked not only in Trump's favor but also in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination before losing to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The company's attempt to boost Sanders' candidacy first surfaced last year, after authorities charged more than a dozen people and three companies with interfering in the election, The Washington Post reported. According to the newspaper, IRA operators were instructed not to harm Sanders' reputation.
“Main idea: Use any opportunity to criticize Hillary [Clinton] and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them),” Mueller quoted IRA operators as saying.
Update 2:55 p.m. EDT April 18: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler said Thursday that he will issue a subpoena to get the full Mueller report and the underlying materials from Barr after the attorney general released a redacted version of the report.
"Contrary to public reports, I have not heard from the Department (of Justice) about receiving a less-redacted version of the report," he said Thursday in a statement. "Because Congress requires this material in order to perform our constitutionally-mandated responsibilities, I will issue a subpoena for the full report and the underlying materials."
Barr is scheduled to testify before the committee May 2.
Update 2:25 p.m. EDT April 18: Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the president, told reporters Thursday that Mueller's report was inaccurate in its description of Trump's reaction to the special counsel's appointment.
According to Mueller, the president "slumped back in his chair and said, 'Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm (expletive).’"
However, Conway said she was in the room when Trump learned about the appointment and that she "was very surprised to see" Mueller's report on it, CNN reported.
“That was not the reaction of the president that day,” she said.
Update 2 p.m. EDT April 18: Vice President Mike Pence said in a statement Thursday that the special counsel's report showed "no collusion, no obstruction."
“While many Democrats will cling to discredited allegations, the American people can be confident President Trump and I will continue to focus where we always have, on advancing an agenda that’s making our nation stronger, safer and more secure.”
Despite the vice president’s claims, Mueller declined to answer the question of whether Trump obstructed justice in his actions related to the Russia probe.
“Now that the Special Counsel investigation is completed, the American people have a right to know whether the initial investigation was in keeping with long-standing Justice Department standards -- or even lawful at all,” Pence said. “We must never allow our justice system to be exploited in pursuit of a political agenda.”
Update 1:45 p.m. EDT April 18: In a joint statement released Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Barr and Mueller reached conflicting conclusions on the question of whether the president obstructed justice.
“The differences are stark between what Attorney General Barr said on obstruction and what Special Counsel Mueller said on obstruction,” the statement said. “As we continue to review the report, one thing is clear: Attorney General Barr presented a conclusion that the president did not obstruct justice while Mueller’s report appears to undercut that finding.”
In his report, Mueller declined to answer questions surrounding whether Trump obstructed justice in his efforts to tamp down on the Russia probe, which authorities said he saw as a direct challenge to his presidency.
Update 1:40 p.m. EDT April 18: In the report released Thursday, Mueller said his team's investigation was sometimes hampered by the use of applications that "feature encryption or that do not provide for long-term retention of data or communications records" and the deletion of communications relevant to the probe.
“In such cases, the Office (of the Special Counsel) was not able to corroborate witness statements through comparison to contemporaneous communications or fully question witnesses about statements that appeared inconsistent with other known facts,” the report said. “Accordingly, while this report embodies factual and legal determinations that the Office believes to be accurate and complete to the greatest extent possible, given these identified gaps, the Office cannot rule out the possibility that the unavailable information would shed additional light on (or cast a new light)the events described in the report.”
Update 1:20 p.m. EDT April 18: Mueller said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders admitted in an interview that her comments to the news media after the firing of former FBI Director James Comey were "not founded on anything."
In response to a reporter’s question about FBI support for Comey after his May 2017 dismissal, Huckabee Sanders said at news briefing that, “We’ve heard from countless members of the FBI that say very different things.”
"The evidence does not support those claims," according to the Mueller report.
Update 1:15 p.m. EDT April 18: The House Intelligence Committee invited Mueller to testify next month after Barr released a redacted version of his 448-page report Thursday.
“To discharge its distinct constitutional and statutory responsibility, the Committee must be kept ‘fully and currently informed’ of the intelligence and counterintelligence findings, evidence, and implications of your investigation,” committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff said in a letter to Mueller dated Thursday. “This requires that the Committee receive comprehensive testimony from you about the investigation’s full scope and areas of inquiry, its findings and underlying evidence, all of the intelligence and counterintelligence information gathered in the course of the investigation.”
The House Judiciary Committee has also asked Mueller to testify. In a letter sent Thursday, committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler asked Mueller to appear before the panel by May 23.
Update 12:45 p.m. EDT April 18: Brad Parscale, manager of the 2020 Trump presidential campaign, hailed the release of Mueller's report Thursday and repeated the president's calls for an investigation into the investigators.
“President Trump has been fully and completely exonerated yet again,” Parscale said in a statement. “Now the tables have turned, and it’s time to investigate the liars who instigated this sham investigation into President Trump, motivated by political retribution and based on no evidence whatsoever.”
In the report released Thursday, Mueller said the FBI launched an investigation into whether Trump campaign officials were coordinating with the Russian government in July 2016. The investigation came after authorities said then-Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos suggested to a representative of a foreign government that “the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”
Update 12:35 p.m. EDT April 18: Mueller said Trump attempted to influence the investigation into Russian election meddling.
Mueller said his efforts “were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede his request.”
Mueller’s report details instances by several officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, ignoring or refusing Trump’s requests to interfere in the investigation.
Update 12:15 p.m. EDT April 18: When then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump in May 2017 that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate Russian election meddling, the president "slumped back in his chair and said, 'Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm (expletive)."
Trump blamed Sessions for the appointment, according to Mueller.
"Everyone tells me if you get one of these independent counsels it ruins your presidency," Trump said, according to the report released Thursday. "It takes years and years and I won't be able to do anything. This is the worst thing that ever happened to me."
Speaking Thursday at an event at the White House, Trump said, “this should never happen to another president again.”
Update 11:45 a.m. EDT April 18: In the report released Thursday, Mueller said his team considered Trump's written responses to questions in the Russia probe to be inadequate, but they decided against subpoenaing the president because of the delay such a move would cause to the investigation.
Other revelations from the report include:
- Mueller said Trump directed White House Counsel Don McGahn in June 2017 to call the acting attorney general and say that Mueller must be ousted because he had conflicts of interest. Trump previously denounced reports of the call as "fake news."
- Members of Trump's staff might have saved him from more dire legal consequences by refusing to carry out orders they thought were legally risky, according to The Washington Post.
- Mueller made clear in the report that "Russia wanted to help the Trump campaign, and the Trump campaign was willing to take" the help, the Post reported. However, investigators were unable to establish that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.
Update 11:30 a.m. EDT April 18: In his report, Mueller shared the reasoning behind his decision not to answer the question of whether the might have president obstructed justice.
Mueller’s team scrutinized 10 episodes in which Trump sought to seize control of the Russia probe, including his firing of FBI Director James Comey, his directive to subordinates to have Mueller fired and efforts to encourage witnesses not to cooperate.
The president’s lawyers have said Trump’s conduct fell within his constitutional powers, but Mueller’s team deemed the episodes were deserving of scrutiny to determine whether crimes were committed.
Update 11:25 a.m. EDT April 18: President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was "having a good day" following the release of the Mueller report.
"This should've never happened," Trump told a crowd gathered at a Wounded Warriors event at the White House, according to CNN. "I say this in front of my friends — this should never happen to another president again. This hoax — it should never happen again."
Trump's attorneys hailed the report as "a total victory for the president" in a statement released to CNN.
“The report underscores what we have argued from the very beginning - there was no collusion - there was no obstruction,” the statement said. “This vindication of the President is an important step forward for the country and a strong reminder that this type of abuse must never be permitted to occur again.”
Update 11 a.m. EDT April 18: Barr has released a redacted version of the Mueller report, which is 448 pages long.
>> Mueller report: Read the transcript of William Barr's remarks
Update 10:55 a.m. EDT April 18: President Donald Trump was expected to deliver remarks Thursday morning at the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride as lawmakers and the public await the release of Mueller's report. However, by 10:55 a.m., Trump had yet to appear for the event.
Update 10:30 a.m. EDT April 18: In a letter sent Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler asked Mueller to testify before the panel no later than May 23.
Nadler released his letter to Mueller minutes after Barr spoke with reporters about the report, which is expected to be released Thursday.
Barr told reporters he had “no objection to Bob Mueller testifying.”
“It is clear Congress and the American people must hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in person to better understand his findings,” Nadler said.
Update 10:20 a.m. EDT April 18: Barr said he plans to release a less-redacted version of Mueller's report to several congressional committees on Thursday "in an effort to accommodate congressional requests" for Mueller's full report.
“These members of Congress will be able to see all of the redacted materials for themselves -- with the limited exception of that which, by law, cannot be shared,” Barr said Thursday morning at a news conference.
“I believe that this accommodation, together with my upcoming testimony before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, will satisfy any need Congress has for information regarding the special counsel’s investigation.”
Update 10:05 a.m. EDT April 18: At a news conference Thursday morning, Barr said it will be important to view President Donald Trump's actions in context.
“President Trump faced an unprecedented situation,” Barr said. “As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates. At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the president’s personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion.”
Barr said the Office of the White House Counsel has reviewed the redacted version of Mueller’s report but that Trump declined to assert privilege over it.
Trump took to Twitter after Barr spoke to highlight that there was "No collusion. No obstruction."
Update 9:50 a.m. EDT April 18: Mueller's report details two main efforts sponsored by Russian government officials to meddle in the 2016 presidential election, Barr said Thursday morning at a news conference ahead of the report's release.
The report details efforts by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company with ties to the Russian government, to “sow social discord among American votes through disinformation and social media operations,” Barr said. It also details efforts by Russian military officials connected to the GRU, “to hack into computers and steal documents and emails from individuals affiliated with the Democratic Party.”
“The special counsel found no evidence that any Americans -- including anyone associated with the Trump campaign -- conspired or coordinated with the Russian government or the IRA in carrying out this illegal scheme,” Barr said.
Update 9:15 a.m. EDT April 18: President Donald Trump called the Mueller investigation "The Greatest Political Hoax of all time!" in a series of tweets posted Thursday ahead of the release of the report.
“PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!” he wrote in a subsequent tweet.
Trump has frequently criticized the Mueller investigation, framing the probe as a political “witch hunt” aimed at harming his presidency.
Original report: Barr is expected to release a redacted version of Mueller's report to Congress between 11 a.m. and noon Thursday before sharing the report on the special counsel's website, Cox Media Group's Jamie Dupree reported.
Mueller completed his investigation late last month, 22 months after he launched his probe at the direction of the Justice Department. The investigation was frequently lambasted by President Donald Trump as a “witch hunt” aimed at undermining his presidency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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