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Mueller report: 'No indictments' after special counsel delivers report on Trump-Russia probe

White House says the next steps are 'up to Attorney General William Barr'

New York

Friday 22 March 2019 23:35 GMT

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Donald Trump launches furious tirade against Mueller on White House lawn as he calls Comey a 'bad cop'

Special counsel Robert Mueller has submitted a report to the attorney general’s office, signalling the end to a two year investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

Mr Mueller did not recommend any further indictments, a senior Justice Department official said. Although no specific information from the report has been made available yet, this announcement may suggest no more criminal charges against Donald Trump associates from the investigation.

The report has been handed to Attorney General William Barr, who President Trump selected at the end of 2018.

Donald Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida when the Justice Department announced the reports arrival.

In response to the report White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: “The next steps are up to Attorney General Barr, and we look forward to the process taking its course. The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsel’s report.”

Mueller investigation: The key figures

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1/12Mueller investigation: The key figures

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led.

REUTERS

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt".

AFP/Getty Images

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public.

EPA

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes — in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016.

Getty Images

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact.

REUTERS

After news of Mr Mueller finishing his report, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer spoke to press, emphasising the party message that the report “must be made public.”

“The White House must not be allowed to interfere in what parts of the report are made public,” Mr Schumer said. “The demand of the public is overwhelming ... it will be made public.”

The US special counsel’s investigators have looked into a large number of contacts between people associated with Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.

Mr Mueller sought to determine whether the campaign coordinated with Moscow, though it was not immediately clear whether the special counsel found evidence of a conspiracy.

Follow events as they happened below

Additional reporting by Reuters

We are hearing more now about the Trump administration's position that Isis has been defeated in Syria, or at least lost all of its territory.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the Department of Defense had determined the territory had been taken, and repeatedly said the group has been defeated. She said so while the president made his way to Florida.

“The territorial caliphate has been eliminated in Syria,” she said.

Clark Mindock22 March 2019 18:35

Here's some more context on these sanctions Mr Trump announced via twitter:

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders provided the following to the press while en route to Florida:

“President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary," she said.

Clark Mindock22 March 2019 18:50

George Conway has sprung at the president once again.

Clark Mindock22 March 2019 19:04

Here's a bit more context and clarification regarding the president's stunning decision to reverse sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department on Thursday.

Mr Trump, in a tweet, announced today that he had ordered the Treasury Department to take back the sanctions that were put into place on Thursday against two Chinese shipping companies that had been accused of disregarding sanctions on North Korean sanctions.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders then said that the move was essentially a favour to Kim Jong Un.

While Mr Trump tweeted that the sanctions were announced on Friday, here is the Thursday announcement from Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin:

“The United States and our like-minded partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and believe that the full implementation of North Korea-related UN Security Council resolutions is crucial to a successful outcome,” Mr Mnuchin said. “Treasury will continue to enforce our sanctions, and we are making it explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk.”

Clark Mindock22 March 2019 19:17

Special counsel Robert Mueller has submitted his report to the attorney general's office.

Clark Mindock22 March 2019 21:11

Read our full breaking news story here:

Robert Mueller finishes report on Russia-Trump probe

Lucy Anna Gray22 March 2019 21:36

Robert Mueller has handed his report to attorney general William Barr, who must now decide whether to pass the report on to Congress. And, if he does decide to do so, he must decide how much information to share.

Lucy Anna Gray22 March 2019 21:44

William Barr has notified committee leadership that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has completed his investigation in a letter to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary.

You can read the full letter here.

Lucy Anna Gray22 March 2019 21:51

In response to the news, the White House said the next steps are "up to Attorney General (William) Barr". Press secretary Sarah Sanders said "we look forward to the process taking its course". She added: "The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsel's report."

Lucy Anna Gray22 March 2019 22:02

So who is the man Robert Mueller has handed his report to?

Here's everything you need to know about William Barr:

Meet the man who now has Robert Mueller's Trump report

Lucy Anna Gray22 March 2019 22:13

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