US attorney general: 'Special counsel confirmed Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with 2016 election'
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report has finally been released to the public — and we're beginning to get a sense of what's inside.
The Department of Justice released a redacted version of the report into Russian interference in the 2016 election Thursday following a press conference held by Attorney General William Barr.
The Independent's Chris Riotta, Victoria Gagliardo-Silver and Lily Puckett reviewed the report, finding numerous examples of inappropriate contacts between Russian operatives and members of the Trump campaign throughout the 2016 presidential election, as well as extensive business discussions between Mr Trump and his associates to discuss a major real estate project in Moscow as he was running for the White House.
Mr Trump’s efforts to influence the Russia investigation “were mostly unsuccessful,” according to the report, but that was because the people surrounding the president “declined to carry out orders to accede to his requests.”
Mr 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 the president's requests to interfere in the investigation.
Mueller investigation: The key figures
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The most heavily redacted portion of the report appears in its first section, which covers Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and examines contacts between Russian representatives and the Trump campaign. The report concludes there was no criminal culpability by Trump aides.
Several pages in that first section are almost entirely blacked out. The report’s second section, examining possible obstruction by Mr Trump, appeared more lightly redacted.
The Justice Department’s careful excisions begin as early as the fourth page of the report.
Mr Barr said he was withholding grand jury and classified information as well as portions relating to ongoing investigation and the privacy or reputation of uncharged “peripheral” people.
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In referencing an oligarch who headed up a team of Russian tech experts who used US social media to exploit American political controversies, Justice officials blacked out details about the man’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Additional reporting by AP. Check out The Independent's initial live-read of the document below.
The White House Press Office called the Department of Justice after firing James Comey, saying it wanted to release a statement claiming it was Rod Rosenstein’s idea to fire the ex-FBI director.
Mr Rosenstein spoke directly to Mr Trump when the president called him on the phone. Mr Trump said he was watching Fox News and that the coverage had been “great” — despite telling Chris Christie he was “getting killed” in reports about Mr Comey’s dismissal.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer then told reporters “It was all [Rosenstein]. No one from the White House. It was a DOJ decision.”
Donald Trump discussed the possibility of a trip to Russia with Michael Cohen once again in May 2016 to discuss the Trump Tower Project.
Felix Sater sent a text 4 May 2016 to Cohen saying: “I had a chat with Moscow. ASSUMING the trip does happen the question is before or after the convention.”
“Obviously the premeeting (you only) can happen anytime you want but the 2 big guys is the question. I said I would confirm and revert.”
Donald Trump denied all various forms of knowledge about Russian operations to interfere in the election in his written responses to the Special Counsel.
The president’s responses are noted near the end of the full report, and showcase a dramatic difference between the Special Counsel’s findings and Mr Trump’s claims.
Whereas there are dozens and dozens of contacts with Russian operatives seeking access to the campaign, and first-hand accounts of the president being made aware of certain activities, Mr Trump routinely and flatly denies any such knowledge with carefully-worded legal rebuttals.
This concludes The Independent's initial live reading of the Mueller report. We've gone through the document page by page to discover some of the biggest revelations and interesting facts, but there is clearly much more to come.
Stay tuned as we continue to bring you the latest.
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