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As it happenedended

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Trump news: President celebrates Mueller report ending as new probes ramp up against White House

At least 17 other entities are still probing the president

New York

Monday 25 March 2019 20:57 GMT

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President Trump claims 'total exoneration' in Mueller report

Donald Trump has held a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a proclamation formally recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights as the fallout from the Mueller report continues.

Attorney-general William Barr, a Trump ally handpicked by the president, came to the conclusion Mr Trump had not colluded with Russia to win the 2016 president election after reading FBI special counsel Robert Mueller's report, submitted following the conclusion of a 22-month investigation into the allegation.

In a four-page letter to Congress, Mr Barr quoted Mr Mueller in conceding: “While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

“A number of actions” carried out by Mr Trump could raise obstruction of justice concerns, Mr Mueller thought, but Mr Barr and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, decided these actions did not reveal “corrupt intent”.

A jubilant Mr Trump was quick to hail the verdict as a “complete and total exoneration”, repeating his long-running attack on the “witch hunt” as “an illegal takedown that failed” - to the delight of Trump loyalists - while Democrats called for the Mueller report’s full release.

The summary by Mr Barr notes the special counsel's office did not “draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction,” but rather set out evidence for both sides, leaving the question unanswered.

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

The attorney general wrote in the summary that ultimately he decided that the evidence developed by Mr Mueller was “not sufficient” to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Mr Trump committed obstruction of justice

Mr Barr’s summary also notes that Mr Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia. To prove a crime, the special counsel's office must generally meet a standard of proving an offence beyond a reasonable doubt.

The summary did not clear the president of improper behaviour regarding Russia but did not establish that “he was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference,” Mr Mueller said in a passage from the report quoted by the attorney general.

The four-page summary signed by Mr Barr gave the bottom line only as he and Mr Rosenstein saw it. Mr Mueller’s detailed findings remain confidential at least for now.

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Additional reporting by AP. Read The Independent's live coverage on the White House from Monday below.

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A copy of the talking points Donald Trump’s White House plan to use in the wake of Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluding his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election has been leaked, and it is, well, predictable:

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 18:22

We’ve known for quite some time now that Donald Trump was misleading the public when said John McCain distributed the infamous Steele dossier to the media, and that the late senator and war hero actually delivered it to the FBI, as he previously confirmed.

New reporting reveals he went to his friend and colleague Lindsey Graham upon receiving the dossier, who then encouraged him to give it to the federal agency.

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 18:42

Here’s more on John McCain’s decision to turn over the Steele dossier to the FBI, from CNN’s Manu Raju:

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 19:02

NBC News’ Kin Dilanian has reported the FBI will soon brief a set of bipartisan senators called the Gang of 8, who receive briefings on matters of classified intelligence, about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings into whether Donald Trump is under the influence of foreign powers. That question was at the heart of the special counsel’s counterintelligence probe.

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 19:22

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has continued the White House victory lap after Donald Trump’s attorney general released a summary claiming Special Counsel Robert Mueller had no found the president to be involved in a conspiracy with Russia during the 2016 election. Her comments are particularly outlandish here:

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 19:42

Donald Trump and his supporters have pointed to a four-page summary produced by William Barr, who the president appointed to lead the Justice Department late last year, as evidence of his exoneration in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Regardless of whether that is true or not, the special counsel is far from the only entity to probe Mr Trump. His financial dealings, contacts between Russians and his campaign associates and other major scandals that have plagued the White House since he took office have all become the subject of at least 17 different ongoing investigations.

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 20:02

Donald Trump hosted the Capitals hockey team in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, where he celebrated its Stanley Cup victory:

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 20:22

That's all for today's live coverage on Donald Trump's White House in the wake of Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluding his report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Read below for live updates as they happened and check back in tomorrow for more reporting on the Trump presidency.

Chris Riotta25 March 2019 20:30

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