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Robert Mueller finished his Trump-Russia investigation without prosecuting any other president's badociates, and reported his findings to William Barr, the Attorney General of the United States.
Barr said in a letter to the most prominent members of Congress on Friday afternoon that he had received a report from Mueller, the special advocate, and should be able inform them of their main conclusions "this weekend".
The Attorney General said he would consult Mueller and Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General, to determine what information from the report could be made public.
"I remain committed to as much transparency as possible," wrote Barr. adding that he was compelled by the laws and rules of the Department of Justice. Senior Democratic and Republican leaders called on Barr to publish the report in its entirety.
Ministry of Justice officials told reporters that Mueller had not recommended any further charges based on his findings, ending rumors that other members of Trump's circle would be prosecuted.
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leaders of Congress, have urged the Attorney General not to give Trump an insight into Mueller's findings or to allow the White House to interfere in decisions about the information to be published.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump had not been informed of the report. She said, "The next steps are for Attorney General Barr and we look forward to the process being followed."
Mueller's decision ended an extensive criminal and counterintelligence investigation that dominated the first two years of Trump's presidency, provoking violent attacks by Trump and his allies.
The investigation resulted in the criminal conviction of the campaign president, the vice president, the prosecutor and two Trump political advisers. Roger Stone, a long-time friend and advisor to the president, has also been indicted.
Mueller's team has secured criminal charges against several people, including more than two dozen Russians accused of involvement in Moscow's 2016 US elections, which US intelligence officials say were meant to help Trump win.
The feverish anticipation of the "Mueller Report" has been growing for months. Trump's detractors were hoping that all links between his presidential campaign team and the Russian operation would be publicly explained, while the president's allies claimed that the report would prove that he was not there. had collusion.
Context
Robert S Mueller III, 74, is a former FBI director who was nominated by George W Bush and retained by Barack Obama beyond his 10-year tenure. The extension of the mandate required a special congressional action that the Senate had approved 100-0. Previously, Mueller had held two US Attorney posts and was Deputy Attorney General in the George HW Bush administration.
Special advocate
Mueller was appointed special advisor in May 2017, eight days after the dismissal of FBI director James Comey by Trump. A special advocate is a prosecutor appointed under extraordinary circumstances or in the event of a conflict of interest within the Department of Justice. In this case, it was necessary that some investigation on the Russian case that was not named by Trump nor beholden to her.
Mueller's team of 17 lawyers operates independently, but (ideally) in cooperation with the Congress, which has three committees that conduct investigations alongside Mueller. Mueller must submit a report to Congress and may initiate criminal proceedings separately.
Mueller has a considerable budget and an indefinite duration. He is specifically authorized to investigate "any link and / or coordination between the Russian government and persons badociated with the campaign of President Donald Trump", as well as on any matter "likely to arise directly from the investigation". He has the power to prosecute federal crimes.
Can he be replaced?
In theory, William Barr, the new Attorney General, could fire Mueller. At the confirmation of charges hearing, Mr. Barr, who had once criticized Mueller's case as "fatally ill-conceived," was seen asking if he waived the special advice without reason. valid and replied: "I will not follow up on this instruction". Even if, if Trump wanted to dismiss Mueller and Barr did not want him, he could replace Barr.
View of Trump
Trump said Mueller "is a very very good friend with [James] Comey, which is very embarrbading "but also said:" Robert Mueller is an honorable man. "
Photography: Saul Loeb / AFP
Friday, the detail of Mueller's report was unclear. The law required him to tell Barr only why his team of investigators had decided to prosecute the accused – and refused to prosecute others.
In the end, it was up to Barr, who was confirmed Trump's Attorney General, to decide how much information Mueller discovered that could be disclosed to Congress and the public.
Barr was only obliged to tell members of Congress that Mueller had finished his work and to note any action proposed by Mueller that Barr was blocking. Barr stated in his letter that there had been no such derogation by the Attorney General.
During confirmation hearings held in January, Mr. Barreau told senators that if he felt it was "very important" for the public to be informed of Mueller's findings, he would "provide as much transparency as possible in accordance with the law".
The US Department of Justice does not usually reveal the identity of the people who were the subject of an investigation but were not charged. James Comey, then director of the FBI, notoriously broke with this convention in 2016 to publicly announce that Hillary Clinton would not be prosecuted for using a private mail server as a secretary of state. .
Barr reported on Friday to senior Republican and Democrat officials of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees – Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Dianne Feinstein of California, as well as representatives Jerrold Nadler of New York and Doug Collins of Georgia.
Collins stated that he expected Barr to release the report to his committee and the public "without delay".
Mueller, a former FBI director and senior Justice Department official, was appointed special advocate by Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, in May 2017. His appointment followed the dismissal of Comey by Trump.
His mandate was to investigate "any link and / or coordination between the Russian government and those badociated with President Donald Trump's campaign", as well as anything arising from this investigation.
Trump has repeatedly denounced the investigation as a "witch hunt" and took several steps that appeared to be aimed at obstructing the investigation. He should have been dissuaded from shooting at Mueller.
Mueller accused Russian agents of stealing e-mails from high democrats and releasing them via WikiLeaks, the anti-secret website, disrupting the Clinton campaign. Other Russians have been accused of having organized an online misinformation campaign aimed at influencing US voters.
Mitch McConnell, head of the Republican Senate, said Mueller's findings should be used to guard against future interference by foreign states.
"Many Republicans have long believed that Russia represents a significant threat to US interests," he said. "I hope the special advocate's report will help inform and improve our efforts to protect our democracy."
Former President Barack Obama's advisers said that after secret talks during the 2016 campaign, McConnell refused to join a bipartisan public statement condemning Russia's actions, saying that It was an effort to undermine the Republicans.
Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of a series of financial crimes and was subsequently convicted of conspiracy as part of a plea agreement. Mueller tore up the contract when Manafort continued to lie to the investigators.
Manafort MP Rick Gates admitted to lying to investigators – the same crime admitted by Trump campaign advisers Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos. Flynn had been Trump's first national security adviser to the White House.
Stone, a longtime friend and Trump advisor, is accused of obstructing justice, of lying to Congress and tampering with witnesses.
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