Publication of the Mueller report: special investigation report sent to William Barr, concluding the FBI investigation into Russia's interference in the Trump campaign and the election of 2016 – updates live



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Robert Mueller presents a long-awaited report to the Attorney General

The investigation of the special advocate Robert Mueller in Russia is over and he has submitted his long-awaited report on the findings of this investigation to Attorney General William Barr, as required by the Law on Special Advocates .

A senior Justice Department official told CBS News that Mueller was not recommending any further charges. The Ministry of Justice has also confirmed that the "main findings" of the report will be made public.

Barr will now summarize Mueller's report for legislators, also in accordance with the law. It is not clear whether the report or any part of it will be made public – this is left to Barr's discretion. In a letter to the highest legislators of the judicial committees, Barr said he expected to be able to inform them of Mueller's key findings "this weekend."

Council spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement that Mueller would terminate his service in the coming days. A small number of employees will remain to assist in closing office operations for a period of time.

A White House official confirmed that White House lawyers Emmet Flood and Pat Cipollone were with President Trump at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Clare Hymes contributed to this report.

2020 democrats weigh in

Democratic presidential candidates say the long-awaited report of Special Adviser Robert Mueller must be made public. Mueller presented his report to Attorney General William Barr on Friday, and it is now up to Barr to decide which part of it is coming into existence.

The presidential candidates squad triggered after the announcement of the news by Barr.

"Communicate the Mueller Report to the American People," tweeted former Texas representative, Beto O. Rourke.

"The report of the special advocate Mueller should be made public without delay.The American people have the right to know his conclusions," tweeted the New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Senator Elizabeth Warren saw development as a fundraising opportunity – asking supporters to add their name to a petition calling for the release of the report. At the signing, the supporters are then directed to a donation page for the Warren campaign.

Why the Mueller Report Could be Good News for Trump

What does the Mueller report mean for Trump?

According to Major Garrett of CBS News, President Trump's lawyers are expecting the final report of special advocate Robert Mueller to be of benefit to the president.

"They feel that in the end, there will be no new indictments.The report is finished.The office of the special council is essentially closed and they think that not only legally, but especially politically, the president will be largely, if not completely, clear, "said Garrett.

One of the reasons the final report could be good news for Mr. Trump is that the special advocate did not ask for a face-to-face interview. Instead, Mr. Trump submitted a series of written responses to the Special Council. In addition, White House lawyers provided more than 20,000 documents and several counselors were interviewed.

"The question now is whether Congress can go any farther – there's a place to go – that Mueller could not, will have more powers than Robert Mueller had? Probably not." Garrett said.

Attorney General William Barr sends a letter to Congress

Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to the presidents and senior officials of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees informing them that Mueller had completed his investigation.

"The special council has today issued a" confidential report explaining the decisions taken on prosecution or declination, "said Barr in a letter." I am reviewing the report and I am think we can be able to inform you of the main findings of the special advocate this weekend. "

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Barr also wrote that he would consult Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, and with Mueller himself, to determine what information from the report could be revealed to Congress and the public.

Presentation of the report

The report was delivered by a security officer from the special council office to the deputy attorney general's office earlier this afternoon, according to Justice Ministry spokeswoman Kerri Kupec. In a few minutes, it was delivered to Barr.

Letters were delivered to the Capitol Staff Directors at 5 pm The White House was warned around 16:45.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should call Mueller and thank him for the work he has done in recent years. Starting this weekend, Barr will present to Congress a summary of the main findings of the report.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice did not comment on the content of the report but described it as "comprehensive".

Judicial Committees of the House and Senate react

Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees responded quickly to Barr's letter.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham said in a statement that Mueller's transfer of power to the Attorney General had proceeded smoothly. He added that, according to Barr's notification letter, "there were no points of disagreement between the Attorney General or the Acting Attorney General and Special Adviser Mueller regarding the plans of action."

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the House, Jerry Nadler, insisted on transparency in a tweet: "AG Barr confirmed the completion of the Special Advisor's investigation.We look forward to receiving the full report of Mueller and related documents Transparency and the public interest require nothing less. "

The chair and senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee also received copies of Barr's letter.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly issued a joint statement calling on Barr to "release the full report and provide the documentation and results underlying the Congress." ". They also asked Barr not to give Mr. Trump, his lawyers or his staff an overview of the findings or evidence and stated: "The White House should not be allowed to intervene in decisions about elements of such findings or evidence made public. "

Some members of Congress have called Mueller to testify before Congress, including presidential candidate 2020, Senator Kamala Harris.

Democrat candidates react to Mueller's depot

The bunch of Democratic presidential candidates turned to social media almost immediately after the news that Barr was in possession of the report.

"Communicate the Mueller Report to the American People," tweeted former Texas representative, Beto O. Rourke. "The report of the special advocate Mueller should be made public without delay.The American people have the right to know his conclusions," tweeted the New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Many other candidates also asked Barr to make the report public.

The White House reacts to the submission of the Mueller report

The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, issued a statement about Mueller's submission of the report to Barr, stating that the White House had not been informed of this report.

"The next steps are incumbent upon Attorney General Barr and we look forward to the process unfolding.The White House has not received nor received any information on the report of the special advocate," Sanders tweeted.

Mr. Trump's personal lawyers, Jay Sekulow and Rudy Giuliani, also issued a statement.

"We are pleased that the Office of the Special Council has submitted its report to the Attorney General in accordance with the regulations, and the Attorney General Barr will determine the appropriate next steps," they wrote.

Lawyers Leave Mueller Team Before Report Issued

Several attorneys from Mueller's law team in the special advocate's office have announced their departure in recent weeks, signaling that the investigation was winding down.

Special Council spokesman Peter Carr confirmed this week at CBS News that Zainab Ahmad, one of the top prosecutors in charge of terrorism cases, had concluded his details with the office of the special council. CBS also announced that the departure of Attorney General Andrew Weissmann, Senior Special Prosecutor, was imminent.

Here is an overview of Mueller's team of prosecutors

Who has been accused so far?

Paul Manafort faces more jail time and a new indictment

At present, Mueller's investigation resulted in seven guilty pleas and 99 1/2 months of imprisonment, and 34 individuals and three separate companies were indicted.

Former Trump's campaign director, Paul Manafort, was one of Trump's first associates to serve a prison sentence as part of Mueller's investigation. Manafort has been charged with 25 counts in two countries. The charges ranged from conspiracy to launder money to the non-registered agent activity of a foreign principal.

Here is a look at who else has been charged.

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CBS News


Reporting by Clare Hymes and Emily Tillett

The House voted for the publication of the report, the Senate blocked it

The House of Representatives voted in favor of adopting a non-binding resolution in mid-March calling for the release of the final report of special advocate Robert Mueller on the investigation of the FBI on the interference of Russia in the 2016 elections, but Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. , blocked the vote in the Senate.

Senate minority leader Charles Schumer of New York called for unanimous consent for the resolution, which was passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 420-0. However, Graham objected after Schumer refused to amend the resolution to include a provision for the appointment of a special council to investigate misconduct in the Department of Justice over the FISA warrant. against the former Trump campaign manager, Carter Page.

"Were there two justice systems in 2016 – one for the Democratic candidate and one for the Republican candidate?" Graham asked the Senate.

Report by Emily Tillett and Grace Segers

Trump says the report should be made public

Trump: Mueller's report should be made public

President Trump said he looked forward to publishing Mueller's findings and was of the opinion that they should be made public as soon as they are released.

"Let him out, let people see him … and we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House.

Earlier, the president had said that Attorney General William Barr was "totally free" to decide whether and when the report of the special advocate would be made public.

A brief chronology of the survey

The Mueller investigation has touched several Trump jurisdictions and associates over the past two years.

Here are some key dates of the Mueller probe:

2013: The FBI is conducting interviews with Trump's Paul Manafort and Carter Page in their dealings with foreign players.

2014: The Internet Research Agency (IRA) is leading Russia's efforts to interfere in the American political system, including in the 2016 presidential election.

July 2015: the The FBI is opening an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

September 2015: The FBI becomes aware of Russian piracy by DNC that tries to inform DNC

June 9, 2016: Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr. met at the Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer who had promised to "dirty" Hillary Clinton. The meeting was organized by Trump Jr. and Rob Goldstone, spokesman for pop star Emin Algarov. Goldstone told Trump Jr. that the information came from the Kremlin

October 7, 2016: WikiLeaks publishes stolen messages from the personal email account of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta.

January 6, 2017: The office of the director of national intelligence publishes a declassified version of a very sensitive report accusing the Kremlin of having organized a sophisticated influence campaign "to help the chances of President-elect Trump, if any, by discrediting Secretary Clinton ". President Obama and President-elect Trump are informed of the report. They are also informed of a 35-page record written by former British spy Christopher Steele, alleging that the Kremlin had compromising information about President-elect Trump.

January 20, 2017: Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president. CBS News reports that investigators are studying trade relations between Trump's associates and Russia and are monitoring the finances of some of the hackers involved in attacks by US political organizations. Manafort's name is surfacing

February 14, 2017: At a private meeting in the Oval Office, President Trump asks FBI Director Comey to end the investigation on Flynn. Comey documented the meeting in a memo. Trump told Comey at the meeting: "I hope you can see your clear path to let that go, to let Flynn go." He adds: "It's a good guy, I hope you can give up." Comey responds and accepts that Flynn "is a good guy".

March 20, 2017: During his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, FBI Director James Comey confirmed the existence of a federal inquiry into a possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

May 9, 2017: President Trump fires FBI director James Comey.

May 17, 2017: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has appointed Robert Mueller as a special advisor to "conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election." It also allows Mueller to investigate "any matter arising directly or indirectly from the investigation" and "any other matter" under the Special Counsel Act.

October 30, 2017: Former Trump advisors Paul Manafort and Rick Gates are charged with various charges including conspiracy and money laundering. The same day, George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to making false statements to the FBI and agrees to cooperate with federal investigators.

December 1, 2017: Michael Flynn pleads guilty to making false statements to the FBI and agrees to cooperate with the special advocate.

February 16, 2018: The Ministry of Justice has announced charges against 13 Russian nationals and three companies for exploiting a sophisticated network designed to meddle in the 2016 US elections and facilitate Donald Trump's candidacy.

February 23, 2018: Rick Gates pleads guilty to lying and conspiring against the United States

April 4, 2018: Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan of Skadden Arps is sentenced to 30 days in prison and a fine of $ 20,000 for making false statements to investigators about his work for Ukraine.

August 21, 2018: The federal jury found Manafort guilty of eight counts of criminal offenses, including tax evasion. The court declares a lawsuit for annulment on 10 other indictments held by Manafort

August 21, 2018: Michael Cohen pleads guilty of breaking the law on campaign financing and other charges. He added that the president had ordered him to make payments to two women during the presidential campaign to prevent them from publicly debating the cases they allegedly had with Mr. Trump.

September 7, 2018: George Papadopoulos is sentenced to two weeks in prison and nearly $ 10,000 for lying to federal investigators.

March 13, 2019: Manafort receives final sentence from Federal District Court of Columbia. He will serve more than seven years in jail for convictions in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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