Tag: Special Council Robert Mueller

Special Counsel Robert Mueller Announces His Resignation, Return to Private Life

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by Masood Farivar   Special counsel Robert Mueller says charging President Donald Trump with a crime was not an option his office could consider under Justice Department guidelines, as he made his first public statement about his 22-month-long investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Mueller concluded his investigation into Russian election meddling in late March, saying he found no evidence of collusion between the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and Moscow. On the question of whether Trump obstructed the investigation, however, Mueller wrote in his 448-page report that while he could not make a charging recommendation, he could not exonerate the president either. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mueller said “If we had confidence that president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”   Attorney General William Barr had told members of Congress that after reviewing Mueller’s report along with other senior Justice Department officials he determined that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of Justice. Barr said he made the determination irrespective of a long standing Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted. However, Mueller in his report cited 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice…

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In 420-0 Vote, US House Bill Calls for Mueller Report to Be Made Public

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The House voted unanimously Thursday for a resolution calling for any final report in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation to be made public, a symbolic action designed to pressure Attorney General William Barr into releasing as much information as possible when the probe is concluded. The Democratic-backed resolution, which passed 420-0, comes as Mueller is nearing an end to his investigation. Lawmakers in both parties have maintained there will have to be some sort of public resolution when the report is done — and privately hope that a report shows conclusions that are favorable to their own side. Four Republicans voted present: Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie. The nonbinding resolution calls for the public release of any report Mueller provides to Barr, with an exception for classified material. The resolution also calls for the full report to be released to Congress. “This resolution is critical because of the many questions and criticisms of the investigation raised by the president and his administration,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler. “It is important that Congress stand up for the principle of full transparency.” It’s unclear exactly what documentation…

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In Minnesota Senate Debate GOP Challenger Blasts Klobuchar for Opposing SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar squared off against her Republican challenger State Rep. Jim Newberger at the Minnesota State Fair Friday, sparring over issues of immigration and President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Immediately out of the gate, Klobuchar boasted a record of being the lead sponsor on 18 different bills signed into law by President Trump. “You need someone that can find common ground but is also willing to be a check and balance on this administration,” she said, representing a state that is growing increasingly purple as 78 out of its 87 counties went to Trump during the 2016 Election. Newberger, who worked as a paramedic for 30 years before seeking office, argued that it is time for a fresh face in Washington, suggesting that Klobuchar is a prime example of why Congress needs “term limits.” “Eighteen years folks is a long time to be in the swamp,” he said, claiming earlier in the debate that he will be a voice for the “moderate-middle to the conservative right.” “You have not had a voice for almost a decade. Folks, it’s time that you had a voice. It’s time you had a senator…

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Without Collusion, There Is No Obstruction as Mueller Scrambles to Make the Case Against President Trump

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FBI Mueller and President Trump

by Robert Romano   Whatever case Special Counsel Robert Mueller intends on bringing against President Donald Trump, it does not look like it will be a collusion-with-Russia case. So far, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has not brought a case against anybody from the 2016 Trump campaign for assisting Russia with hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and John Podesta emails and putting them on Wikileaks. That is the crime that Mueller was tasked by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteinwith investigating on May 17, 2017: “a full and thorough investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election” and “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.” In short, that Russia hacked the Democrats, put the emails on Wikileaks, and Trump helped, or so the allegation goes. No collusion Since that time, Mueller has brought two cases on election interference by Russia, for purchasing Facebook ads, and to be certain, for hacking the DNC and Podesta emailsand putting them on Wikileaks. But nobody from the Trump campaign is named in those indictments. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, in announcing each of these indictments, took great pains to remind everyone that neither…

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FBI Official Peter Strzok Testifies About Anti-Trump Text Messages

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Peter Strzok

by Masood Farivar   A top FBI official at the center of controversy over alleged political bias at the bureau said on Thursday that his private views about President Donald Trump did not influence his actions as the lead investigator on the Hillary Clinton email investigation team. Testifying publicly for the first time during a tense Congressional hearing, Peter Strzok, a deputy assistant FBI director, said a series of anti-Trump and pro-Clinton emails he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page during the 2016 presidential election had no impact on his actions as an investigator for the FBI. “Let me be clear, unequivocally and under oath: not once in my 26 years of defending my nation did my personal opinions impact any official action I took,” Strzok told a joint hearing by the house judiciary and government oversight committees. Strzok later worked on Special Council Robert Mueller’s investigation of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and allegations of collusion with Russiauntil last year, when he was removed after the text messages came to light. Strzok said he was removed not because of his anti-Trump “bias” but because of Mueller was concerned about the “appearance of bias” the text messages cast over the Russia…

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