What we know about the Mueller investigation so far
WASHINGTON – Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III appears close to turning in his final report after a historic investigation that initially sought to determine if President Donald Trump or his advisers had illegal dealings with Russia during the 2016 campaign, but ultimately expanded far beyond that.
Whether or not the report reveals new bombshells, the former FBI director already has produced an extraordinary public record of misdeeds, one that is sweeping in scope and momentous in its implications for American democracy.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, but hundreds of pages of indictments, court filings and testimony have tarnished his administration and led to new investigations in Congress and in other jurisdictions that could lead to new charges.
Since starting their work in May 2017, Mueller and his team have obtained indictments or charges against 34 individuals, including 25 Russians. That’s the highest number of individuals charged in any special counsel investigation since the Watergate scandal that forced President Richard Nixon from office in 1974.
While no Americans have been charged with conspiring with the Russian effort to sway the 2016 election, several people in Trump’s inner orbit have pleaded guilty to other crimes.
They include Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser; Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman; Richard Gates, his deputy campaign chairman; and Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer and a senior executive in the Trump Organization.
“Mueller’s public record is very impressive,” said Christopher Ott, a former federal prosecutor on national security matters. “These indictments are also a way to authoritatively make statements to the public about what the facts actually are. It is clear his team was objective, thorough and tenacious.”
Here are the findings so far:
RUSSIA’S SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
The special counsel traced the Russian operation to the start of the Internet Research Agency, a shadowy group bent on influencing American public opinion, in 2013.
Working from an office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, and other sites, scores of cybertrolls conducted “information warfare against the United States,” according to an indictment.
The Russian group “spread distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general” by discouraging Africanamericans from voting, by motivating conservatives wary of Trump, and other tactics.
The operation was controlled and largely funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian tycoon with close ties to Putin and Russian intelligence services, U.S. officials said.