SUNDAY STAR★TIMES World Mueller’s findings a mystery
Special counsel Robert Mueller has closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency but launching a fresh wave of political battles over the still-confidential findings.
The report’s details remain a mystery, accessible to only a handful of Justice Department officials while Attorney General William Barr prepares to release the ‘‘principal conclusions’’ soon.
But the closure of the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump’s orbit, who had feared that a final round of charges could ensnare more Trump associates, including members of his family.
The Justice Department said the report was delivered by a security officer yesterday to the office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, before it went to Barr. Word of the delivery triggered reactions across Washington, including Democrats’ demands that it be quickly released to the public, and Republicans’ contentions that it ended two years of wasted time and money.
The next step is up to Barr, who is charged with writing his own account of Mueller’s findings and sending it to Congress.
The White House sought to keep some distance from the report, saying it had not seen or been briefed on the document. Trump, surrounded by advisers and political supporters at his resort in Florida, stayed uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter.
It is not known whether Mueller’s report answers the core questions of his investigation: did Trump’s campaign collude with the Kremlin to sway the 2016 presidential election in favour of the celebrity businessman? Also, did Trump take steps later, including by firing his FBI director, to obstruct the probe?
But the delivery of the report means the investigation has concluded without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia, or of obstruction by the president. A Justice Department official confirmed that Mueller was not recommending any further indictments.
That’s good news for a handful of Trump associates and family members dogged by speculation of possible wrongdoing. They include Donald Trump Jr, who had a role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 election campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was interviewed at least twice by Mueller’s prosecutors.
It was not immediately clear whether Mueller might have referred additional investigations to the Justice Department.
All told, Mueller charged 34 people, including the president’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and three Russian companies.
Twenty-five Russians were indicted on charges related to election interference, accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts during the campaign, or of orchestrating a social media campaign that spread disinformation on the internet.
Five Trump aides pleaded guilty and agreed to co-operate with Mueller, and a sixth, longtime confidant Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges that he lied to Congress and engaged in witness tampering.
Trump was never interviewed in person, but submitted answers to questions in writing.
Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said his legal team would seek to get ‘‘an early look’’ at Mueller’s findings before they were made public. He said it was ‘‘appropriate’’ for the White House to be able ‘‘to review matters of executive privilege’’.
The conclusion of Mueller’s investigation does not remove legal peril for the president. Trump faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments. He has also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions to the president’s inaugural committee.