Analysis: 3 ways the Mueller report still threatens Trump
By Aaron Blake Aaron Blake Senior political reporter, writing for The Fix Email Bio Follow April 17 at 11:29 AM It’s Mueller Eve, and we’re presumably about to learn a bunch of new details about interactions involving President Trump’s campaign and Russia, as well as Trump’s actions vis-a-vis the investigation.
That’s unusual. Generally speaking, prosecutors either decide to charge or not, and leave it at that. But Mueller decided to add that qualifier. After making a “thorough factual investigation” into these matters, the Special Counsel considered whether to evaluate the conduct under Department standards governing prosecution and declination decisions but ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment.
2. A narrow verdict on ‘conspiracy’ Ever since the Barr letter came out, more than a few smart people have pointed to Barr’s and Mueller’s specific choice of words when it comes to interactions between the Trump campaign and Russia. Specifically, they never use the words “collusion” and instead say there was no “conspiracy” or “coordination.
Criminality matters, and the fact that Mueller appears to have found no crime here matters greatly. But what if he found something that could be read as amounting to the broader concept of “collusion” with a hostile foreign government? That could still be politically problematic, depending upon how serious and how clear the evidence.
One person close to the White House said there is “breakdown-level anxiety” among some current and former staffers who cooperated with the investigation at the direction of Trump’s legal team at the time. Another person familiar with the discussions said the officials who are worried are those who said negative things about Trump. This person said the “million-dollar question” swirling around Trump world is how much of the report will be redacted, specifically if it will be a “net plus or minus” 100 pages of the more than 300-page report.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Analysis | The 1989 precedent that raises questions about how Barr will redact the Mueller reportAnalysis: The 1989 precedent that raises questions about how Barr will redact the Mueller report
Read more »
Analysis | How the legal battle for the full Mueller report could play outAnalysis: How the legal battle for the Mueller report could play out
Read more »
If the Mueller report exonerates Trump, why write a 'counter-report'?Trump said the Mueller report 'could not have been better' and led to his 'total exoneration.' So why are his lawyers writing a 'counter-report'?
Read more »
Poll shows rebound in Trump’s job approval after release of Mueller report summaryA new Gallup survey found 45 percent of Americans approve of the president’s performance, matching two previous highs.
Read more »
'He just wants it out and over with': Trump White House braces for full Mueller reportWhile most of official Washington is on edge ahead of the expected release of the Mueller report, Trump White House aides are shrugging off the fevered anticipation with a simple message: been there, done that
Read more »
Special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia, Trump to be released Thursday, Justice Department saysAttorney General William Barr will release the report capping an investigation into Russian election meddling and President Donald Trump's campaign.
Read more »
Former Trump adviser Roger Stone seeks dismissal of Mueller charges, access to reportDefense attorneys for Roger Stone, the veteran GOP operative and former adviser to Pres. Trump, filed court documents seeking to dismiss charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller and request access to his 400-page report in its entirety.
Read more »