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William Barr press conference: Attorney General says Mueller report found 10 cases of possible obstruction by Trump

'The report recounts ten episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offence'

New York

Thursday 18 April 2019 15:05 BST

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US attorney general: 'Special counsel confirmed Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with 2016 election'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation found at least 10 examples of possible obstruction of justice on the part of Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr announced at a Thursday morning press conference.

The attorney general described the special counsel’s report ahead of its release to an audience who had not yet read its details or had a chance to look at the episodes he was describing.

Mr Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein disagreed with some legal theories provided in the report while discussing the portion of it that looked at the president’s alleged obstruction of justice.

Ultimately, the two heads of the Justice Department concluded the report did not provide enough evidence to charge Mr Trump with obstruction into the investigation. The special counsel did not “exonerate” the president over the issue of obstruction of justice, as the attorney general noted in his four-page summary.

He frequently echoed the president's claims of "no collusion" throughout the press conference, saying at one point there was "no evidence of collusion with the Russian government's hacking" operations by any members of Mr Trump's 2016 campaign.

Mueller investigation: The key figures

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1/12Mueller investigation: The key figures

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led.

REUTERS

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt".

AFP/Getty Images

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public.

EPA

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes — in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016.

Getty Images

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact.

REUTERS

"The report recounts ten episodes involving the President and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offence," Mr Barr said Thursday.

He added, "After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report, and in consultation with the Office of Legal Counsel and other department lawyers, the deputy attorney general and I concluded that the evidence developed by the special counsel is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offence.

Mr Trump did not exert executive privilege over any information included in the report, according to Mr Barr.

He said the White House counsel reviewed a redacted version of the report before Mr Trump decided not to invoke executive privilege.

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The attorney general said “no material has been redacted based on executive privilege.”

Additional reporting by AP

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