Reference Text
Time Left10:00
The
investigation
report
of
Special
Counsel
Robert
Mueller
is
unlikely
to
end
the
scandal
around
Russian
interference
in
the
2016
U.S.
presidential
election
that
has
rocked
American
politics
for
the
last
two
and
a
half
years.
The
redacted
version
that
has
been
released
confirms
what
U.S.
Attorney
General
William
Barr
had
said
last
month
when
he
released
a
summary
—
Mr.
Mueller
neither
indicts
nor
exonerates
President
Donald
Trump.
Mr.
Mueller
concluded
that
Russia
interfered
in
the
election
in
a
“sweeping
and
systematic
fashion”.
The
Russians
carried
out
an
information
campaign
on
the
Internet
against
Democratic
presidential
candidate
Hillary
Clinton
and
in
favour
of
Mr.
Trump,
while
Russian
hackers
hacked
into
the
Democratic
National
Committee
systems
as
well
as
Ms.
Clinton’s
campaign
chief’s
email
account,
and
dumped
the
files
on
the
Internet.
While
there
were
contacts
between
the
Russians
and
Trump
campaign
members,
the
investigation
doesn’t
establish
that
“members
of
the
Trump
campaign
conspired
or
coordinated
with
the
Russian
government”.
But
on
the
question
on
obstruction
of
justice,
the
Special
Counsel
was
less
emphatic.
The
report
has
damning
details
on
how
Mr.
Trump
tried
to
undermine
the
investigation.
He
wanted
to
fire
Mr.
Mueller,
and
when
his
then-Attorney
General
Jeff
Sessions
failed
to
do
so,
he
wanted
him
to
shut
the
probe.
Mr.
Trump
didn’t
succeed
as
his
staff
resisted
the
orders.
In
one
such
instance,
White
House
attorney
Donald
McGahn
preferred
to
resign
rather
than
carry
out
Mr.
Trump’s
order
to
fire
Mr.
Mueller.
The
report
also
confirms
that
the
President
had
asked
FBI
Director
James
Comey
to
go
easy
on
Micheal
Flynn,
Mr.
Trump’s
original
pick
for
National
Security
Adviser.
Mr.
Comey
was
fired
later.
What
Mr.
Mueller
has
effectively
done
is
to
state
the
facts
of
Mr.
Trump’s
efforts
to
obstruct
the
probe,
while
leaving
unanswered
the
question
of
whether
he
obstructed
justice.
He
has
left
the
issue
for
Congress
to
decide,
saying
the
legislature
“has
authority
to
prohibit
a
President’s
corrupt
use
of
his
authority
in
order
to
protect
the
integrity
of
the
administration
of
justice”.
As
soon
as
the
report
was
out,
Mr.
Trump
had
claimed
victory
by
tweeting:
“For
the
haters
and
the
radical
left
Democrats
—
Game
over.”
But
the
House
Judiciary
Committee
chair
has
issued
a
subpoena
to
the
Justice
Department
to
hand
over
the
full
report.
Senator
Elizabeth
Warren,
who
is
running
for
the
Democratic
presidential
ticket,
has
called
for
impeachment
proceedings
against
Mr.
Trump.
The
President’s
legal
troubles
are
also
not
over.
A
Senate
Intelligence
Committee
investigation
into
the
Russian
interference
scandal
is
still
on.
The
Trump
campaign
is
also
being
probed
for
alleged
campaign
finance
violations.
All
this
suggests
a
tough
road
is
ahead
for
Mr.
Trump,
though
Mr.