WASHINGTON: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his inquiry into Russia’s role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.
The release of the 448-page report on Thursday after a 22-month investigation marked a milestone in Trump’s tumultuous presidency and inflamed partisan passions ahead of his 2020 re-election bid.
Democrats said the report contained disturbing evidence of wrongdoing by Trump that could fuel congressional investigations, but there was no immediate indication they would try to remove him from office through impeachment.
Mueller built an extensive case indicating the Republican president had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding he had committed a crime, though he did not exonerate the president. Mueller noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law.
“The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law,” the report stated.
Mueller also unearthed “numerous links” between the Russian government and Trump’s campaign and said the president’s team “expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts,” referring to hacked Democratic emails.
But Mueller, a former FBI director, concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump’s campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.
Trump appeared to be in a celebratory mood, saying at a White House event with wounded US troops he was “having a good day” following the report’s release, adding, “It’s called no collusion, no obstruction.” Trump, whose legal team called the report “a total victory,” has long described Mueller’s inquiry as a “witch hunt.”
Trump headed to his resort in Florida for the weekend, and on landing on Thursday night told a crowd of well wishers at the airport: “Game over folks, now it’s back to work.”
The report, with some portions blacked out to protect sensitive information, provided fresh details of how Trump tried to force Mueller’s ouster, directed members of his administration to publicly vouch for his innocence and dangled a pardon to a former aide to try to prevent him from cooperating with the special counsel.
“The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the report stated.
The report said that when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump in May 2017 that the Justice Department was appointing a special counsel to look into allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia, Trump slumped back in his chair and said, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f***ed.”
Attorney General William Barr told a news conference Mueller had detailed “10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense.” Barr concluded last month after receiving a confidential copy of Mueller’s report that Trump had not actually committed a crime.
Trump was wary of FBI scrutiny of his campaign and him personally, the report said. “The evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the president personally that the president could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns,” the report stated.
Any impeachment effort would start in the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but Trump’s removal would require the support of the Republican-led Senate — an unlikely outcome. Many Democrats steered clear of impeachment talk on Thursday, although a prominent liberal congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, embraced the idea.
“Many know I take no pleasure in discussions of impeachment. I didn’t campaign on it, & rarely discuss it unprompted,” she said on Twitter. “But the report squarely puts this on our doorstep.”
The House, when it voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, included obstruction of justice as one of the charges. The Senate ultimately decided not to remove Clinton from office.
The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said he would issue subpoenas to obtain the unredacted Mueller report and asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23.
Nadler told reporters in New York Mueller probably wrote the report with the intent of providing Congress a road map for future action, but the congressman said it was too early to talk about impeachment.
“Mueller’s report paints a damning portrait of lies that appear to have materially impaired the investigation, a body of evidence of improper contacts with a foreign adversary, and serious allegations about how President Trump sought to obstruct a legitimate, and deeply important, counterintelligence investigation,” the Democratic chairs of six House committees said in a statement.
Election meddling
The inquiry laid bare what the special counsel and US intelligence agencies have described as a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, denigrate 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump, the Kremlin’s preferred candidate. Russia has denied election interference.
In analyzing whether Trump obstructed justice, Mueller looked at a series of actions by Trump, including his attempts to remove Mueller and limit the scope of his probe and efforts to prevent the public from knowing about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between senior campaign officials and Russians.
In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to tell the Justice Department’s No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed, the report said. McGahn did not carry out the order. McGahn was home on a Saturday that month when Trump called him at least twice.
“You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod,” McGahn recalled the president as saying, according to the report.
House Judiciary Democrat Jamie Raskin pointed to Trump’s effort to get McGahn to fire Mueller and then lie about being told to do so as an area of interest for lawmakers, and said McGahn and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be valuable witnesses as the committee moves forward.
“There are these dramatic episodes of presidential attempts to interfere with the Mueller investigation, and I think people would like to hear from a number of officials involved. White House counsel McGahn jumps out as an important witness,” he told Reuters.
It also said there was “substantial evidence” Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017 due to his “unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation.” The FBI headed the inquiry at the time.
Mueller cited “some evidence” suggesting Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s controversial calls with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, but evidence was “inconclusive” and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct.
The report said Trump directed former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to ask Sessions to say the Russia investigation was “very unfair.”
Barr, a Trump appointee, seemed to offer cover for Trump’s actions by saying the report acknowledges “there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.”
“President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates,” Barr said.
Mueller’s team did not issue a subpoena to force Trump to give an interview to the special counsel because it would have created a “substantial delay” at a late stage in the investigation, the report said. Trump refused an interview and eventually provided only written answers.
The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognizing that a president can be criminally investigated.
The report listed 14 criminal referrals for investigation by US prosecutors but 12 of those were fully blacked out because they are open investigations.
Mueller said evidence he collected indicates Trump intended to encourage his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, not to cooperate and that the evidence supports the idea that Trump wanted Manafort to believe he could receive a presidential pardon.
The report said the special counsel’s team determined there was a “reasonable argument” that the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., violated campaign finance laws, but did not believe they could obtain a conviction.
The report cited Trump’s repeated efforts to convince Sessions to resume oversight of the probe after he had recused himself because of his own prior contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry
In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry
Taliban publicly execute a third person for murder: Afghan Supreme Court
- Afghanistan’s Supreme Court said Taliban authorities executed three convicted murderers on Friday, bringing to nine the number of men publicly put to death since their return to power
KABUL: Afghanistan’s Supreme Court said Taliban authorities executed three convicted murderers on Friday, bringing to nine the number of men publicly put to death since their return to power, according to an AFP tally.
Two men were executed in front of spectators in Qala I Naw, the center of Badghis province, while a third was killed in Zaranj in Nimroz province, the Supreme Court said in a statement.
Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case
- Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma
COPENHAGEN: A Copenhagen court is to rule Friday whether a lawsuit filed by four humanitarian organizations accusing Denmark of violating international law by exporting weapons to Israel is admissible in court.
The Palestinian human rights association Al-Haq, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Action Aid Denmark filed the lawsuit against the Danish foreign ministry and national police last year.
They said in a statement there was a risk that “Danish military materiel was being used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
The associations targeted the foreign ministry in their lawsuit since it “determines whether there is a risk that weapons and weapons components could be used to violate human rights” and the police because it was the authority responsible for issuing export licenses.
Denmark’s Eastern High Court is expected to announce its decision around 10:00 am (0800 GMT).
“We are the biggest human rights organization in the world and our mandate is clearly to protect human rights,” the secretary general of the Danish branch of Amnesty International, Vibe Klarup, said in a statement.
Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma.
“Amnesty International has been working for several years to rally support for the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to ensure that states’ arms trading is not used to commit human rights violations,” said Klarup.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen argued in October that Denmark’s participation in the F-35 program was “crucial for our security and our relations with our main allies.”
Last year, Amnesty International accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Danish lawsuit was filed in March 2024, on the heels of a similar suit filed in the Netherlands by a coalition of humanitarian organizations.
A Dutch court in December rejected demands by pro-Palestinian groups for a total ban on exporting goods that can be used for military means to Israel.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the overall death toll has reached 50,846 since the war with Israel began on October 7, 2023, a figure the UN has deemed reliable.
Hamas’ unprecedented assault on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
Nearly 100 killed after heavy rain in India, Nepal
- The Indian Meteorological Department raised a multi-hazard warning for the country on Wednesday
- Local media reported that more than 20 people have died in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh
NEW DELHI: Nearly 100 people have died since Wednesday after heavy rain lashed parts of India and Nepal, officials and media said, and the weather department has predicted more unseasonal rain for the region.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had on Wednesday raised a multi-hazard warning for the country, with heatwave conditions in the western parts and thunderstorms in the eastern and central region.
In the eastern state of Bihar, at least 64 people died in rain-related incidents since Wednesday, a senior official from the state’s disaster management department told Reuters.
Local media reported that more than 20 people have died in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile in neighboring Nepal, lightning strikes and heavy rain killed at least eight people, National Disaster Authority officials said.
India’s weather office expects heavy rain with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds over central and eastern India till Saturday.
The monsoon season usually begins in June in southern India, and summer months in the recent past have been marked by intense heatwaves that have killed several people.
State-run IMD said last week that India is expected to experience a much hotter April, with above normal temperatures across most of the country.
Early holiday, more fans: Philippines schools adapt to climate change
- Last year, heatwaves forced millions of children in the Philippines out of school
- This school year started two months earlier than usual, so the term ends before peak heat in May
MANILA: Kindergarten teacher Lolita Akim fires up five standing fans with three more at the ready as she fights to hold the attention of her pint-sized pupils in Manila’s soaring heat.
Last year, heatwaves forced millions of children in the Philippines out of school. It was the first time that soaring temperatures had caused widespread class suspensions, prompting a series of changes.
This school year started two months earlier than usual, so the term ends before peak heat in May. Classes have been rearranged to keep children out of the midday heat, and schools are equipped with fans and water stations.
The moves are examples of how countries are adapting to the higher temperatures caused by climate change, often with limited resources.
As a teacher, Akim is on the frontlines of the battle to keep her young charges safe and engaged.
“In this weather, they get drenched in sweat; they become uneasy and stand up often. Getting them to pay attention is more difficult,” she said of the five-year-olds in her care at the Senator Benigno S. Aquino Elementary School.
Some six million students lost up to two weeks’ worth of classroom learning last year as temperatures hit a record 38.8°Celsius, according to the education department.
Schools reported cases of heat exhaustion, nose bleeds and hospitalizations as students struggled through lessons in classrooms without air conditioning.
Scientists say that extreme heat is a clear marker of climate change, caused largely by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Last year’s heat was further exacerbated by the seasonal El Nino phenomenon.
But even this year, nearly half Manila’s schools were forced to close for two days in March when the heat index – a measure of temperature and humidity – hit “danger” levels.
“We’ve been reporting (the heat index) since 2011, but it’s only been recently that it’s become exceptionally warm,” national weather service specialist Wilmer Agustin said, attributing it to “El Nino and climate change.”
This year, conditions in most of the country will range between “extreme caution” and “danger” on the government’s heat alert system, he said, “especially in April and May.”
On Friday, scores of schools in Manila were shuttered as temperatures were expected to hit 34°C, while the national weather service said the heat index for at least five provinces would hit the danger level.
During last year’s closures, alternative learning helped make up some of the gap.
But “the overall impact on students’ education was significant,” said Jocelyn Andaya, assistant education secretary for operations.
So this year, a series of measures have been instated to avoid further learning loss.
Classroom sessions have been shortened to four hours a day – avoiding the searing midday sun – and water stations were installed in each classroom as well as at least two oscillating wall fans.
Some newer schools have heat-reflective roofs, and bigger ones now employ nurses.
Just three percent of students affected by last year’s heatwaves were able to access online classes, so this year printed material was prepared for students if they must stay home.
Even so, Benigno Aquino school principal Noel Gelua cautioned that “there is no real alternative to face-to-face learning.”
But there are limits to what can be done, given the education department has a budget of just 10 billion pesos ($174 million) for climate adaptation, infrastructure and disaster readiness.
The Philippines also has a perennial classroom shortage, with 18,000 more needed in the capital alone.
Manila’s public schools do two shifts per day, with about 50 students in each 63 square-meter room, exacerbating the heat problem.
Fifth-grader Ella Azumi Araza, 11, can only attend four days a week due to the shortage.
On Fridays, she studies in her family’s nine-square-meter cinderblock home on a bed she shares with her younger brother, who suffers from epilepsy.
Three electric fans are always on in the windowless, single-room structure.
As hot as it is at home, her mother Cindella Manabat still frets about conditions at school, saying that she comes home coughing.
“I make her carry a jug of water to prevent dehydration,” she said.
Across the street from Benigno Aquino, eighth-graders at President Corazon C. Aquino High School aimed tiny, rechargeable fans at their bodies while taking an algebra quiz.
Two of the four ceiling fans in the room had given out and the remaining two were clearly not enough for the 40 students.
“It is very difficult to teach in the heat,” their teacher Rizzadel Manzano said.
“Motivating them is really a challenge.”
A school uniform requirement was ditched earlier this year, and students now wear sweatpants and T-shirts donated by the city, principal Reynora Laurenciano said.
Both schools are located in a densely populated slum area called Baseco, where conditions at home can be even more dire, she added.
“If you ask them, they consider (school) a safer place,” Laurenciano said.
Trump administration cuts thousands of immigrants off from Social Security
- Adding the immigrants to the so-called ‘death file’ is ‘aimed at putting pressure on the undocumented immigrants to leave the country’
- The policy aligns with other high-profile anti-immigration measures taken by Donald Trump’s White House since his second term began
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has added over 6,000 immigrants to a database of dead Social Security recipients, effectively cutting off benefits and their ability to work, US media reported Thursday.
Adding the immigrants to the so-called “death file” is “aimed at putting pressure on the undocumented immigrants to leave the country,” the Washington Post said, citing a White House official.
The policy aligns with other high-profile anti-immigration measures taken by Donald Trump’s White House since his second term began, including sending more than 200 suspected gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Social Security Numbers (SSNs) are a key identifier for people in the United States, used to report earnings, establish eligibility for welfare benefits and other purposes.
Hundreds of thousands of people who are in the country illegally nevertheless have a US Social Security Number.
Many arrived during the Biden administration, which allowed certain people to enter temporarily as a way of reducing illegal border crossings.
The White House official told the Washington Post that once people are listed as dead in the Social Security system, they will be shut out by many employers, landlords and banks as well as federal agencies – essentially ending their ability to earn a living in the country.
Media reported that the move to use the “death file” was spearheaded by staff from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Citing administration documents, the New York Times reported that the initial group of 6,300 people was made up of “convicted criminals and ‘suspected terrorists.’”
But both papers reported that the measure could soon be applied to many more undocumented migrants.
Weaponizing the Social Security system against undocumented migrants follows steps taken to share taxpayer information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with immigration authorities announced on Tuesday.
Millions of undocumented migrants have long paid taxes as a way of boosting both their immigration cases and the financial health of massive US federal programs such as Social Security.
