Robert Wray Has Not Read the Mueller Report

Nearly

The Mueller Report refers to the results of a Special Counsel investigation which examined the Russian government interference in the 2016 U.s. presidential ballot. Starting in mid-May 2017, the investigation led by onetime FBI manager Robert Mueller ended in belatedly March 2019.

Background

In January 2017, the United states of america Office of the Managing director of National Intelligence released a statement that the Russian government led an "influence entrada" favoring Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. On May 17th, Deputy Chaser General Rod Rosenstein appear that old FBI director Rob Mueller had been appointed as special counsel for the probe into Russian interference in the election.

Findings

On March 14th, 2019, the House of Representatives voted for the Mueller report to be made public with the exception of classified information. The beak was subsequently blocked in the Senate by Senator Lindsey Graham for not containing a clause for investigation of the Clinton campaign. The following day, Trump tweeted "there should be no Mueller Report" (shown below).

Donald Trump tweet about how there shouldn't have been a Mueller Report

On March 20th, Trump told the press that he did not "mind" if the Mueller report was released to the public (shown below).

On March 22nd, 2019, the Special Counsel submitted a final report of the investigation to Chaser General William Barr. On March 24th, Barr delivered a summary^[3] of the written report to Congress, stating:

"The Special Counsel's investigation did not detect that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

Additionally, the summary stated, "While this report does non conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

Meridian entries this week

Developments

On March 22nd, 2019, a certificate titled "Report from the Special Counsel Investigation into Russian Interference During and Before the 2016 Presidential Election" was uploaded to Scribd, which contained lyrics from the 1999 rock song "All Star" by Nail Mouth. The certificate has since been deleted. Meanwhile, several posts about the report reached the front pages of the /r/politics^[4] ^[five] ^[vi] and /r/news^[7] subreddits.

Donald Trump's Response

On March 24th, 2019, Donald Trump tweeted^[2] his reaction to the report, calling it a "complete and total exoneration" (shown below). In the next 24 hours, the tweet received upwards of 349,000 likes and 85,800 retweets.

Donald Trump tweet about the Mueller report exonerating him

That day, Twitter^[1] user @pixelatedboat tweeted a fake Donald Trump tweet in which he states that the reported ended he is "handsome and respected, and my wife loves me" (shown beneath). Within 24 hours, the tweet gained over 3,600 likes and 480 retweets.

fake Donald Trump tweet about the Mueller report concluding he is handsome and respected

James Comey Tweet

Also on March 24th, 2019, James Comey tweeted^[8] a photo of himself standing in a forest with the bulletin "so many questions." In response to the tweet, many speculated that it was intended to exist a reaction to the Mueller report. That day, Senator Lindsey Graham replied^[nine] with the message "Could not concord more. Encounter you before long" (shown below, right). On March 25th, The Daily Dot^[x] published an article about the Comey tweet in the context of the Mueller written report.

tweet by James Comey with picture of him standing among trees

tweet by Lindsey Graham replying to Comey by saying they'll see each other soon

Redacted Report Release

On April 17th, 2019, the chain bookstore company Barnes and Noble began selling pre-orders for the full written report (shown below). That day, a Twitter Moments folio highlighting reactions to the pre-orders was created.

Be the first to read THE MUELLER Study for free! Pre-guild today and information technology will exist delivered to your NOOK Library upon expected release tomorrow: https://t.co/p5K589noM1 moving picture.twitter.com/ATDiCEhY9l
— Barnes & Noble (@BNBuzz) April 17, 2019

That evening, the @MeetThePress Twitter feed reported that the Justice Department planned to release a second report with fewer redactions to Congress (shown beneath).

Meet the Press @MeetThePress BREAKING: Justice Department planning to show some members of Congress a version of the Mueller report "without certain redactions." #MTPDaily 5:23 PM 17 Apr 2019 Text Font Line Document

Leading up to the release of the report, numerous parodies were posted to Twitter, many of which contained humorously redacted paragraphs (shown below).

Mueller report parody with words blacked out so that it reads the lyrics to Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley

Mueller report parody with words blacked out so that it reads that the president is a good man

The following morning, Donald Trump tweeted^[12] a photoshopped Game of Thrones-themed image featuring a picture of himself with the words "Game Over / No Collusion. No Obstruction" (shown below).

Donald Trump tweet with a picture of him facing away from the camera and the words Game Over written in a Game of Thrones style font

That 24-hour interval, the full report was released on the Justice.gov^[11] website, titled "Written report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election." Meanwhile, Barr held a press conference nigh the final study (shown below).

Besides on Apr 18th, Los Angeles Times reporter Chris Megerian tweeted out several highlights from the report, noting sections stating that the Russian interference was "sweeping and systematic," that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and release through Russian efforts" and that sections of the report about the Internet Research Agency were heavily redacted.

The Russian regime'southward interference was conducted in "sweeping and systematic mode."

Trump has often downplayed or outright denied Moscow'south role. pic.twitter.com/wlaT5ruAcR

— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) April 18, 2019

Additionally, the study outlined 10 instances of potential obstruction of justice committed by Trump, stating that "the president's actions and intent" created difficulties in "determining that no criminal conduct occurred":

"If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, nosotros would then state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards however nosotros are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence nosotros obtained about the president'due south actions and intent presents difficult problems that preclude united states of america from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

"Harm to Ongoing Matter" Redaction

Also on April 18th, a heavily redacted page labeled "Harm to Ongoing Matter" was widely circulated online, with many joking that the page resembled an album encompass (shown below). That 24-hour interval, a Twitter Moments^[thirteen] folio highlighting tweets nigh the page was created.

Harm to Ongoing Matter THE NICE 8897 S1 449760 RECORD BREAKER 799 Text Font

Seth Ambramson'south Twitter Thread

On April 17th, writer Seth Ambramson launched a Twitter thread titled "Mueller Report Live Thread," which was updated a total of 451 times over the side by side 48 hours.

Seth Abramson @SethAbramson (MUELLER REPORT LIVE THREAD) This thread chronicles-in real time-the release of the Mueller Report, with news and analysis from a @Newsweek columnist and @NYTimes bestselling author (Proof of Collusion). Please retweet this thread widely for those you think might benefit from it. MUELLER 5:44 PM 17 Apr 2019 Face Text Head Nose Chin Forehead Human

On Apr 18th, Nate Silver tweeted^[14] a reply to the 248th post in the thread, stating that Abramson was "tweeting a step of 2.45 tweet per page" of the report (shown below).

ate Silver@NateSilver538 Apr 18 s currently tweeting a pace of 2.45 tweets per page of the Mueller report, one dorhich means this thread is on track for being 1,089 posts long Seth Abramson @SethAbramson 248/ Note Mueller's words: "the Trump campaign had received"-not, as Papadopoulos would've said if he kept the info secret, " received." Mueller thinks Trump's camp knew of "stolen Clinton emails" in May '16. He can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt because Papadopoulos lied. Show this thread Nate Silver citionas @NateSilver538 Since I posted this, he's taken almost 35 tweets to get through the 5- or 6- page section on Carter Page, and isn't done with it yet. Really picking up the pace.I think we could be headed for 1,200 tweets or more. Seth Abramson @SethAbramson 282/ Mueller writes, "Page's activities in Russia...[are] not fully explained." One problem he had? He relied on *Clovis-a man at the center of most sleazy Russia-related events, who then hired a guy who later became Trump's lawyer to tell Mueller he knew nothing about anything Show this thread Text Font

Meanwhile, Twitter user @KrangTNelson^[sixteen] tweeted that since Ambramson had been posting the tweets from his computer "every 1-2 min," that "nosotros can safely say he hasn't pooped in at least 13 hours" (shown beneath). On April 18th, Twitter Moments^[15] folio titled "Seth Abramson's everlasting Mueller thread takes on a comical life of its ain," highlighted various humorous reactions to the Twitter thread.

waterslide enthusiast KrangTNelson seth abramson has been tweeting from his computer - not his phone - every 1-2 min since around 8am this morning, so I think we can safely say he hasn't pooped in at least 13 hours. praying for my man 11:24 PM - 18 Apr 2019 Text Font Line

Mueller's Letter to Barr

On April 30th, 2019, The Washington Postal service reported that Mueller wrote Barr a letter on March 27th, stating his summary "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the full report.

"The summary alphabetic character the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this part's piece of work and conclusions. At that place is now public confusion nearly critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a key purpose for which the Section appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations."

That evening, the hashtag #BarrLied^[eighteen] circulated on Twitter among critics of the Trump administration, citing Barr'southward testimony on April tenth in which he stated: "I don't know whether Bob Mueller supported my decision" when asked past Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen if Mueller had supported his summary.

Barr Testifies

On May 1st, 2019, Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee over the Mueller report (shown beneath).

Resignation Press Conferences

On May 29th, 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered a brief press briefing and statement regarding his report and findings. Ahead of the statement, many online joked about what Mueller's voice would sound like, as he had withal to brand a public comment (examples below).

hoping Robert Mueller sounds like PeeWee Herman 10:01 AM- 29 May 2019 Text Font White Line

will he sound like a regular pokemon or does he speak with the voice of Ryan Reynolds

That forenoon, Mueller delivered a ten-minute statement most his findings as well as his resignation from the United States Department of Justice. During the speech, he said that he would be closing the Special Counsel's office and resigning (shown below). He too said, "If we had had confidence that the president conspicuously did not commit a criminal offence, nosotros would have said so. We did not, nonetheless, make a decision as to whether the president did commit a crime."

Following the argument, President Trump tweeted,^[19] "Nothing changes from the Mueller Written report. There was bereft evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Give thanks you." The tweet received more than than 24,000 retweets and 95,000 likes in 24 hours (shown beneath).

Nothing changes from the Mueller Report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent.

Members of Congress responded to Mueller's statements past weighing the possibilities of impeachment proceedings. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote,^[20] "Given that Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the President, information technology falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump – and we will do so." The post received more 1,600 retweets and four,100 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left).

Lindsey Graham tweeted,^[21] "Today'southward statement past Mr. Mueller reinforces the findings of his study. And as for me, the case is over. Mr. Mueller has decided to move on and let the report speak for itself. Congress should follow his lead." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 5,000 retweets and eighteen,000 likes (shown beneath, center).

Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted,^[22] "Mueller's statement makes clear what those who take read his report know: It is an impeachment referral, and information technology'due south up to Congress to act. They should. Mueller leaves no incertitude: 1) He didn't exonerate the president because at that place is evidence he committed crimes. 2) Justice Section policy prevented him from charging the president with any crimes. iii) The Constitution leaves it upwards to Congress to act--and that's impeachment." The get-go tweet received more than xix,000 retweets and 77,000 likes in 24 hours (shown beneath, right).