The Mueller report's collusion section is much worse than you think

[babylonsister]

The Mueller report’s collusion section is much worse than you think
The contacts with Russians documented in the report amount to a devastating indictment of Trump’s approach to politics.
By Zack Beauchamp@[e-mail] Apr 18, 2019, 2:50pm EDT


Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Donald Trump and Russia establishes a damning series of facts about the Trump campaign’s connections to the Kremlin.

We learned that two Trump campaign officials, campaign manager Paul Manafort and Manafort’s deputy Rick Gates, were regularly providing polling information to a Russian national whom Gates believed to be a “spy.”

We learned that, after Trump publicly called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails, he privately ordered future National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to find them. Flynn reached out to a man named Peter Smith who (apparently falsely) told a number of people that he was in contact with Russian agents.

We learned that Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos attempted to arrange meetings between Trump and Putin, and that Trump personally approved Papadopoulos’s work on this front.

The report is very clear that Mueller’s investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign criminally conspired on illegal Russian election interference, or that it coordinated with Russia through either an active or tacit agreement.

But the report, combined with other publicly known facts — that Donald Trump Jr. arranged a meeting with the express purpose of obtaining Russian “dirt” on Clinton, and that Papadopoulos was offered similar dirt from a Russian agent, among others — paints a damning picture of the campaign. It was both actively seeking to cultivate a relationship with the Russian government and willing to work with it to acquire damaging information about its political opponents. That willingness included explicitly sharing information with or soliciting information from Russian operatives.

more...

https://www.vox.com/2019/4/18/18484965/mueller-report-trump-no-collusion

[triron]

1. So I don't get that Mueller didn't find conspiracy. I really don't.

Seems pretty blatant.

[SunSeeker]

4. He claimed he did not have authority to charge the President with a crime, due to DOJ "policy."

Which to me is a cowardly cop out.

[paleotn]

7. I feel the same....

Unless the side investigations bring forth fruit, I cannot think of Mueller except as inept, complicit, a coward, or any combination of the 3. It's like there's smoke billowing thousands of feet in the air and Mueller and company write...well, I didn't see any flames.

[gldstwmn]

8. That was on obstruction. Collusion is not a crime

but a behavior. They made every effort to collude. What he supposedly couldn't figure out on collusion was if campaign finance laws had been violated by Jr. et al.

[SunSeeker]

17. Conspiracy IS a crime.

And Mueller claimed he could not establish scienter, despite a mountain of evidence. Seemed like a cop out to me.

[gldstwmn]

18. The term is criminal conspiracy. And it hung on whether or not

Junior et al knew it was a crime to violate campaign finance laws. Yes it sounds like bullshit.

[BSdetect]

2. POTUS failed to uphold and protect

[lunatica]

3. Barr said the complete opposite of what was in the report

His ass is grass. Stupid, stupid man!

[gldstwmn]

9. Exactly. Take everything he said today and reverse it 180

and you have what actually happened.

[George II]

5. Mr. Barr, if someone tries to rob a store and is unsuccessful, it's still attempted robbery.....

....and a crime.

[Honeycombe8]

6. Does it matter much? If there is no accountability for behavior, then...

we all knew how bad it was. The meetings, the secret communications, the repeated lies, the false reports on their security clearance forms, and all the rest.

They got away with it all.

Well, there's the election. We need to win. NEED.

[malaise]

10. The thing is Mueller never investigated collusion

which is why the assholes can scream no collusion - there is clear conspiracy and obstruction of justice

[uponit7771]

13. THIS !!!! They obstructed the conspiracy investigation !!! All of them !! Why didn't Mueller charge

... them then?!!?


No understanding how the can lie and delete emails etc and not be charged !!!

[malaise]

14. The mobsters have seized the government

Justice better be coming

[uponit7771]

15. It was good to hear Castro say we need impeachment

[BigmanPigman]

11. Russia gave them info AGAIN (a 2nd time) and that is redacted!

This is very important. Russia offered more damaging info on Hillary and then all of this part of the report is redacted. What did tRump and his pals do this time around? Why is it redacted?

[uponit7771]

12. K&R, Red Don obstructed the conspiracy investigation !!!

[watoos]

16. So did Rosenstein play Judas today?

[maxsolomon]

19. CONSPIRACY section

Collusion is not a thing; that's why Asshole kept saying it.