memeorandum: Mueller report says investigators struggled with whether Trump committed crime of obstruction (Washington Post)

3:25 PM ET, April 18, 2019

Top Items:

Attorney General William P. Barr Delivers Remarks on the Release of the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election — Good Morning. Thank you all for being here today. — On March 22, 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation …

Discussion: Slate, Townhall, CNN, The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Week, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Law & Crime, New York Times, Reason, emptywheel, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Instapundit and Washington Free Beacon

Washington Post:

Live updates: Mueller rejects argument that Trump is shielded from obstruction laws — President Trump, upon first learning of the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, cursed and declared, “this is the end of my presidency,” according to the redacted 400-page report …

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg, ABC News, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, Political Wire, CNN, The Atlantic, American Greatness, The Week and Joe.My.God.

Bloomberg:

Mueller Spells Out Trump's ‘Multiple Acts’ to Undermine Russia Probe — Congress has authority to act on obstruction, Mueller says — Special counsel didn't find ‘underlying crime’ on collusion — Robert Mueller delivered an exhaustive account of President Donald Trump's efforts …

Discussion: Breitbart, Shareblue Media, Joe.My.God. and CNN

Washington Post:

Mueller report says investigators struggled with whether Trump committed crime of obstruction — A detailed report from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III said investigators struggled with both the legal implications of investigating President Trump for possible obstruction of justice …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Power Line, Little Green Footballs, Politico, New York Times, NBC News, The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Stranger, The Crime Report, Mashable, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Mueller Report Is Released: Live Updates — The Justice Department has released a redacted version of the report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who investigated Russian election interference, any ties to the Trump campaign and possible presidential obstruction.

Discussion: The Stranger, wabe.org, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Caller and 1A

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

THE FULL MUELLER REPORT WAS JUST RELEASED. READ IT HERE — The report from special counsel Robert Mueller detailing his nearly 2-year investigation of whether Donald Trump treasonously colluded with Russia to steal the election from Hillary Clinton has finally been released.

Discussion: RedState, RealClearPolitics and American Greatness

Lucia Suarez Sang / Fox News:

WATCH: AG Barr spars with a reporter during news conference ahead of Mueller report release — Attorney General William Barr sparred with a reporter during a brief press conference Thursday in which he laid out the release of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into the Russia probe.

Discussion: RedState

Eric Geller / Politico:

FBI suspects Russians hacked ‘at least one’ Florida county, Mueller report says — The FBI believes that Russian hackers were able to breach “at least one” Florida county government through a spearphishing campaign targeting local election officials, according to special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Discussion: Political Wire

Jackie Strause / Hollywood Reporter:

Trump Celebrates Mueller Report Press Conference With ‘Game of Thrones’ Meme — “Though we can understand the enthusiasm for ‘Game of Thrones’ now that the final season has arrived, we still prefer our intellectual property not be used for political purposes,” said HBO in response to the president's meme.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and The Root

Pelosi Press / Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi, Schumer Call For Special Counsel Mueller to Provide Public Testimony In House And Senate

Discussion: Axios, IJR, Vanity Fair, ThinkProgress, Townhall, TheBlaze and Daily Kos

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Mueller time: Why it might not matter as much as you think

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Beast, New York Times and Political Wire

Yoni Appelbaum / The Atlantic: Trump Is Entitled to the Protections of Impeachment

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Burr apparently fed info on FBI's Russia probe to White House, Mueller says

Discussion: ABC News and Axios

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Mueller report: What witnesses expect ahead of its release

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Don't Trust Barr. Verify His Redactions.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Vanity Fair and Contemptor

Jason Chaffetz / Fox News: Was Mueller probe driven by political bias against Trump?

New York Times:
The Mueller Report: Excerpts and Analysis

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Spectator USA

Liam Quinn / Fox News:
Maxine Waters calls Barr a ‘lackey and a sycophant’ for Trump

Discussion: Politico, IJR, Reuters, Opinion Today and The Daily Beast

David Bossie / Fox News: Mueller probe was a waste of time and money - No collusion, no obstruction

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner: Mueller report reveals those surrounding Trump protected him from his own worst instincts

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
The attorney general just pre-spun the Mueller report for Trump

Discussion: IJR and Shakesville

John Solomon / The Hill:
The Lesson of Mueller: An innocent man's defense can look like a guilty man's obstruction

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico and Roll Call

ABC News:
Attorney General William Barr defends Trump's actions, handling of Mueller report ahead of its release

Discussion: Axios, NB Blog, Washington Post, IJR and Joe.My.God.

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
The Justice Department has released the Mueller report. Here's how to read it.

Discussion: The Week, Medium and Washington Examiner

Bloomberg:
Rick Perry Plans His Exit as Trump's Energy Secretary

Discussion: The Hill, Shakesville, Vanity Fair, The Resurgent, Daily Caller News Foundation, Splinter, The Week and Axios

New York Times:
The Mueller Report: What to Watch For Today

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Axios and Outside the Beltway

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Barr affirms Mueller probe found no evidence of Russia-Trump collusion, prepares to release report

Discussion: Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and TheBlaze

Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:

Australia Says It's “Ready To Confirm” A Key Meeting That Led To The Investigation Into Trump's Russia Links — Heavily-redacted documents released to BuzzFeed News show Australia's former high commissioner wrote a three-page cable to the United States about his London meeting with a Trump campaign adviser.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, New York Post and Politico

Washington Post:

The National Enquirer is being sold for $100 million to James Cohen, CEO of Hudson News — The supermarket tabloid, along with two sister publications, will be purchased by the head of the travel retailer known for its airport newsstands, according to people familiar with the agreement.

Discussion: Axios, The Wrap and One America News Network, more at Mediagazer »

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

Ilhan Omar, Harbinger of Democratic Decline? — With political power comes rhetorical responsibility. — Spot the problem with the quoted remarks: — (1) The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was “something some people did.” — (2) Last month's attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, was “something someone did.”

Discussion: Hmm Daily, Splinter, FactCheck.org, Michigan Advance and PJ Media Home

ABC News:

Highlights of Trump's written answers to special counsel Robert Mueller's questions — The answers were released as part of the Mueller report. — The answers President Donald Trump gave to special counsel Robert Mueller have finally been released as part of the redacted version of the special counsel's report.

Discussion: One America News Network

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:
Mueller Report Directly Contradicts Bombshell BuzzFeed Story

Discussion: The American Spectator, NB Blog, Daily Caller News Foundation and Townhall

Sam Levin / The Guardian:

Facebook teams with rightwing Daily Caller in factchecking program — Site co-founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson has promoted misinformation and is known for pro-Trump content — Facebook's controversial factchecking program is partnering with the Daily Caller, a rightwing website …

Discussion: The Wrap, NB Blog and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

Julie Kelly / American Greatness:

Adam Schiff: The Media's Pin-Up Doll — There are times that even The Onion—the popular satirical newspaper—can't compete with the outlandish coverage produced by allegedly legitimate news publications. Newsweek magazine's front-cover swoon over Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) this week is one such example.

New York Post:

Man nabbed after walking into St. Patrick's Cathedral with gas cans, lighters — A man was nabbed Wednesday night walking into St. Patrick's Cathedral with four gallons of gasoline, lighter fluid and lighters, police said. — Marc Lamparello, 37, of New Jersey, entered the historic Midtown church …

Discussion: New York Daily News, Gothamist, The Week and The Savage Nation

New York Times:

HUD Moves to Limit Public Housing Aid for Undocumented Immigrants — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration proposed a rule on Wednesday night intended to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving federal housing assistance, the latest step in its efforts to ramp up enforcement of the nation's immigration laws.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Splinter, Washington Times, IJR and The Daily Caller