Government Unfiltered

III. Legal Defenses to the Application of Obstruction-of-Justice Statutes to the President (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Dec 09, 2020

Part A of this subsection of Volume 2 provides legal background of the obstruction-of-justice statute most readily applicable to the Special Counsel's investigation: Section 1512(c)(2) of 18 U.S.C. Part B explores how constitutional tension is reconciled through separation-of-powers analysis when the President's official actions come into conflict with the prohibitions in the obstruction-of-justice statutes.

This episode covers pages 159-182 of Volume 2 from the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

III. Legal Defenses to the Application of Obstruction-of-Justice Statutes to the President (1:14)

A. Statutory Defenses to the Application of Obstruction-Of-Justice Provisions to the Conduct Under Investigation (3:27)

The Text of Section 1512(c)(2) Prohibits a Broad Range of Obstructive Acts (5:25)
Judicial Decisions Support a Broad Reading of Section 1512(c)(2) (8:45)
The Legislative History of Section 1512(c)(2) Does Not Justify Narrowing Its Text (12:58)
General Principles of Statutory Construction Do Not Suggest That Section 1512(c)(2) is Inapplicable to the Conduct in this Investigation (16:16)
Other Obstruction Statutes Might Apply to the Conduct in this Investigation (20:29)

B. Constitutional Defenses to Applying Obstruction-Of-Justice Statutes to Presidential Conduct (22:03)

The Requirement of a Clear Statement to Apply Statutes to Presidential Conduct Does Not Limit the Obstruction Statutes (23:49)
Separation-of-Powers Principles Support the Conclusion that Congress May Validly Prohibit Corrupt Obstructive Acts Carried Out Through the President's Official Powers (29:23)
Ascertaining Whether the President Violated the Obstruction Statutes Would Not Chill his Performance of his Article II Duties (43:53)

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II. Factual Results of the Obstruction Investigation (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Dec 07, 2020

This episode covers Section II. Factual Results of the Obstruction Investigation, pages 15 to 158 of Volume 2 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

This section of the report details the evidence obtained. Beginning with an overview of how Russia became an issue in the 2016 presidential campaign, and how candidate Trump responded. Included are key events that were investigated: the President’s conduct concerning the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn; the President’s reaction to public confirmation of the FBI’s Russia investigation; events leading up to and surrounding the termination of FBI Director Comey; efforts to terminate the Special Counsel; efforts to curtail the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation; efforts to prevent disclosure of information about the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Russians and senior campaign officials; efforts to have the Attorney General unrecuse; and conduct towards McGahn, Cohen, and other witnesses.

Factual Results of the Obstruction Investigation (1:12)

A. The Campaign's Response to Reports About Russian Support for Trump (3:03)

Press Reports Allege Links Between the Trump Campaign and Russia (4:05)
The Trump Campaign Reacts to WikiLeaks's Release of Hacked Emails (5:27)
The Trump Campaign Reacts to Allegations That Russia was Seeking to Aid Candidate Trump (7:55)
After the Election, Trump Continues to Deny Any Contacts or Connections with Russia or That Russia Aided his Election (12:15)

B. The President's Conduct Concerning the Investigation of Michael Flynn (16:44)

Incoming National Security Advisor Flynn Discusses Sanctions on Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (18:07)
President-Elect Trump is Briefed on the Intelligence Community’s Assessment (22:34)
Flynn Makes False Statements About his Communications with Kislyak (25:08)
DOJ Officials Notify the White House of Their Concerns About Flynn (28:20)
McGahn has a Follow-Up Meeting About Flynn with Yates; President Trump has Dinner with FBI Director Comey (30:44)
Flynn’s Resignation (35:12)
The President Discusses Flynn with FBI Director Comey (38:33)
The Media Raises Questions About the President’s Delay in Terminating Flynn (41:56)
The President Attempts to Have K.T. McFarland Create a Witness Statement (43:21)
Analysis (45:58)

C. The President's Reaction to Public Confirmation of the FBI's Russia Investigation (57:21)

Attorney General Sessions Recuses From the Russia Investigation (58:15)
FBI Director Comey Publicly Confirms the Existence of the Russia Investigation in Testimony Before HPSCI (1:03:43)
The President Asks Intelligence Community Leaders to Make Public Statements that he had No Connection to Russia (1:09:01)
The President Asks Comey to "Lift the Cloud" Created by the Russia Investigation (1:14:04)
Analysis (1:17:37)

D. Events Leading Up To and Surrounding the Termination of FBI Director Comey (1:23:18)

Comey Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee and Declines to Answer Questions About Whether the President is Under Investigation (1:24:50)
The President Makes the Decision to Terminate Comey (1:28:09)
Analysis (1:44:04)

E. The President's Efforts to Remove the Special Counsel (1:54:44)

The Appointment of the Special Counsel and the President's Reaction (1:56:03)
The President Asserts that the Special Counsel has Conflicts of lnterest (2:00:04)
The Press Reports that the President is Being Investigated for Obstruction of Justice and the President Directs the White House Counsel to Have the Special Counsel Removed (2:05:51)
Analysis (2:12:04)

F. The President's Efforts to Curtail the Special Counsel Investigation (2:20:49)

The President Asks Corey Lewandowski to Deliver a Message to Sessions to Curtail the Special Counsel Investigation (2:21:42)
The President Follows Up with Lewandowski (2:24:31)
The President Publicly Criticizes Sessions in a New York Times Interview (2:26:31)
The President Orders Priebus to Demand Sessions's Resignation (2:28:05)
Analysis (2:32:29)

G. The President's Efforts to Prevent Disclosure of Emails About the June 9, 2016 Meeting Between Russians and Senior Campaign Officials (2:37:37)

The President Learns About the Existence of Emails Concerning the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower Meeting (2:38:21)
The President Directs Communications Staff Not to Publicly Disclose Information About the June 9 Meeting (2:41:03)
The President Directs Trump Jr.'s Response to Press Inquiries About the June 9 Meeting (2:43:35)
The Media Reports on the June 9, 2016 Meeting (2:47:47)
Analysis (2:51:36)

H. The President's Further Efforts to Have the Attorney General Take Over the Investigation (2:56:14)

The President Again Seeks to Have Sessions Reverse his Recusal (2:56:37)
Additional Efforts to Have Sessions Unrecuse or Direct Investigations Covered by his Recusal (2:59:23)
Analysis (3:05:07)

I. The President Orders McGahn to Deny that the President Tried to Fire the Special Counsel (3:09:23)

The Press Reports that the President Tried to Fire the Special Counsel (3:10:33)
The President Seeks to Have McGahn Dispute the Press Reports (3:11:57)
Analysis (3:17:39)

J. The President's Conduct Towards Flynn, Manafort, and Stone (3:25:23)

Conduct Directed at Michael Flynn (3:26:15)
Conduct Directed at Paul Manafort (3:29:08)
Conduct Directed at Roger Stone (3:39:33)
Analysis (3:44:28)

K. The President's Conduct Involving Michael Cohen (3:54:42)

Candidate Trump's Awareness of and Involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow Project (3:56:37)
Cohen Determines to Adhere to a "Party Line" Distancing Candidate Trump From Russia (4:02:42)
Cohen Submits False Statements to Congress Minimizing the Trump Tower Moscow Project in Accordance with the Party Line (4:04:27)
The President Sends Messages of Support to Cohen (4:14:27)
The President's Conduct After Cohen Began Cooperating with the Government (4:20:29)
Analysis (4:30:51)

L. Overarching Factual Issues (4:42:44)

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I. Background Legal and Evidentiary Principles (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 25, 2020

This section explains the basic elements that are common to most of the relevant obstruction statutes and provides definitions relevant to events discussed in Section II relating to potential issues of obstruction of justice. This episode covers the "Background Legal and Evidentiary Principles," pages 9 to 14, from Volume 2 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

Background Legal and Evidentiary Principles (1:14)

Legal Framework of Obstruction of Justice (1:18)
1. Obstructive act (2:48)
2. Nexus to a pending or contemplated official proceeding (3:25)
3. Corruptly (5:14)
4. Witness tampering (5:33)
5. Attempts and endeavors (7:04)
Investigative and Evidentiary Considerations (8:12)

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Executive Summary to Volume II (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 24, 2020

This episode covers the "Executive Summary to Volume 2," pages 3 to 8, from Volume 2 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election." The executive summary provides an overview of the investigation's focus on a series of actions by the President related to the Russian-interference investigations, and an overview of the constitutional issues raised by the Special Counsel.

Executive Summary to Volume II (0:58)

Factual results of the obstruction investigation (1:16)
The Campaign's response to reports about Russian support for Trump (1:23)
1. Conduct involving FBI Director Comey and Michael Flynn (2:17)
2. The President's reaction to the continuing Russia investigation (3:47)
3. The President's termination of Comey (5:11)
4. The appointment of a Special Counsel and efforts to remove him (6:30)
5. Efforts to curtail the Special Counsel's investigation (7:56)
6. Efforts to prevent public disclosure of evidence (9:19)
7. Further efforts to have the Attorney General take control of the investigation (10:19)
8. Efforts to have McGahn deny that the President had ordered him to have the Special Counsel removed (11:17)
9. Conduct towards Flynn, Manafort, and Stone (12:12)
10. Conduct involving Michael Cohen (13:18)
11. Overarching factual issues (14:47)
Statutory and Constitutional defenses (17:18)
1. Statutory defenses (17:35)
2. Constitutional defenses (18:27)
Conclusion (21:01)

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Introduction to Volume 2 (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 23, 2020

This episode covers the "Introduction to Volume 2," pages 1 to 2, from Volume 2 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election." This volume provides details toward whether the President had obstructed justice in connection with the FBI's Russia-related investigations.

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V. Prosecution and Declination Decisions (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 18, 2020

As part of the final section of Volume 1 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election," pages 174-199, this section explains the Special Council's decisions on whether to exercise its prosecutorial authority with regard to the evidence it found through the investigation.

V. Prosecution and Declination Decisions (1:14)

V. A. Russian "Active Measures" Social Media Campaign (3:03)

V. B. Russian Hacking and Dumping Operations (5:50)

Section 1030 Computer-Intrusion Conspiracy (5:55)
Potential Section 1030 Violation By [Redacted - Personal Privacy] (15:22)

V. C. Russian Government Outreach and Contacts (18:00)

Potential Coordination: Conspiracy and Collusion (19:52)
Potential Coordination: Foreign Agent Statutes (FARA and 18 U.S.C. § 951) (22:37)
1. Overview Of Governing Law (28:38)
2. Application to June 9 Trump Tower Meeting (31:19)
3. Application to WikiLeaks and Roger Stone (41:08)
Campaign Finance (28:00)
1. Overview Of Governing Law (48:36)
  1. George Papadopoulos (51:15)
  2. [Redacted - Personal Privacy] (56:15)
  3. Michael Flynn (56:27)
  4. Michael Cohen (59:38)
  5. Roger Stone (1:03:17)
  6. Jeff Sessions (1:07:23)
  7. Others Interviewed During the Investigation (1:10:48)
2. Application to Certain Individuals (51:11)
False Statements and Obstruction of the Investigation (48:18)

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IV. Russian Government Links To and Contacts With The Trump Campaign (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 16, 2020

This Section describes the principal links between the Trump Campaign and individuals with ties to the Russian government, including some contacts with Campaign officials or associates that have been publicly reported to involve Russian contacts.

The Office investigated whether those contacts constituted a third avenue of attempted Russian interference with or influence on the 2016 presidential election. In particular, the investigation examined whether these contacts involved or resulted in coordination or a conspiracy with the Trump Campaign and Russia, including with respect to Russia providing assistance to the Campaign in exchange for any sort of favorable treatment in the future. Based on the available information, the investigation did not establish such coordination.

Each subsection begins with an overview of the Russian contact at issue and then describes in detail the relevant facts, which are generally presented in chronological order, beginning with the early months of the Campaign and extending through the post-election, transition period.

This episode covers pages 66-173 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

IV. Russian Government Links To and Contacts With The Trump Campaign (1:13)

IV.A. Campaign Period (September 2015 – November 8, 2016) (2:27)

Trump Tower Moscow Project (3:55)
1. Trump Tower Moscow Venture with the Crocus Group (2013-2014) (5:04)
2. Communications with I.C. Expert Investment Company and Giorgi Rtskhiladze (Summer and Fall 2015) (7:30)
3. Letter of Intent and Contacts to Russian Government (October 2015-January 2016) (11:14)
4. Discussions about Russia Travel by Michael Cohen or Candidate Trump (December 2015-June 2016) (22:11)
1. Origins of Campaign Work (33:10)
2. Initial Russia-Related Contacts (35:45)
3. March 31 Foreign Policy Team Meeting (40:22)
4. George Papadopoulos Learns That Russia Has "Dirt" in the Form of Clinton Emails (41:55)
5. Russia-Related Communications With The Campaign (46:22)
6. Trump Campaign Knowledge of "Dirt" (51:35)
7. Additional George Papadopoulos Contact (53:33)
George Papadopoulos (31:59)
1. Background (57:16)
2. Origins of and Early Campaign Work (1:00:22)
3. Carter Page's July 2016 Trip To Moscow (1:02:17)
4. Later Campaign Work and Removal from the Campaign (1:07:44)
Carter Page (56:23)
1. CNI and Dimitri Simes Connect with the Trump Campaign (1:10:57)
2. National Interest Hosts a Foreign Policy Speech at the Mayflower Hotel (1:13:58)
3. Jeff Sessions's Post-Speech Interactions with CNI (1:17:41)
4. Jared Kushner's-Continuing Contacts with Simes (1:19:40)
Dimitri Simes and the Center for the National Interest (1:09:51)
1. Setting Up the June 9 Meeting (1:24:40)
2. The Events of June 9, 2016 (1:32:59)
3. Post-June 9 Events (1:38:21)
June 9, 2016 Meeting at Trump Tower (1:22:31)
1. Ambassador Kislyak's Encounters with Senator Sessions and J.D. Gordon the Week of the RNC (1:44:44)
2. Change to Republican Party Platform (1:46:25)
Events at the Republican National Convention (1:43:33)
1. Ambassador Kislyak Invites J.D. Gordon to Breakfast at the Ambassador's Residence (1:51:40)
2. Senator Sessions's September 2016 Meeting with Ambassador Kislyak (1:52:28)
Post-Convention Contacts with Kislyak (1:51:17)
1. Paul Manafort's Ties to Russia and Ukraine (1:59:02)
2. Contacts during Paul Manafort's Time with the Trump Campaign (2:04:35)
3. Post-Resignation Activities (2:17:33)
Paul Manafort (1:55:05)

IV.B. Post-Election and Transition-Period Contacts (2:23:57)

Immediate Post-Election Activity (2:24:41)
1. Outreach from the Russian Government (2:25:13)
2. High-Level Encouragement of Contacts through Alternative Channels (2:26:56)
1. Background (2:30:25)
2. Kirill Dmitriev's Post-Election Contacts With the Incoming Administration (2:32:41)
3. Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev Meet in the Seychelles (2:35:52)
4. Kirill Dmitriev's Post-Election Contact with Rick Gerson Regarding U.S. Russia Relations (2:44:10)
Kirill Dmitriev's Transition-Era Outreach to the Incoming Administration (2:29:12)
Ambassador Kislyak's Meeting with Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn in Trump Tower Following the Election (2:49:32)
Jared Kushner's Meeting with Sergey Gorkov (2:52:42)
Petr Aven's Outreach Efforts to the Transition Team (2:57:13)
Carter Page Contact with Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich (3:02:16)
1. United Nations Vote on Israeli Settlements (3:05:03)
2. U.S. Sanctions Against Russia (3:06:47)
Contacts With and Through Michael T. Flynn (3:03:52)

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III. Russian Hacking and Dumping Operations (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 12, 2020

Section III of Volume 1 of the Mueller Report describes the Russian Hacking and Dumping Operations. The primary topics include GRU hacking directed at the Clinton campaign; the investigation's look into DCLeaks, Guccifer 2.0 and the use of Wikileaks; the investigation's findings of the Russian efforts to target individuals involved in the Clinton Campaign and entities involved in election administration; and the investigation's findings focus on interactions between the Trump Campaign and Wikileaks as well as the campaign's interest and efforts to obtain deleted Clinton emails.

This episode covers pages 36-65 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

III: Russian Hacking and Dumping Operations (1:14)

A. GRU Hacking Directed at the Clinton Campaign (2:58)
1. GRU Units Target the Clinton Campaign (3:03)
  1. Initial Access (6:12)
  2. Implantation of Malware on DCCC and DNC Networks (7:15)
  3. Theft of Documents from DNC and DCCC Networks (9:54)
2. Intrusions into the DCCC and DNC Networks (6:07)
1. DCLeaks (12:14)
2. Guccifer 2.0 (14:53)
  1. WikiLeaks's Expressed Opposition Toward the Clinton Campaign (19:50)
  2. WikiLeaks's First Contact with Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks (21:04)
  3. The GRU's Transfer of Stolen Materials to WikiLeaks (22:50)
  4. WikiLeaks Statements Dissembling About the Source of Stolen Materials (28:05)
3. Use of WikiLeaks (19:25)
B. Dissemination of the Hacked Materials (11:47)
1. Summer and Fall 2016 Operations Targeting Democrat-Linked Victims (30:24)
2. Intrusions Targeting the Administration of U.S. Elections (32:28)
C. Additional GRU Cyber Operations (30:02)
1. Role of Roger Stone (36:47)
2. 1. Background (36:50)
  2. Contacts with the Campaign about WikiLeaks (37:30)
  3. Roger Stone’s Known Efforts to Communicate with WikiLeaks (42:00)
  4. WikiLeaks's October 7, 2016 Release of Stolen Podesta Emails (48:46)
  5. Donald Trump Jr. Interaction with WikiLeaks (52:15)
  1. Henry Oknyansky (a/k/a Henry Greenberg) (55:27)
  2. Campaign Efforts to Obtain Deleted Clinton Emails (57:43)
3. Other Potential Campaign Interest in Russian Hacked Materials (54:44)
D. Trump Campaign and the Dissemination of Hacked Materials (36:04)

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II. Russian "Active Measures" Social Media Campaign (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 10, 2020

This episode covers the structure of the Internet Research Agency, the funding and oversight of the IRA, and the methods in which the IRA targeted the 2016 U.S. Election, as part of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election (Volume 1)."

The November 2020 update to this section uncovers significant amounts of previously redacted material from pages 14 to 35 of the report.

Russian "Active Measures" Social Media Campaign (1:14)

Structure of the Internet Research Agency (4:16)
Funding and Oversight from Concord and Prigozhin (7:13)
1. The IRA Ramps Up U.S. Operations As Early As 2014 (8:58)
2. U.S. Operations Through IRA-Controlled Social Media Accounts (12:16)
3. U.S. Operations Through Facebook (15:57)
  1. Individualized Accounts (21:03)
  2. IRA Botnet Activities (24:03)
4. U.S. Operations Through Twitter (20:11)
5. U.S. Operations Involving Political Rallies (25:39)
6. Targeting and Recruitment of U.S. Persons (28:16)
  1. Trump Campaign Promotion of IRA Political Materials (32:15)
  2. Contact with Trump Campaign Officials in Connection to Rallies (34:02)
7. Interactions and Contacts with the Trump Campaign (31:32)
The IRA Targets U.S. Elections (8:52)

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I. The Special Counsel's Investigation (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 09, 2020

Section 1 of Volume 1 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election." The section is titled "I. The Special Counsel's Investigation" from pages 11 to 13 of the report.

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Executive Summary to Volume 1 (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 05, 2020

This section covers the "Executive Summary to Volume 1" from pages 4 to 10 of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election."

Nov. 2020 additions are at 1:48, 2:03, and 20:23

Russian Social Media Campaign (1:16)

Russian Hacking Operations (3:27)

Russian Contacts with the Campaign (6:06)

2015 Russian Contacts with the Campaign (7:26)

Spring 2016 Russian Contacts with the Campaign (8:02)

Summer 2016 Russian Contacts with the Campaign (8:59)

Fall 2016 Russian Contacts with the Campaign (12:34)

Post-2016 Election Russian Contacts with the Campaign (13:37)

The Special Counsel's Charging Decisions (18:47)

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Introduction to Volume 1 (Mueller Report, Nov. 2020 update) Nov 04, 2020

On April 18, 2019, the Department of Justice released the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election." In June and November of 2020, previously unredacted information was released. With these releases, this is the first of 13 sections that will be re-released to attempt to provide the most up-to-date and accurate version available for free. This section covers the "Introduction to Volume 1" from pages 1 to 3 of the report.

Preface (2:08)

Introduction to Volume 1 (2:38)

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