Mueller Report Completed: Washington Post

A team under Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted a final report to the US Attorney General William Barr who will review the findings and determine which details can be shared with Congress and the public at large. Barr informed Congress that the department did not block investigators from pursing leads. The team was responsible for investigating interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and, in an investigation lasting less than two years, found disturbing patterns of manipulation and deception. The investigation resulted in charges for 12 Russian military officers, 13 members of an organized social media group that posted hundreds of false messages, top campaign officials and a former US national security advisor who lied about Russian connections. “[T]hrough legal documents and court hearings, Mueller has already revealed rich details about the Russian attack on the U.S. democracy in 2016 — and his investigation has triggered unpredictable ripple effects,” reports the Washington Post. “The special counsel indirectly helped expose hush money that Trump’s lawyer paid an adult-film actress, shed new light on secret foreign-backed lobbying efforts and helped force a reckoning at major technology companies over how social media can be used to divide and inflame.” The team referred leads on possible crimes unrelated to the Russian interference, including tax evasion and bank fraud, to offices of three other attorney generals. The investigation highlights concerns about corruption associated with lobbying and foreign influence, campaign financing, social media messaging and advertising, the ongoing challenges for democracy and need for vigilance prior to the 2020 election. – YaleGlobal