Summary

  • The 400-page report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been released

  • President Trump asked the White House lawyer to fire Mueller, says the report

  • Ten episodes involving the president were scrutinised for possible obstruction of justice

  • The report cleared the Trump team of collusion with Russia over 2016 election

  • Democrats in Congress have demanded a full unredacted report, and want Mr Mueller to testify to Congress

  1. That's the end of our live coveragepublished at 21:17 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    A copy of the Mueller report given to reportersImage source, Reuters

    So what have we learned?

    • The report does clear Trump and his campaign of any collusion with Russia during the 2016 election
    • But according to Mueller, Trump is not above obstruction of justice laws and Congress has the authority to investigate
    • The report noted 10 instances where Trump took actions that could have been obstructive but did not make conclusions about them
    • Trump reportedly said it was "the end of his presidency" after Mueller's appointment and wanted his counsel, Don McGahn to get rid of Mueller

    If you're looking for an in-depth explanation of all that, click here.

    But you can still follow the latest updates in the Mueller saga here.

    Need a refresher on all things Trump-Russia? Read on.

  2. Booker shares searchable documentpublished at 21:05 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Senator Cory Booker, one of the numerous Democrats running for president in 2020, shared a searchable version of the Mueller report on Twitter - pointing out the Trump administration had failed to do so.

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  3. The view from Arkansaspublished at 21:01 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Tara McKelvey
    BBC News, Arkansas

    People in Arkansas say they are happy the report has been released to the public - for different reasons.

    Some Arkansans say that the report will give the public a chance to see what government officials have been up to and will help to expose how some of these officials have worked against the president and tried to damage his reputation.

    Walter Smith, who is now retired and lives near Russellville, Arkansas, he says the report will help to shed light on those in “the deep state”, as he put it. He defines Deep Staters as “Trump haters” such as the former FBI director, James Comey, and “all those around him”, says Smith.

    Smith says he hopes that the Mueller report will help to ensure that Comey and his associates will “get in trouble and get indicted” and be held accountable for the ways they were “working against the presidency”.

    Walter Smith
    Image caption,

    Walter Smith

    Others are also pleased with the fact that the report has been released because it gives them access to more information. “The more transparency, the better,” says David Cullen, a history professor at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

    Still, Mr Cullen, who is a political independent, says that he was disappointed with the conclusions of Robert Mueller’s report and says he wished Mr Mueller had been able to collect more evidence against the president. Mr Cullen’s own view of the president is clear: “I think he broke the law."

    Mr Mueller fell short, Mr Cullen says, in his pursuit of the truth.

    “He didn’t have hard evidence so he cannot go to court. But he still thought it was in the legal purview of Congress to continue the investigation.”

    Mr Cullen says he is eager to see what members of Congress will do in their efforts to find out what the president has done.

    Fayetteville resident Doug Thompson, a Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette political writer, says that the report shows the president may be guilty of crimes.

    “It means that all those claims he’s been exonerated are made in bad faith. It clearly does not say that,” says Mr Thompson.

    “The money quote”, Mr Thompson says, is the line where Mr Mueller says that they would have cleared the president if they could have.

  4. About 6% of report redactedpublished at 20:58 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    According to an analysis by ProPublica, only about 6% of the total report has been blacked out.

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  5. Top Democrat: 'Impeachment not worthwhile at this point'published at 20:56 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Steny HoyerImage source, Getty Images

    House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told CNN it is not worth the effort to initiate impeachment proceedings.

    "Based on what we have seen to date, going forward on impeachment is not worthwhile at this point. Very frankly, there is an election in 18 months and the American people will make a judgment," the Maryland congressman said.

    His comments echoed those of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who told the Washington Post, external last month that impeaching Trump is "just not worth it".

  6. Gates: Don Jr announced lead on Clinton dirtpublished at 20:49 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Donald Trump JrImage source, Getty Images

    Rick Gates - Paul Manafort's deputy - told the special counsel that Donald Trump Jr had announced ahead of the 9 June meeting at Trump Tower that he had "a lead on negative information about the Clinton Foundation".

    He said that morning meeting had been attended by several members of Trump's family - Don Jr, Eric, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner - as well as Hope Hicks and Paul Manafort.

    Gates thought the information came from a group in Kyrgyzstan.

    "According to Gates, Manafort warned the group that the meeting likely would not yield vital information and they should be careful," the report said.

  7. Bernie Sanders weighs inpublished at 20:42 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

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    The 2020 presidential hopeful added: "We must also work to do everything we can to protect our future elections from the significant threat of foreign interference, and I call on President Trump and Republican leadership to stop obstructing the necessary work to protect our democracy."

    Fellow 2020 Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren has launched a public petition for access to the full report.

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  8. Five things we learned from the Mueller reportpublished at 20:31 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    US President Donald Trump (C) flanked by Jose Ramos (L) and Michael Linnington (R), both from The Wounded Warrior Project, walks through the Cross Hall for an eventImage source, AFP/Getty Images

    Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation paints a decidedly mixed picture of President Donald Trump's conduct, both suspicious and exculpatory, that both sides of the political divide will seize upon.

    Mr Trump already has the result he insisted on from the outset: no collusion.

    While it is unclear if the document contains any "smoking gun" that might make impeachment proceedings against the president any more likely, there are enough potential red flags in there to keep congressional hearings ticking over for the remainder of his term in office.

    Read the full analysis here.

  9. Priebus learned of Trump Tower meeting from Hannitypublished at 20:26 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

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  10. Trump opposed his lawyer's note-takingpublished at 20:24 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    More revelations in the Mueller report showed that Trump challenged his lawyer on why he took notes, saying: "I've had a lot of great lawyers, like Roy Cohn. He did not take notes."

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  11. What about impeachment?published at 20:17 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Congressman Jerry Nadler said impeachment is a "possibility", but "it's still too early to reach those conclusions".

    Others on Twitter have taken a different view.

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    But many of the president's supporters are still behind him.

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  12. Journalists react to Sanders revelationspublished at 20:10 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    The report revealed White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders made comments "not founded on anything" to reporters, prompting a backlash on Twitter.

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  13. Who was behind the letter firing Comey?published at 20:01 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    James ComeyImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Former FBI director James Comey

    The special counsel's report says that White House adviser Stephen Miller - who has reportedly been encouraging the president's increasingly hard-line stance on immigration recently - was behind Comey's firing letter.

    Trump apparently told his advisors at a dinner on 5 May that he wanted to fire Comey.

    According to notes Miller took at the time, Trump said the letter should start: "While I greatly appreciate you informing me that I am not under investigation concerning what I have often stated is a fabricated story on a Trump-Russia relationship pertaining to the 2016 presidential election, please be informed that I, and I believe the American public - including [Democrats] and [Republicans] - have lost faith in you as Director of the FBI."

    Miller wrote the letter after dinner based on Trump's guidance, according to the report.

    Stephen MillerImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    White House adviser Stephen Miller

  14. Some Democrats call for Barr to resignpublished at 19:50 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    "You can be the President's defence attorney or America's attorney general, but you can't be both," Rep Eric Swalwell - a 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful - said in a statement.

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  15. Why was so much Wikileaks material redacted?published at 19:46 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Much of the material regarding Trump campaign outreach to Wikileaks has been redacted - most likely because the trial of ex-Trump adviser Roger Stone Jr is still ongoing.

    He is charged with seven counts, including lying to Congress about his communications with Wikileaks and witness tampering.

    Here's what's going on with the Stone case.

    Redacted textImage source, DOJ
  16. Trump-Russia inquiry: The saga in 350 wordspublished at 19:39 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    If you're in a rush, check out our simple breakdown explaining the two-year investigation.

    Trump Russia: The saga in 350 words

  17. Nadler issuing subpoena for unredacted reportpublished at 19:31 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Jerry Nadler, the Democratic Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, will be issuing a subpoena for the full, unredacted Mueller report.

    Fellow Democrat Richard Blumenthal has already said he supports a subpoena.

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  18. Two 'phases of action' in Trump motivespublished at 19:30 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    Mueller's report divides Trump's actions into "two distinct phases reflecting a possible shift in the President's motives".

    Before firing Comey, Trump had "been assured" that the FBI was not investigating him. He "deemed it critically important to make public that he was not under investigation"

    After firing Comey, Trump was aware of the obstruction of justice inquiry into his conduct and he "launched public attacks on the investigation and individuals involved in it who could possess evidence adverse to the President".

    In private, he "engaged in a series of targeted efforts to control the investigation" - such as trying to remove the special counsel, pressuring Jeff Sessions to control the inquiry, preventing the leak of information about the Trump Tower meeting and using "public forums to attack potential witnesses".

    "Judgments about the nature of the President's motives during each phase would be informed by the totality of the evidence," the report states.

  19. Watch BBC's World News America for the latestpublished at 19:21 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

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  20. Why obstruction case is uniquepublished at 19:16 British Summer Time 18 April 2019

    The report says the question of obstruction of justice is unique in three ways:

    • The investigation involved "facially lawful acts" within the president's authority, like firing James Comey, and his position as the head of the Executive Branch allowed him "unique and powerful means of influencing official proceedings, subordinate officers and potential witnesses"

    • The evidence obtained by the investigation did not establish Trump was involved with any Russian election interference, and "the absence of that evidence affects the analysis of the President's intent and requires consideration of other possible motives"

    • The president's actions towards witnesses, discouraging co-operation, suggesting pardons, happened in public view