Part I of a three-part series on the contents of the Mueller Report.
According to a July poll by Politico, only a small fraction of Americans have read the 448-page Mueller Report. While it is technically a best-seller, what that publication refers to as “a giant literacy gap” is looming even as Mueller prepares to begin testimony before two Congressional committees Wednesday, July 24.
The Mueller Report, led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is the authoritative examination of whether or not the Russians interfered in the 2016 election (they did); whether or not there was strong-enough evidence of their interwoven efforts with the Trump campaign that could reliably be prosecuted as conspiracy (it did not); or whether there was significant evidence of obstruction of justice (it did).
“The Russian government interfered in the 2016 Presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion,” pronounced Mueller in his written report, echoing that conclusion in his brief public statement more than two weeks ago. “That allegation deserves the attention of every American,” he said.
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after delivering a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., May 29, 2019. (REUTERS/Jim Bourg – RC17137A2760)
Overwhelmingly, those who say they haven’t read the report also say that it exonerates Trump.
An odd conclusion, that appears stoked by Attorney General William Barr’s hijacking of the report. Barr added a pre-release spin to the public’s perceptions that was fed by some conservative media.
A survey by Business Insider magazine showed 22 percent of Americans think the special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on the Russia investigation vindicates President Donald Trump. Another 33 percent believe it implicated him. That leaves 55 percent of the population that may not know what to think.
When asked, Trump hedges on whether he’s opened The Mueller Report; instead, he resorts to his well-worn mantra “no collusion, no obstruction.”
The record of congressional lawmakers who say they have read the report, particularly Republicans, is not much better. “What’s the point?” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who along with other lawmakers was recently interviewed by Capitol reporters. All acknowledged they hadn’t completed reading the report.
According to The Washington Post, its version of the report (published with an introduction written by its Mueller beat reporters) has been on The New York Times’ Best Seller List for 10 consecutive weeks. The combined sales by three publishers are reported to be more than 357,000 copies of the report. One doesn’t have to purchase the book to read it. The redacted report is available to download here, courtesy of NBC News: The Mueller Report
It is generally acknowledged, these days that few people have the patience to read a 1,200-word article, let alone a 448-page report. They should try.
The Mueller Report is broken into two sections – Volume I answers the question of whether or not the Russians interfered in the 2016 election and how they did it. Volume II lays out 10 areas of obstruction by the Trump campaign and the Trump White House.
First, – and most importantly – yes, the Russians did interfere in our election in systemic, comprehensive and intrusive ways. In an election that hung on a little more than 80,000 votes in four states (swinging the electoral college, although Trump lost the popular vote by three million votes) this shouldn’t just concern us – it should terrify the American public.
While some, with perhaps misguided loyalty to Trump, have gone on record dismissing this information, this Russian government interference is no small matter. Interference by a foreign government in the elections of a free and democratic people is an attack on our rule of law. It strikes at the core of American democracy and our self-governing way of life.
Those that seek to dismiss this report do so at our peril. As we head into the 2020 election season, the American people should demand that our government take steps to protect our elections from foreign interference. This is not un-American, nor is it in any way unpatriotic – it is a rational response to an attack on our country by a foreign government.
The Mueller Report details the Russian government’s two basic strategies of attack: first via “a social media campaign favoring presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaging presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.” Second, “a Russian Intelligence Service conduct computer intrusion operations against entities, employees and volunteers working for the Clinton campaign and then released stolen documents.”
An extensive list of tactics lies beneath those two strategic efforts, known in covert circles as “active measures.” The attacks began in early as 2014 — before candidates were known.
The Russians created an entity known as the Internet Research Agency (IRA), located in St. Petersburg, Russia. The IRA created thousands of fake social media identities infiltrating social media groups on Facebook and Twitter, exposing fake positions on topics designed to stir controversy.
The IRA also created fake ads taking extreme positions, and fueled controversy by creating fake news stories planted in conservative media and posted online, then responded to the stories with incendiary comments designed to stir a response. They also employed hundreds of operatives to pose as grassroots organizers promoting fringe social positions. (One example: the IRA created a group known as Black Matters US, to sow racial discord.)
Beginning in June 2016, explains The Mueller Report, IRA fake identities also posed as grassroots members of political parties. In many cases going so far as to dupe social media users into helping them create local political events. They would announce a “political rally,” then turn around and explain they needed a local person to organize it. When that person or persons stepped up, they would mine them for their social media contacts, extending their fake news reach.
The goal of much of these early active measures was to encourage controversy. But by 2016, with two years experience in disruption already, the Russians moved to sway public opinion as Trump emerged the leader among Republican candidates. Their sophisticated hackers and the RT channel (the media arm of the Russian government) created fake messages, extreme definitions of the elected democrat officials and candidates, and “incidents” which the campaign appears to have willingly passed along to millions of followers.
Records obtained by the Mueller investigation, reveal that Russian IRA operatives were directed to create social media posts boosting Trump’s image while attacking Clinton’s credibility.
Beginning in March 2016, the Russian Federation’s main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) directed what the Mueller Report calls “hacking and dumping operations,” targeting the Clinton Campaign and the Democratic Party National Committee. They stole hundreds of thousands of documents, releasing them in a manner that appeared “coincidentally timed” with Trump campaign comments. However, the Mueller could not conclusively prove any implication to the Trump campaign. (“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you find the missing 30,000 emails,” was one infamous Trump campaign comment about the Clinton campaign. Within one hour, was the first intrusion into the campaign computer system.)
The Russian effort funded influence efforts with conservative and evangelical groups. They placed covert operatives in positions to encourage and fund endorsements and advertising favoring Trump (One example: Maria Butina’s connection with the National Rifle Association.)
The GRU also sought to create a network of politically well-connected people favorable to their messaging through repeated contacts with Trump campaign officials. There were 272 contacts with Russian-linked operatives by the Trump campaign, including at least 38 meetings, reported in The Mueller Report. This amount of communication is not normal candidate behavior.
While The Mueller Report does not say so, a careful read of The Mueller Report says there were two campaigns to elect Trump president. One run by the Trump campaign, another run by the Russian government.
The second volume of The Mueller Report– and the subject of tomorrow’s piece – is that Mueller and his team did not exonerate Trump of obstruction. Far from it.
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