WASHINGTON: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his inquiry into Russia’s role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.
The release of the 448-page report on Thursday after a 22-month investigation marked a milestone in Trump’s tumultuous presidency and inflamed partisan passions ahead of his 2020 re-election bid.
Democrats said the report contained disturbing evidence of wrongdoing by Trump that could fuel congressional investigations, but there was no immediate indication they would try to remove him from office through impeachment.
Mueller built an extensive case indicating the Republican president had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding he had committed a crime, though he did not exonerate the president. Mueller noted that Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law.
“The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law,” the report stated.
Mueller also unearthed “numerous links” between the Russian government and Trump’s campaign and said the president’s team “expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts,” referring to hacked Democratic emails.
But Mueller, a former FBI director, concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump’s campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.
Trump appeared to be in a celebratory mood, saying at a White House event with wounded US troops he was “having a good day” following the report’s release, adding, “It’s called no collusion, no obstruction.” Trump, whose legal team called the report “a total victory,” has long described Mueller’s inquiry as a “witch hunt.”
Trump headed to his resort in Florida for the weekend, and on landing on Thursday night told a crowd of well wishers at the airport: “Game over folks, now it’s back to work.”
The report, with some portions blacked out to protect sensitive information, provided fresh details of how Trump tried to force Mueller’s ouster, directed members of his administration to publicly vouch for his innocence and dangled a pardon to a former aide to try to prevent him from cooperating with the special counsel.
“The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the report stated.
The report said that when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump in May 2017 that the Justice Department was appointing a special counsel to look into allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia, Trump slumped back in his chair and said, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f***ed.”
Attorney General William Barr told a news conference Mueller had detailed “10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense.” Barr concluded last month after receiving a confidential copy of Mueller’s report that Trump had not actually committed a crime.
Trump was wary of FBI scrutiny of his campaign and him personally, the report said. “The evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the president personally that the president could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns,” the report stated.
Any impeachment effort would start in the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but Trump’s removal would require the support of the Republican-led Senate — an unlikely outcome. Many Democrats steered clear of impeachment talk on Thursday, although a prominent liberal congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, embraced the idea.
“Many know I take no pleasure in discussions of impeachment. I didn’t campaign on it, & rarely discuss it unprompted,” she said on Twitter. “But the report squarely puts this on our doorstep.”
The House, when it voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, included obstruction of justice as one of the charges. The Senate ultimately decided not to remove Clinton from office.
The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said he would issue subpoenas to obtain the unredacted Mueller report and asked Mueller to testify before the panel by May 23.
Nadler told reporters in New York Mueller probably wrote the report with the intent of providing Congress a road map for future action, but the congressman said it was too early to talk about impeachment.
“Mueller’s report paints a damning portrait of lies that appear to have materially impaired the investigation, a body of evidence of improper contacts with a foreign adversary, and serious allegations about how President Trump sought to obstruct a legitimate, and deeply important, counterintelligence investigation,” the Democratic chairs of six House committees said in a statement.
Election meddling
The inquiry laid bare what the special counsel and US intelligence agencies have described as a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, denigrate 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump, the Kremlin’s preferred candidate. Russia has denied election interference.
In analyzing whether Trump obstructed justice, Mueller looked at a series of actions by Trump, including his attempts to remove Mueller and limit the scope of his probe and efforts to prevent the public from knowing about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between senior campaign officials and Russians.
In June 2017, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to tell the Justice Department’s No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed, the report said. McGahn did not carry out the order. McGahn was home on a Saturday that month when Trump called him at least twice.
“You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod,” McGahn recalled the president as saying, according to the report.
House Judiciary Democrat Jamie Raskin pointed to Trump’s effort to get McGahn to fire Mueller and then lie about being told to do so as an area of interest for lawmakers, and said McGahn and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be valuable witnesses as the committee moves forward.
“There are these dramatic episodes of presidential attempts to interfere with the Mueller investigation, and I think people would like to hear from a number of officials involved. White House counsel McGahn jumps out as an important witness,” he told Reuters.
It also said there was “substantial evidence” Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017 due to his “unwillingness to publicly state that the president was not personally under investigation.” The FBI headed the inquiry at the time.
Mueller cited “some evidence” suggesting Trump knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s controversial calls with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, but evidence was “inconclusive” and could not be used to establish intent to obstruct.
The report said Trump directed former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to ask Sessions to say the Russia investigation was “very unfair.”
Barr, a Trump appointee, seemed to offer cover for Trump’s actions by saying the report acknowledges “there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.”
“President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office and sought to perform his responsibilities as president, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates,” Barr said.
Mueller’s team did not issue a subpoena to force Trump to give an interview to the special counsel because it would have created a “substantial delay” at a late stage in the investigation, the report said. Trump refused an interview and eventually provided only written answers.
The report said Mueller accepted the longstanding Justice Department view that a sitting president cannot be indicted on criminal charges, while still recognizing that a president can be criminally investigated.
The report listed 14 criminal referrals for investigation by US prosecutors but 12 of those were fully blacked out because they are open investigations.
Mueller said evidence he collected indicates Trump intended to encourage his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, not to cooperate and that the evidence supports the idea that Trump wanted Manafort to believe he could receive a presidential pardon.
The report said the special counsel’s team determined there was a “reasonable argument” that the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., violated campaign finance laws, but did not believe they could obtain a conviction.
The report cited Trump’s repeated efforts to convince Sessions to resume oversight of the probe after he had recused himself because of his own prior contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry
In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry
Saudi Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka: A journey through Saudi Arabia’s transformation, Vision for Future
- Saudi chefs will present a mix of flavours inspired by different regions of the Kingdom
- More than 200 selections of souvenirs will be displayed in the gift shop, each a testament to authentic Saudi craftsmanship
OSAKA: The Saudi pavilion participating in Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan has announced an unprecedented cultural and artistic program encompassing more than 700 events to introduce visitors to Saudi Arabia’s rich heritage, mega projects and various economic opportunities.
The Saudi pavilion at the expo will present Saudi Arabia’s past, transformational journey and vision for a sustainable and prosperous future. It will include a wide range of performances, such as traditional arts, classical music and fashion shows.
Saudi chefs will present a mix of flavours inspired by different regions of the Kingdom, and Saudi musicians and artists will perform daily to highlight the Kingdom’s rich cultural heritage.
A dedicated area for prominent figures will host various sessions and display a series of presentations to inform companies and investors of all the economic opportunities available in the Kingdom.
More than 200 selections of souvenirs will be displayed in the gift shop, each a testament to authentic Saudi craftsmanship.
Visitors from around the world will learn about AlUla City, located in north-west Saudi Arabia, which is home to dramatic desert landscapes, spectacular rock formations and some of the Middle East’s most significant ancient sites.
Major Saudi projects will be highlighted, including NEOM, the land of the future; THE LINE, the 170-kilometer-long city that will be the future of urban living; Oxagon, which is redefining the traditional industrial model; and Trojena, the mountain resort of NEOM.
The pavilion will also showcase aspects of ‘Green Riyadh,’ a revolutionary project that aims to transform Saudi Arabia’s capital into a green oasis by planting 7.5 million trees by 2030. This project aims to place Riyadh as one of the world’s top 100 most livable cities.
It will also highlight the Reefscape Restoration Initiative, launched by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). This initiative seeks to conserve, enhance, and restore 100 hectares of coral reefscape in the Red Sea and design and build the world’s largest Coral Nursery at Jeddah beach, with an expected coral production of 400k per year.
General Commissioner of the Saudi Pavilion Othman Al-Mazyad said: “We look forward to enabling visitors of the Saudi pavilion to learn about the Kingdom, its traditions, journey of transformation and vision for a sustainable future.”
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan have been continuously growing, thanks to the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030. The Saudi Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka will allow companies and investors from Japan and worldwide to learn about the Kingdom’s various opportunities, aiming to forge new partnerships and expand existing agreements.
India’s mammoth election heats up in trend-defining second phase
- Second phase is seen by analysts as defining dynamics of rest of the polls
- Turnout in first phase was lower than expected — 66 percent, compared with 70 percent in 2019
NEW DELHI: India’s mammoth general election rolled on Friday into its second phase, which is widely believed to likely set the trend for the rest of the polls.
More than 968 million voters were registered to cast the ballot vote in the world’s most populous country, where incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are eyeing a rare third straight five-year term in power.
The first phase of the vote was on April 19 as polling takes place over six weeks, with results expected on June 4. The other voting dates will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
India has a total of 28 states and eight federally governed territories. Some regions complete the process on a single day, and others spread it out over several phases.
Voting last week took place in 21 states and union territories, with nearly 169 million people eligible to cast their ballots. In the second phase, more than 160 million people were expected to vote across 13 states and federal territories.
As many as 1,202 candidates contested the polls on Friday, vying for 88 of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament. In the previous phase, 102 seats were up for grabs.
More than half of the 88 seats were in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka and the northwestern state of Rajasthan.
The party or coalition that wins at least 272 seats will form the government.
Modi, who ahead of the election was targeting 400 seats for his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, is challenged by an alliance of two dozen opposition parties — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, led by the Congress party, which has ruled the country for close to 45 years since independence in 1947.
‘MINI-GENERAL ELECTION’
The second phase of India’s polls is seen by analysts as defining the dynamics of the remaining five phases. One of the factors was the voter turnout, which in this election might be lower.
In the first phase, 66 percent of those eligible to vote cast their ballot — compared with 70 percent in 2019.
“From the first phase of the election, the message went that there is a silent undercurrent against the BJP and the dip in the voting percentage sent the signal that the BJP would slip in its strongholds in northern India particularly Uttar Pradesh,” Umakant Lakhera, political commentator in Delhi, told Arab News.
“If the trend of voters’ perceived apathy toward the election in general — and the BJP in particular — continues, then it’s an opportunity for the opposition Congress party to consolidate and mobilize its resources to widen its reach and capitalize on anti BJP sentiment.”
The key leader of the opposition coalition and Congress member is Rahul Gandhi, the son of Rajiv Gandhi, a grandson of Indira Gandhi, and a great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, all of whom served as prime ministers of India.
Gandhi is seeking re-election from Wayanad in Kerala — the only major state that has never elected a BJP member of parliament, and where it was not a main competitor. This year, Modi’s party has been trying to make inroads into the state’s political scene.
The main contenders, besides Gandhi, are Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India and BJP’s K. Surendran.
“Kerala always has witnessed bipolar politics, but the BJP has been trying this time to make it a triangular contest, and this election will test whether a third force can find space in Kerala or not,” Prof. G. Gopa Kumar, political scientist and adviser to the Kerala-based Center for Public Policy Research, told Arab News.
“The second phase will test whether the stigma of the BJP of being an outsider in Kerala will continue or not, whether the stigma of not winning a seat in Kerala will continue or not.”
Far from Kerala, in the north, where several states were also going to the polls, another test was taking place at the same time — for the Congress party. Congress plunged to a historic low when it was swept out of power by the BJP in the 2014 general vote, and won its second-lowest number of 52 seats in 2019.
“The second phase is a mini-general election. What is at stake is whether the Congress is going to challenge the dominance of the BJP in the north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh or not,” Kumar said.
“The contest is getting serious from now on. For the Congress, it is a survival question as they have to prove that they can defeat the BJP and survive as a big force.”
Although surveys suggest Modi will easily win a comfortable majority in parliament, his 400-seat target, often repeated ahead of the polls, has not been cited since last week’s first phase.
Asad Rizvi, an analyst based in Lucknow, the capital of India’s most populous state and BJP stronghold, Uttar Pradesh, said that the performance was apparently not as good as expected, despite the repetition of the party’s tactics of polarization along religious lines.
“A perception has come to dominate after the first phase of elections that the BJP has not performed well in its strongholds in Uttar Pradesh, therefore, the BJP will have a tough time mobilizing its core voters to retain the seats,” he told Arab News.
“The second phase is also crucial that will test whether the BJP’s communal agenda is working or not.”
Ukraine’s Zelensky calls for air defense systems as allies meet
- “We need the ability to shoot down the air combat aircraft so that they do not approach our positions and borders,” Zelensky said
- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the meeting would focus on Ukraine’s air defense capabilities
WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called for additional air defense systems to be sent to Kyiv to help protect against Russian strikes, adding that a pause in US funding had helped Moscow seize the initiative.
“This year, Russian jets (have) already used more than 9,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine and we need the ability to shoot down the air combat aircraft so that they do not approach our positions and borders,” Zelensky said at the start of a virtual meeting led by the United States on helping arm Ukraine.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the meeting would focus on Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
The meeting comes days after Congress emerged from a half-year of deadlock to approve a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. President Joe Biden’s administration quickly announced $1 billion in artillery, air defenses and other hardware would soon be heading to Ukrainian front lines.
“While we were waiting for a decision on the American support, the Russian army managed to seize the initiative on the battlefield,” Zelensky said.
“We can still now, not only stabilize the front, but also move forward achieving our Ukrainian goals in the war,” he added.
The United States hopes its new deliveries of weaponry will help Ukraine rebuild defenses and refit its forces as it recovers from a gap in US assistance, but it does not expect Kyiv to launch large-scale offensive operations against Russian forces in the near term.
The influx of weapons could improve Kyiv’s chances of averting a major Russian breakthrough in the east, just over two years since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, military analysts say.
But it remains unclear how much pressure Kyiv can apply on Russia after months of rationing artillery as its stocks ran low. Kyiv also faces manpower shortages on the battlefield and questions linger over the strength of its fortifications along a sprawling, 1,000-km (621-mile) front line.
India’s mammoth election heats up in trend-defining second phase
- Turnout in first phase lower than expected at 66 percent compared with 70 percent in 2019
- PM Modi and his BJP are eyeing a rare third straight five-year term in power
NEW DELHI: India’s mammoth general election rolled on Friday into its second phase, which analysts widely believe will likely set the trend for the rest of the polls.
More than 968 million voters are registered to cast the ballot vote in the world’s most populous country, where incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are eyeing a rare third straight five-year term in power.
Modi, who ahead of the election was targeting 400 seats for his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance led by his BJP, is challenged by an alliance of two dozen opposition parties: the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, led by the Congress Party, which has ruled the country for close to 45 years since independence in 1947.
The first phase of the vote took place on April 19. Polling will go on for six weeks, with results expected on June 4. The other voting dates will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Analysts say the second phase of India’s polls will define the dynamics of the remaining five phases.
In the first phase, 66 percent of those eligible to vote cast their ballot, compared with 70 percent in 2019.
“From the first phase of the election, the message went that there is a silent undercurrent against the BJP and the dip in the voting percentage sent the signal that the BJP would slip in its strongholds in northern India particularly Uttar Pradesh,” Umakant Lakhera, political commentator in Delhi, told Arab News.
“If the trend of voters’ perceived apathy toward the election in general, and the BJP in particular, continues, then it’s an opportunity for the opposition Congress party to consolidate and mobilize its resources to widen its reach and capitalize on anti BJP sentiment.”
India has a total of 28 states and eight federally governed territories. Some regions complete the voting process in a single day, and others have it spread out in several phases.
Voting last week took place in 21 states and union territories, with nearly 169 million people eligible to cast their ballots. In the second phase, more than 160 million people are expected to vote across 13 states and federal territories.
As many as 1,202 candidates contested the polls on Friday, vying for 88 of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament. In the previous phase, 102 seats were up for grabs.
More than half of the 88 seats were in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka and the northwestern state of Rajasthan.
The party or coalition that wins at least 272 will form the government.
‘MINI GENERAL ELECTION’
The key leader of the opposition coalition and a Congress member is Rahul Gandhi, the son of Rajiv Gandhi, a grandson of Indira Gandhi, and a great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, all of whom have served as prime ministers of India.
But the Congress plunged to a historic low when it was swept out of power by the BJP in the 2014 general vote, and won its second-lowest number of 52 seats in 2019.
Gandhi is seeking re-election from Wayanad in Kerala, the only major state that has never elected a BJP member of parliament, and where Modi’s party was not a main competitor but has been trying to make inroads since last year.
The main contenders, besides Gandhi, are Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India and BJP’s K. Surendran.
“Kerala always has witnessed bipolar politics, but the BJP has been trying this time to make it a triangular contest, and this election will test whether a third force can find space in Kerala or not,” Prof. G. Gopa Kumar, political scientist and adviser to the Kerala-based Center for Public Policy Research, told Arab News.
“The second phase will test whether the stigma of the BJP of being an outsider in Kerala will continue or not, whether the stigma of not winning a seat in Kerala will continue or not.”
Another test for the Congress will be far from Kerala, in the north, where several states were also going to the polls.
“The second phase is a mini-general election. What is at stake is whether the Congress is going to challenge the dominance of the BJP in the north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh or not,” Kumar said.
“The contest is getting serious from now on. For the Congress, it is a survival question as they have to prove that they can defeat the BJP and survive as a big force.”
Although surveys suggest Modi will easily win a comfortable majority in parliament, his 400-seat target often repeated ahead of the polls has not been cited since last week’s first phase.
Asad Rizvi, an analyst based in Lucknow, the capital of India’s most populous state and BJP stronghold, Uttar Pradesh, said the party’s performance was not as good as expected despite its tactic to polarize along religious lines.
“A perception has come to dominate after the first phase of elections that the BJP has not performed well in its strongholds in Uttar Pradesh, therefore, the BJP will have a tough time mobilizing its core voters to retain the seats,” he told Arab News.
“The second phase is also crucial that will test whether the BJP’s communal agenda is working or not.”
Blinken says Gaza protests a hallmark of democracy, decries ‘silence’ on Hamas
- Police have clashed with students critical of the war and the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza
- Blinken said he understood the conflict elicited “strong, passionate feelings” and that the administration was doing it all it could to halt the war
BEIJING: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday protests at US universities over US-ally Israel’s war in Gaza are a hallmark of American democracy, but criticized what he called the “silence” about Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Police have clashed with students critical of the war and the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, with nearly 550 arrests made over the protests in the last week across major US universities, according to a Reuters tally.
Asked at a press conference in China whether he was taking on board the protesters’ message, Blinken said he understood the conflict elicited “strong, passionate feelings” and that the administration was doing it all it could to halt the war.
“In our own country, it’s a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time, and I think that reflects the strength of the country, the strength of democracy,” Blinken said.
But he suggested critics should focus their ire on Hamas militants who sparked the war with their Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and some 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military response has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and injured more than 77,000, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
“It is also notable that there is silence about Hamas, as if it wasn’t even part of the story,” Blinken said.
“But as I’ve also said repeatedly, the way Israel goes about ensuring that Oct. 7 never happens again matters profoundly. And we’re working every day to try to minimize the damage that’s done to innocent people and to make sure that they have the assistance and support that they need.”
Blinken, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials in Beijing on Friday, said he had discussed how China can play a constructive role in global crises, including in the Middle East, where he said Beijing can discourage Iran and its proxies not to escalate the conflict.
Blinken said he spoke to Foreign Minister Wang Yi multiple times this month when tensions spiked between Israel and Tehran. China is the main buyer of oil exported by sanctions-hit Iran.
“I think the relationships, again, that China has can be positive in trying to calm tensions, prevent escalation, avoid the spread of the conflict, and we agreed that we’d remain in regular in regular touch on this, and that’s certainly my intention,” Blinken said.
