Mueller Report Book Review

The Mueller Report Book

By Robert S. Mueller

Brown Books Publishing Group

Every American voter should read The Mueller Report. The version I have linked to in this review is a free digital version. Yes, it is lengthy, complicated in parts, and repetitive. However, if Trump is the President of your country, it is important. All of the redacted portions are clearly set apart from text and can be skipped over. If a citizen has watched the news at all, they’ll be familiar with those already incarcerated. Also the last twenty-five percent of the report is references and footnotes.

Brown Books Publishing Group has made this version of the report free, as a public service, “as it may, in the future, be judged as the most important document of our time. It will have far-reaching implications for the balance of power among the three coequal branches of government that create, administer, and apply the laws of our republic.” Lt. Col. Allen B. West (Ret.), and the Hon. Dan Boren, volunteered to write the forewords to this edition. They are former congressmen who served on opposite sides of the aisle while Robert Mueller was the director of the FBI. If you choose to read the forewords, don't depend on them to accurately reflect the findings in the report.

Volume I deals with the factual result of the investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. While the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and the Trump Campaign, there wasn’t enough evidence to support criminal charges. However, it was established several people affiliated with the Trump Campaign lied to investigators and Congress. Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Ambassador Kislyak. George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying about his interactions with Joseph Mifsud. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about the Trump Moscow project. Donald Trump Jr. had direct electronic communications with WikiLeaks during the campaign period. The Trump Campaign was obsessed with getting negative information on Hillary Clinton and her deleted emails. The Russian names and contacts with the Trump Campaign are numerous in this volume and it is tedious. The meeting between Jared Kushner, Donald Trump, Jr. and Russians occurred, and there was an attempt by Donald Trump to dictate what occurred at the meeting and play-down what it was about.

Volume II deals with Trump’s behaviors as a result of the investigation into Russia’s interference and his actions towards the Special Counsel’s investigation. Several actions of Trump during the Special Investigation rise to the level of obstruction of justice. There were numerous instances of Trump asking staff to fire or replace the Special Counsel and discussions with Trump and numerous people about his frustrations with Jeff Sessions. He stated several times to many people including Sessions that if Trump had known Sessions was going to recuse himself he would not have appointed Sessions to the Attorney General position.

The second volume lays out the legal framework of obstruction of justice. A summary of the law is provided interpreting the elements of potentially relevant obstruction statues in an ordinary case. Three basic elements are: an obstructive act, a nexus between the obstructive act and an official proceeding, and a corrupt intent. Mueller carefully lays out a timeline of interviews with staff in the White House and others documenting Trump’s behavior regarding the investigation by the Special Counsel. Firings and resignations, tweets and public criticisms in the media were also documented as collateral evidence of the turmoil happening in the White House during this investigation.

Mueller has been clear that he will abide by the policy at the Department of Justice of not giving an opinion that would indict a sitting President. However, in my reading of this report, it is clear that the POTUS has engaged in several activities with the corrupt intent to obstruct justice. The details of his actions are contained in this report and are clear. If an individual is overwhelmed with reading the details, Section L about 72% through the report addresses the Overarching Factual Issues. 2.a. “Our investigation found multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations, including the Russian-interference and obstruction investigations. . . 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.”

Robert Mueller is scheduled to publicly testify before Congress on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. Both the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees will question Muller separately during the public hearing. Hopefully, the questioning will be designed to allow the public to hear evidence and not be a dog and pony show of Congressmen showboating.

I give the report two stars for readability. The characters are not immediately likeable, and then it’s downhill from there. It’s a horror story for a democracy and if there is a hero, maybe it’s the author, Mueller. However, I wish he could be more committed to an indictment. He’s bound by policy at the DOJ, but I’d like to see him take one for the team. Maybe the video version will convince those who haven’t read the report that the rule of law in our country is in jeopardy.

Other Reviews of the Mueller Report:

"I am horrified! How could we, as Americans, have allowed this current president and his campaign to get away with this. Every American must read this, but especially high school and college students."

"We've all heard for two years about the "Mueller Report." Barr inferred it exonerated President Trump, then he made THIS EXACT REPORT available for all to read. Whether you love Trump or loathe him, you MUST READ this report. Whether it's by buying it or finding it free online and reading it, you will learn a ton about the details of the investigation. Anyone who would like to have an opinion, good or bad, about Trump MUST read this book -- or zip it!"

"This is an important document relating to the 2016 election in which Mueller and his team first presented their evidence relating to Russian interference in the 2016 election but concluded that they did not have enough evidence to charge the president with conspiracy. The second part presents very convincing evidence that President Trump and other members of his family and administration went to great lengths of cover up information that might have supported a conspiracy charge. In the final section Mueller went to great lengths to show that the president is not above the law and may be prosecuted for self-serving obstructive acts."