5 years after the Mueller report into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election on behalf of Trump: 4 essential reads

Over the past five years, the Conversation U.S. has published the work of several scholars who followed the Mueller investigation and what it revealed about Trump. Here, we spotlight four examples of these scholars' work...

https://theconversation.com/5-years-after-the-mueller-report-into-russian-meddling-in-the-2016-us-election-on-behalf-of-trump-4-essential-reads-227980

The biggest surprise from John Durham's testimony to the House

That's not to say that the day was completely pointless. Durham confirmed under Democratic questioning that current Attorney General Merrick Garland didn't interfere with his investigation or tell him that any potential targets were off-limits. He admitted that the reason that former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still walk free, no matter how much Trumpworld wants them behind bars, is that there's simply no evidence of wrongdoing. Likewise, none of the three individuals he did prosecute, two of whom were acquitted, were accused of taking part in a supposed "deep state" plot to take down Trump. It's a far cry from when the former president was promising that Durham's probe would reveal "the crime of the century."…

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/john-durham-report-hearing-testimony-trump-rcna90392

‘Trolls’ and ‘Liars’: The definitive debunking of Trump AG Bill Barr

MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber debunks Bill Barr’s defense of his conduct handling the Mueller Report, and draws on legal precedent and MSNBC's real-time reporting to fact-check Barr's claims. 

https://youtu.be/4_5IoHLe9vE

Court rejects Barr’s claim, orders release of memo on Trump, obstruction

…Indeed, in those proceedings, the judge wanted to know exactly what guidance Barr received from Justice Department attorneys. Barr said that legal advice constituted internal deliberations over a prosecutorial decision, and therefore couldn't be shared.

Jackson, unsatisfied, came to the opposite conclusion, ruling that the legal advice Barr pointed to wasn't real: What apparently happened was that the then-attorney general decided to give Trump a pass, and he then had the DOJ cook up an after-the-fact rationalization of the decision Barr had already made…

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/court-rejects-barrs-claim-orders-release-memo-trump-obstruction-rcna44480

Appeals court upholds ruling ordering DOJ to release memo on Mueller report

The Department of Justice must release a 2019 memorandum supporting then-Attorney General Bill Barr's decision to clear former President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled on Friday...

https://www.axios.com/2022/08/19/appeals-court-orders-doj-release-memorandum-mueller-report

Matt Gaetz assured Roger Stone of pardon on hot mic, discussed Mueller redactions - The Washington Post

Separately, the Justice Department had also shown varying amounts of the redacted material to congressional leaders, members of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees in the House and Senate and a limited number of aides. From mid-June, members of the Judiciary committees, such as Gaetz, were allowed to view some redacted sections in Vol. 2 of Mueller's report. 

Committee members and some aides could review the material in a "secure space" and were "permitted to discuss the report only among themselves," the Stone prosecutors told Jackson in a court filing. As they negotiated access to the material, committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote then-Attorney General William P. Barr that the committee had agreed that "they cannot discuss what they have seen with anyone else." 

Speaking backstage at AMPFest, Gaetz discussed the redacted material with Stone...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/07/30/roger-stone-matt-gaetz-pardon-mueller/

Previously secret 'alternative' Mueller report goes public - POLITICO

…After the U.S. election, the men allegedly discussed by email the possibility of getting Trump to offer "a very minor 'wink' (or slight push)" that could launch a peace process in Ukraine … that "Manafort conceded constituted backdoor means for Russia to take over eastern Ukraine," the report says...

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/26/secret-alternative-mueller-report-goes-public-00035507

Stone’s Doc-COUP-mentary (feat. Peter Strzok) (Allison Gill; Mueller, She Wrote podcast)

This week: 

• Allison talks with Peter Strzok about the FEC and its inability/unwillingness to hold Trump accountable; 
• Roger Stone’s videographers;
• plus Part 1 of Volume 1 of the Mueller Report.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-jgd3c-12e0aaaf

An “Alternative Mueller Report” (Allison Gill; Mueller, She Wrote podcast)

This week: Mueller Report news; 302 news; Mueller’s Trump, Junior probe news; some Steele Dossier updates; DoJ IS criminally investigating the insurrection; plus some Sabotage and the Fantasy Indictment League.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-q6jby-1178c0f8

Neal Katyal Thinks Bill Barr Should Start Thinking About Retaining Legal counsel

Former Acting U.S. Solicitor General, Neal Katyal, explains the significance of Judge Amy Berman Jackson calling former attorney general Bill Barr “disingenuous” and what kind of legal jeopardy he could be facing.
https://youtu.be/htWCxiAHFo0

Federal Judge Calls Out Bill Barr For Lying | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Rachel Maddow looks at former Attorney General Bill Barr's record of lying about the Mueller report, and outlines a federal judge's finding that Barr lied again about how the decision was made not to charge Donald Trump with obstruction of justice, ordering the release of never-before-seen material on that subject unless Attorney General Merrick Garland appeals that decision....
https://youtu.be/T0E333MX714

Judge orders release of DOJ memo justifying not prosecuting Trump - POLITICO

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson blasts former Attorney General William Barr's spin on the Mueller report as "disingenuous."…

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/04/trump-obstruction-justice-doj-485360

Justice Dept. Never Fully Examined Trump’s Ties to Russia, Ex-Officials Say - The New York Times

The former deputy attorney general maneuvered to keep investigators from completing an inquiry into whether the president’s personal and financial links to Russia posed a national security threat. ...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-russia-justice-department.html

Jeffrey Toobin On The 'Tragedy' Of The Mueller Report (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

In Jeffrey ​Toobin's new book, ​'True Crimes and Misdemeanors,​'​​ the CNN legal analyst ​examines how​ President​ Trump and his team out-maneuvered special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller, he says, gave Trump "a free pass" on obstruction of justice.​ ​We'll also talk about the impeachment trial and the Supreme Court.
Interview:
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899389833/jeffrey-toobin-on-the-tragedy-of-the-mueller-report

Roger Stone should face grand jury, Mueller prosecutor says in op-ed

Donald Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence for lying to Congress and other crimes discovered in the Russia investigation “does not have to be the end of the story”, the former Mueller team member Andrew Weissmann said on Tuesday, advocating that the self-confessed political dirty trickster be brought before a grand jury.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/14/roger-stone-trump-andrew-weissmann-mueller-grand-jury

No, John Roberts Is Not Your Friend (Opening Arguments podcast OA400)

Today's show could also be called "the worst good news possible" because, yes, the Supreme Court declined to completely gut Roe v. Wade (despite the fact that Roe is effectively dead in many ways), but this was not John Roberts turning into AOC. Find out why in Andrew's breakdown!

Before that main story though, our first segment is about some reallllly bad news out of Florida. Remember when Florida voters came out overwhelmingly in supermajority numbers to restore voting rights to ex-felons? Yeah Republicans said "nah." We last covered this, when we thought the courts scored us a victory, in Episode 363. We also discuss the Supreme Court granting cert for some Mueller Report cases, which is NOT good news.
Interview:
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/opening-arguments

Former Republican Federal Prosecutors Speak Out Against President Trump's Obstruction of Justice

This testimonial video was published by Republicans for the Rule of Law and Protect Democracy. Former Republican federal prosecutors discuss how if President Trump were anyone else, he would have been charged with obstruction of justice based off the information released in the Mueller Report....
https://youtu.be/bwnMpneFR34

Reinstating the Rule of Law (Opening Arguments podcast OA388)

Today’s episode checks in on all the latest goings-on in the Trump administration that probably don’t violate the law but do undermine the norms of 200+ years of government, from firing Inspectors General that are potentially interested in government accountability to the DOJ’s refusal to turn over the unredacted Mueller Report to the House Judiciary Committee to the collusion between Bob Barr and Michael Flynn. You won’t want to miss it.

We begin with some pre-show news about Cory Wilson, the latest completely insane, hyper-partisan (and 49-year-old) Trump nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals.

From there, we take a deep dive into the Inspector General Act of 1978, 5a U.S.C. § 3, and the legal protections for IGs (or lack thereof).

After that, it’s time to check in on the latest order by the Supreme Court staying the production of the unredacted Mueller Report to the House Judiciary Committee. We explain exactly what that means and when, if ever, you should start panicking.

Then, it’s time for an update on the Flynn case where we’re filing The Opening Arguments Amicus Brief! Also, we check in on a truly terrible Sidney Powell filing seeking mandamus from the D.C. Circuit.

After all that, it’s time for a brand-new #T3BE about a man, his yacht, and insurance fraud — in which Thomas tries to figure out if the issue is privilege, hearsay, or something else entirely.
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa388-reinstating-the-rule-of-law/

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to stop release of Mueller material - The Washington Post

D.C. Circuit had said the secret grand jury testimony should be given to Congress....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/trump-administration-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-release-of-mueller-material/2020/05/07/c6d85df6-9080-11ea-a0bc-4e9ad4866d21_story.html

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to shield secret Mueller grand jury materials | TheHill

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to shield redacted grand jury materials related to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe from the Democratic-led House. The 37-page request, filed by the Justice Department, asks the justices to temporarily block the release of transcripts and other documents that Democratic lawmakers initially requested as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.....
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/496609-trump-admin-asks-supreme-court-to-shield-secret-mueller-grand-jury