What's missing? The clues to Barr's 1,000 Mueller report redactions

Nearly 40% of the 448 pages have parts blacked out but that content – including remarks by Trump – is not a total mysteryThe attorney general, William Barr, made redactions under four categories: harm to ongoing matters; grand jury evidence; investigative techniques; and personal privacy. Photograph: Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Mueller report contains tantalising details of Trump campaign dealings with Russia and of the president’s possible attempts to obstruct justice. But much of it is blacked out. Nearly 40% of the pages in the document contain at least one redaction, totalling nearly 1,000 in all. In some parts, entire sections have disappeared.The redactions fall into four categories. The largest is “harm to ongoing matters”. This refers to likely future trials, including that of Trump’s friend and ally Roger Stone, who is due in court in November.The second-biggest category is “grand jury”: material that might be used in ongoing legal matters. Information has also been removed which could compromise FBI “investigative techniques”. The fourth category is “personal privacy”. It concerns individuals peripheral to the core investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, will release a less-redacted version of the report to Congress. A close reading of the 448-page report made public offers clues as to what is missing, including remarks made by Trump about sensitive matters. 1\. Russian interference in the 2016 electionThe report gives a voluminous account of how Russian military intelligence hacked and released Democratic party emails, and how Moscow used social media to boost Trump and damage Hillary Clinton. The campaign was conducted by the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a troll factory in St Petersburg funded by the businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin.Details of the IRA’s structure, history and growth since 2014 have been redacted. Also hidden are paragraphs concerning Prigozhin’s background and ties to Vladimir Putin.Paragraphs have been blacked out here because of “harm to ongoing matters”. They appear to illuminate work done by “Twitter specialists” and pro-Trump rallies organised by the IRA. Mueller has indicted Prigozhin and others but there is little prospect they will ever appear in a US court.Some of the most intriguing missing sections concern the GRU spy agency. Technical details have been redacted on the grounds they might reveal FBI methods. They encompass how the GRU researched Democratic websites, surreptitious payments made by Bitcoin, and the lease of computers in Arizona and US cities.Redactions in the Mueller report. Photograph: Reuters Graphics 2\. Campaign interactions with GRU and WikiLeaksMueller concluded that there was not enough evidence to establish a criminal-level conspiracy between Trump aides and Moscow. However, his report makes clear that Trump and those around him sought to use the Kremlin’s hacking and dumping to their advantage.There are crucial deletions over how the GRU transmitted stolen emails to WikiLeaks. “[Julian] Assange has access to the internet from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, England,” the report says, with the rest of the sentence redacted. Also struck out is the name of a Clinton aide targeted by the GRU in July 2016, after Trump appealed to Russia to find Clinton’s “missing 30,000 emails”.The most striking section is titled The Trump Campaign and the Dissemination of Hacked Materials. The campaign “showed interest” in the leaked emails, the report says. But deletions make it difficult to piece together who communicated directly with WikiLeaks, what information was passed up to Trump, and when the campaign became aware of Moscow’s espionage work.Rick Gates, Trump’s deputy campaign manager, who cooperated with Mueller, describes Trump as “generally frustrated” that Clinton’s emails had not been discovered. Other parts of his evidence are redacted. Similarly Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, recalls talking to Trump in Trump Tower in July 2016, after WikiLeaks released the first tranche of emails.“Candidate Trump said something to the effect of …” the report says. Trump’s comment is redacted.The campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s conversation with Trump on the same theme is blacked out. One imagines Trump was thrilled by the emails’ publication but his remarks are missing. 3\. Contacts with RussiansThe report says the FBI began investigating Russian interference after a tip-off in July 2016. Australia’s high commissioner in London, Alexander Downer, met George Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy aide. A Maltese professor, Joseph Mifsud, told Papadopoulos Moscow was sitting on hacked emails and had “dirt” on Clinton.Mueller says Mifsud travelled regularly to Moscow and was in contact with a former member of the IRA. The name has been blacked out. So is the identity of another Mifsud contact linked to Russia’s ministry of defence.The next section concerns Carter Page, another Trump aide who in summer 2016 travelled to Moscow and held talks with Kremlin officials. Lines are blacked out, including part of an email sent by Page to senior campaign figures concerning policy on Russia. The redactions are explained as “grand jury”. Page has not been charged. It is unclear which case is meant here. 4\. ProsecutionsThis report looks at the conduct of individuals and whether they committed a federal offence. Mueller asks if there is enough evidence to sustain a conviction. He makes clear the criminal threshold is beyond reasonable doubt and does not include collusion, which is not a “term” under US law.The special counsel refers to “two sets of charges” brought against Russians, GRU officers and IRA employees indicted in 2018. But the names of some Americans are hidden. One name buried is almost certainly that of Stone. A paragraph begins ‘Questions over whether …” and then disappears. Two names are rubbed out from a list that also includes Cohen and Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. 5\. Violation of campaign finance lawsThe report examines possible campaign finance violations and considers if Trump campaign officials should be designated Russian agents. Lobbyists for foreign governments are obliged to register with the Department of Justice. Failure to do so is a crime: one of several charges against Manafort over his pre-Trump work in Ukraine.Mueller writes at length about the notorious Trump Tower meeting in which Manafort, Donald Trump Jr and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer. He decided not to pursue a criminal prosecution because of the “high burden” of proving a “culpable mental state”. A second similar instance is discussed – and entirely deleted. 6\. Trump’s conductThere are fewer blackouts in the second volume, which deals with possible obstruction of justice. Mueller lays out Trump’s conduct towards witnesses, his anxiety over where the Russia investigation is heading, the firing of the FBI director, James Comey, and his interactions with key players including Flynn and Manafort. Trump’s behaviour towards a third person is considered. We don’t know who this is. It might be Stone – or someone else. The relevant passages are scrubbed. 7\. ReferralsThe report contains appendices. One is a list of dramatis personae. Names are given in alphabetical order, some removed. They include mystery surnames beginning with G or H, K and M, and a line of biography concerning Stone.The last section describes investigations which the special counsel has handed over to the FBI and the justice department. Two of these legal “transfers” – numbers nine and 11 – are rubbed out, the words “investigation ongoing” underneath. There are 13 redacted “referrals” of cases which fall outside the scope of Mueller’s inquiry.

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‘I Still Have Nightmares’: Tortured Turpin Children Speak at Parents’ Sentencing in ‘House of Horrors’ Case

Damian Dovarganes/ReutersThe children of David and Louise Turpin shared emotional statements in court Friday as their parents were sentenced to life in prison for torturing, starving, and holding them hostage for years.In February, the California couple pleaded guilty in Riverside County Superior Court to torture and dependent abuse as well as several counts of false imprisonment, child endangerment, and adult abuse in the “house of horrors” case that shocked the country. The abuse came to light in January 2018, when their 17-year-old daughter escaped from their Perris home and used her brother’s cellphone to call 911.“My parents took my whole life from me but now I’m taking my life back,” one of the couple’s 13 children, identified as Jane Doe 4, tearfully said in court. “I’m a fighter, I’m strong and I’m shooting through life like a rocket.”Before the hearing, the judge allowed the victims to speak under the guise of anonymity.“I’m in college now and living independently,” the daughter added. “I love hanging out with my friends and life is great. I believe everything happens for a reason. Life may have been bad, but it made me strong. I fought to become the person I am.”Prosecutors allege the Turpins abused 12 of their 13 children, routinely shackling, beating, and starving them in an act of torture and neglect so severe it stunted the growth of some of the kids. Two of the Turpin daughters are now unable to bear children as a result of the abuse. The siblings, who ranged in age from 2 to 29, were isolated from the outside world in their home about 60 miles outside of Los Angeles and were denied showers, medical care, and sometimes even food, prosecutors said. As punishment, the children were tied up for “weeks or even months at a time,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said.When authorities arrived to the house after the daughter’s call, she didn’t know what month it was or what the word medication meant. She claimed she hadn’t been bathed in months. “I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up. Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that had happened, such as my siblings being chained up or getting beaten. But that is the past and this is now,” one of the couple’s sons said Friday, adding that he loves his parents and now forgives them for “a lot of the things that they did to us.”On Friday, Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Schwartz sentenced the pair to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years for their “selfish, cruel and inhumane” treatment, a ruling previously agreed upon with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. “The only reason your punishment is less than the maximum is that you took responsibility and spared your children the harm of reliving it,” Schwartz said in court. The parents had an opportunity to speak before the sentencing, each showing remorse for their actions and tearfully asking their children for forgiveness.“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to hurt my children,” Louise Turpin said. “I love them more than they could ever imagine.”David Turpin broke down in tears before he addressed the court, prompting his attorney to read his hand-written statement, which expressed hope his children will “remain” close since their parents will “not be with them.” “I thank God for all of my children,” the father’s statement read, adding that he is sorry “if I’ve done anything to cause them harm.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

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Trump claims 'game over' on Mueller report as Democrats say game on

Document threatens to reopen debate over impeachment and raises questions on the futures of William Barr and Sarah SandersMueller report released – live updatesSupport the Guardian’s independent journalism and make a contribution Donald Trump’s claims of vindication after the release of Robert Mueller’s report on Thursday were quickly drowned out by furious Democrats, who pointed to a wealth of evidence the president attempted to obstruct justice and demanded fresh hearings into potentially criminal conduct. Republican hopes of drawing a line under the affair were dashed as the bombshell document threatened to reopen debate over Trump’s impeachment and raised questions over the futures of William Barr, the attorney general, and Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, both accused of misleading the public. The gravity of the situation was apparent as the president left for his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday afternoon. Instead of taking a victory lap, as some had expected, he uncharacteristically ignored questions from reporters as he boarded the Marine One helicopter on the White House south lawn. Even so, timing of the report was fortunate for Trump, with Congress not in session and Washington winding down for Easter. Initial reaction was perhaps preordained by a four-page summary released by Barr last month and offered a textbook example of Washington’s bitter partisanship and polarisation. Republicans circled the wagons and reiterated their claims of exoneration. Speaking at the White House, Trump said: “This should never happen to another president again. This hoax – it should never happen to another president again.” He added on Twitter: “GAME OVER” with a photoshopped image from Game of Thrones. And later, apparently responding to the finding that he tried to remove Mueller, he suggested that he would have been within his legal right to do so. “I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted,” he tweeted. “I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to. I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn’t!” White House staff including lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Kellyanne Conway rallied around. Conway told reporters: “We’re accepting apologies today, too, for anybody who feels the grace in offering them.” Sign up for the US morning briefing There was also a preview of how Trump will attempt to use the report in next year’s presidential election, arguing that it was cooked up by Democrats and anti-Trump officials in an attempt to thwart his supporters. His re-election campaign said in a statement: “Now the tables have turned, and it’s time to investigate the liars who instigated this sham investigation into President Trump, motivated by political retribution and based on no evidence whatsoever.” But if the White House hopes the nation is ready to move on, it is likely to be disappointed. Mueller offered plenty of fodder for Democrats and other critics of the president, including detailing how the Trump campaign was receptive to Russian help, and how the president repeatedly attempted to obstruct justice and had to be saved from himself by those around him. Congressmen Jerrold Nadler and Adam Schiff, the respective chairmen of the House judiciary and intelligence committees, wrote to Mueller requesting that he testify on Capitol Hill. Schiff tweeted: “Regardless of whether the obstructive acts described by Mueller was criminal or whether the litany of illicit contacts with Russia rose to the level of conspiracy, they’re dishonest, unethical, and unpatriotic. Mueller’s report is not a vindication of Trump, but a condemnation.” The Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal said he would support a subpoena for the full, unredacted report. “This report is a detailed, deeply damning portrait of criminal wrongdoing and national scandal. President Trump and his associates sold out our democracy and welcomed help through Russia’s illegal actions during the 2016 campaign,” he added. There was also sharp criticism of Barr, who held a news conference early on Thursday before the report’s publication and attempted to put a positive spin on it. William Barr speaks at a press conference on the release of Robert Mueller’s report at the Department of Justice in Washington DC on 18 April. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said in a joint statement that Barr “deliberately distorted significant portions” of the report. “Special Counsel Mueller’s report paints a disturbing picture of a president who has been weaving a web of deceit, lies and improper behavior and acting as if the law doesn’t apply to him,” they continued. Schumer and Pelosi joined the calls for Mueller to testify to Congress and said it is “imperative” for the rest of the report and underlying documents to be made available. With Mueller and Barr now effectively passing the baton on to Congress, some Democrats may even reconsider whether to push for Trump’s impeachment, although Republican control of the Senate could make that a messy and inconclusive process. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, noted that the report includes the apparent invitation: “Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the president’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office.” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York agreed: “Mueller’s report is clear in pointing to Congress’ responsibility in investigating obstruction of justice by the president.” She added that she would be signing on to the congresswoman’s Rashida Tlaib’s impeachment resolution. But senior Democrats maintained their cautious position on impeachment, which they fear could backfire. The House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, told CNN: “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 judgement.” The political fallout could also consume Sanders who, after FBI director James Comey’s firing in May 2017, denied that he commanded widespread support within the agency. Sanders later admitted to Mueller’s team that this was a “slip of the tongue”. The LGBTQ campaign group GLAAD demanded Sanders’ resignation, stating: “The White House press secretary’s role is to keep the public informed about the most powerful office in the world. The position shouldn’t be held by someone who lies to the press.”

Fire-ravaged Notre Dame now stabilized, firefighters leave

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North Korea urges Trump to drop Pompeo from talks; U.S. plays down weapons test

North Korea's state news agency said Kwon Jong Gun, in charge of U.S. affairs at the foreign ministry, had warned that no one could predict what would happen if Washington did not abandon the "root cause" that compelled Pyongyang to develop nuclear weapons. The statement came shortly after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of a new tactical guided weapon, North Korea's first weapon test since a summit between him and Trump broke down in late February. U.S. officials appeared to play down both developments, with acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan telling reporters at the Pentagon that while there had been a test, it was "not a ballistic missile." A spokeswoman for the State Department said it was aware of the report about Pompeo and added: "The United States remains ready to engage North Korea in a constructive negotiation." Despite the summit breakdown, North Korea had maintained a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missile testing in place since 2017,and Trump has repeatedly pointed to that as an important outcome from a year of engagement with Pyongyang.

Notre-Dame paintings removed amid lead pollution fears

French art experts headed into the stricken Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris to remove all the remaining paintings on Friday despite warnings from an environmental group that the site could be a toxic health threat. Officials from the culture ministry were allowed into the 850-year-old landmark to begin retrieving the artworks after fire service officials declared the scorched structure safe enough to go inside. Firefighters and engineering experts have been working on the fragile landmark since a devastating blaze on Monday night, erecting scaffolding and other wooden supports to stop any of the stonework collapsing.