WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, May 30, 2019

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1/ Trump tweeted that Russia helped "me to get elected" – his first acknowledgement that Russia worked to get him elected in 2016. Trump later retracted the statement, telling reporters that, "No, Russia did not help me get elected. […] I got me elected." Trump has previously denied that Russia interfered in the election, rejecting the conclusions by American intelligence agencies and federal prosecutors that Russia worked to help him defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election campaign. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / The Guardian / CNN)

• ???? Day 819: The Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from information released by Russia, but "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." The report continues: "The investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome." Putin's "preference was for candidate Trump to win."

2/ Trump attacked Robert Mueller, characterizing him as "totally conflicted" and "true never-Trumper," suggesting that if the former special counsel had any evidence, he would have brought charges. Trump insisted that Mueller's comments yesterday "essentially" said "'You're innocent.' There was no crime, there was no charge because he had no information." Trump also referred to a "business dispute" with Mueller, but didn't elaborate. Bill O'Reilly, however, said Trump called him last night to complain that "Mueller didn't like him because he turned him down to be the head of the FBI after he fired Comey" and that Trump once refused to refund his country club membership deposit. "Mueller wanted $15,000 back and Trump said no," O'Reilly said. Mueller denied the incident. Trump went on to baselessly claim that Mueller "loves Comey," and "whether it's love or a deep like, he was conflicted." (ABC News / NBC News / Mediate)

• ???? Day 860: Robert Mueller declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice and suggested that only Congress can "formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing" in his first public remarks about his two-year-long investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel noted that "charging the president with a crime was […] not an option we could consider," because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller emphasized that if his office "had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so." Mueller concluded his remarks by reiterating his r...

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