Thread by @TaylorPopielarz

So, over the weekend I finished reading the Mueller report.

All 448 pages.

I'm far from the first person to read it, but I know not everyone has — or will.

It's very easy in today's political climate to forget about the report's findings, so I want to highlight my top 24.

1) “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion."

2) “Although the investigation established that the Russian gov't perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency...and...the Campaign expected it would benefit...the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated w/ the Russian[s]"

3) “On January 6, 2017, members of the intelligence community briefed President-Elect Trump on a joint assessment...that concluded with high confidence that Russia had intervened in the election through a variety of means to assist Trump's candidacy and harm Clinton's."

4) “…while the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign, the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges.”

5) “During its investigation the Office issued more than 2,800 subpoenas...executed nearly 500 search-and-seizure warrants; obtained more than 230 orders for communications records...and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, including almost 80 before a grand jury.”

6) “In November 2017...Facebook estimated the IRA [Russia’s Internet Research Agency] reached as many as 126 million persons through its Facebook accounts. In January 2018, Twitter announced that it had identified 3,814 IRA-controlled Twitter accounts..."

7) “The Office identified dozens of U.S. rallies organized by the IRA [Internet Research Agency].”

8) “The Office identified multiple contacts...between Trump Campaign officials & individuals w/ ties to the Russian gov't...[&] investigated whether those contacts constituted a 3rd avenue of attempted Russian interference...the investigation did not establish such coordination.”

9) Read this entire passage to understand the significance of this last line:

"The FBI opened its investigation of potential coordination between Russia and the Trump Campaign a few days later based on the information.”

10) “On June 9, '16, senior reps. of the Trump Camp. met in Trump Tower w/ a Russian attorney expecting to receive derogatory info. about Hillary Clinton from the Russian gov't...the Office found no documentary evidence showing [Trump] was made aware of the mtg...b4 it occurred."

11) “In a July 2017 television interview, Trump Jr. stated that while he had no way to gauge the reliability...of what Goldstone had stated was the purpose of the meeting, if ‘someone has information on our opponent ... maybe this is something. I should hear them out.’"

12) “...immediately after the election, individuals connected to the Russian gov't started contacting officials on the Trump Camp. & Transition Team...The investigation did not establish that these efforts reflected or constituted coordination between the Trump Camp. & Russia..."

13) “..the investigation established multiple links between Trump Campaign officials & individuals tied to the Russian gov't...Ultimately, the investigation did not establish that the Campaign coordinated or conspired w/ the Russian gov't in its election-interference activities.”

14) “…if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment."

15) “...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.”

16) “After the FBI searched Cohen's home & office...the President publicly asserted that Cohen would not ‘flip’ & privately passed messages of support...after Cohen began cooperating w/ the gov't...[Trump] called him a ‘rat,’ & suggested his family members had committed crimes.”

17) “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.”

18) “...the government must show as an objective matter that a defendant acted ‘in a manner that is likely to obstruct justice,’ such that the statute ‘excludes defendants who have an evil purpose but use means that would only unnaturally and improbably be successful.’"

19) “'Acting 'corruptly' within the meaning of § 1512(c)(2) means acting with an improper purpose and to engage in conduct knowingly and dishonestly with the specific intent to subvert, impede or obstruct’ the relevant proceeding.”

20) “…we concluded that Congress can validly make obstruction-of-justice statutes applicable to corruptly motivated official acts of the President without impermissibly undermining his Article II functions.”

21) “Congress clearly has authority to protect its own legislative functions against corrupt efforts designed to impede legitimate fact-gathering and lawmaking efforts.”

22) “...our assessment of the weighing of interests leads us to conclude that Congress has the authority to impose the limited restrictions contained in those statutes on the President's official conduct to protect the integrity of important functions of other branches of gov't.”

23) “There is also no reason to believe that investigations, let alone prosecutions, would occur except in highly unusual circumstances when a credible factual basis exists to believe that obstruction occurred.”

24) “Because we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment, we did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President's conduct...Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

I started reading the Mueller report about a month ago, just days before the special counsel testified before Congress.

It's a heavy read, especially if, like me, you're not a lawyer.

But I strongly encourage you to give it a go. My top 24 barely scratches the surface.

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