The headline findings by special counsel Robert Mueller delivered a political shot in the arm for President Trump and Republicans, they say — how long it lasts may depend on the full document.
Attorney General William Barr told Congress that Mueller's office didn't establish a conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election, nor did it establish — per Barr — that Trump obstructed justice.
That's based on Barr's four-page letter about the report to Congress. The full document is nearly 400 pages, he wrote, and likely contains a great deal more detail about the findings and assessments made by Mueller and his office.
Barr's office is working now to redact grand jury testimony, foreign intelligence and other material from the full Mueller report before releasing it sometime this month.
Here are some of the big questions it may answer.
What did Trump know?
Trump's campaign and business had many contacts with Russians from 2015 through the 2016 election — these are not in dispute and they were among the reasons for the investigation in the first place.
Mueller, in fact — according to Barr — confirmed that "Russian-affiliated individuals" made "multiple offers" to "assist the Trump campaign," which comports with the versions of events given in court documents and according to other official sources that already are public.
Did the substance of any of these offers ever reach Trump or other members of his brain trust? If so, what did they do?
Micromanagement
People who worked for Trump have said nothing happened in his business or campaign without his involvement.
That's why, for example, former Trump aides have said they thought it likely he was at least aware that Donald Trump Jr. convened a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 at which a Russian delegation delivered a tip on Democrats.
Trump Jr. said it wasn't what he expected and he didn't pursue it any further, and authorities evidently did not conclude it broke the law.
No one faced criminal charges in connection with that meeting and the Justice Department says Mueller hasn't recommended any more indictments beyond the ones that already have been unsealed.
And Trump has denied he was aware in 2016 of the Russian interference in the election and of the Trump Tower meeting specifically. Democratic opponents said they thought phone records might undermine that denial, but they didn't.
If Mueller's full report further bolsters the Trumps' defenses, that will mean more good political news for the president and his family.
If Mueller's report established that Trump did know what was happening and, while he didn't conspire with Russia's efforts, he also didn't report them to authorities, that may take away some of the political momentum Trump and the GOP have built up so far from the Barr account of Mueller's findings.
What did the feds establish about the dossier?
The unverified Russia dossier was not the origin of the Russia investigation, but it may be the most infamous piece of information about it. NPR has not detailed its claims because they are unverified.
The degree to which Mueller's full report specifically addresses the material in the dossier could be one of its most important developments for the politics of the post-Mueller era.
If the full report torpedoes the dossier altogether, that will strengthen efforts like those by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who wants an investigation into how the FBI and Justice Department used it in the Russia investigation.
Attorney General William Barr told Congress that Mueller's office didn't establish a conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election, nor did it establish — per Barr — that Trump obstructed justice.
That's based on Barr's four-page letter about the report to Congress. The full document is nearly 400 pages, he wrote, and likely contains a great deal more detail about the findings and assessments made by Mueller and his office.
Barr's office is working now to redact grand jury testimony, foreign intelligence and other material from the full Mueller report before releasing it sometime this month.
Here are some of the big questions it may answer.
What did Trump know?
Trump's campaign and business had many contacts with Russians from 2015 through the 2016 election — these are not in dispute and they were among the reasons for the investigation in the first place.
Mueller, in fact — according to Barr — confirmed that "Russian-affiliated individuals" made "multiple offers" to "assist the Trump campaign," which comports with the versions of events given in court documents and according to other official sources that already are public.
Did the substance of any of these offers ever reach Trump or other members of his brain trust? If so, what did they do?
Micromanagement
People who worked for Trump have said nothing happened in his business or campaign without his involvement.
That's why, for example, former Trump aides have said they thought it likely he was at least aware that Donald Trump Jr. convened a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 at which a Russian delegation delivered a tip on Democrats.
Trump Jr. said it wasn't what he expected and he didn't pursue it any further, and authorities evidently did not conclude it broke the law.
No one faced criminal charges in connection with that meeting and the Justice Department says Mueller hasn't recommended any more indictments beyond the ones that already have been unsealed.
And Trump has denied he was aware in 2016 of the Russian interference in the election and of the Trump Tower meeting specifically. Democratic opponents said they thought phone records might undermine that denial, but they didn't.
If Mueller's full report further bolsters the Trumps' defenses, that will mean more good political news for the president and his family.
If Mueller's report established that Trump did know what was happening and, while he didn't conspire with Russia's efforts, he also didn't report them to authorities, that may take away some of the political momentum Trump and the GOP have built up so far from the Barr account of Mueller's findings.
What did the feds establish about the dossier?
The unverified Russia dossier was not the origin of the Russia investigation, but it may be the most infamous piece of information about it. NPR has not detailed its claims because they are unverified.
The degree to which Mueller's full report specifically addresses the material in the dossier could be one of its most important developments for the politics of the post-Mueller era.
If the full report torpedoes the dossier altogether, that will strengthen efforts like those by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who wants an investigation into how the FBI and Justice Department used it in the Russia investigation.
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