On May 29, 2019, Mueller announced that he was retiring as special counsel and that the office would be shut down, and he spoke publicly about the report for the first time. Saying "[t]he report is my testimony," he indicated he would have nothing to say that wasn't already in the report. On the subject of obstruction of justice, he said he had been prohibited by Justice Department policy from charging the president with a crime and that any potential wrongdoing by a president must be addressed by a "process other than the criminal justice system". This suggested that the investigation could now be picked up by Congress. He stressed that the central conclusion of his investigation was "that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American." He also stated: "If we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime".
The New York Times reported on April 4, 2018, that Nader has a history of dealings with Russia dating back to at least 2012, when he brokered a $4.2 billion arms deal between Russia and Iraq, and attended an invitation-only conference in Moscow organized by close associates of Vladimir Putin. Nader has reportedly traveled frequently to Russia on behalf of the UAE, accompanying MBZ on many of those trips, and has had his photo taken with Putin. Nader has reportedly received at least partial immunity for his cooperation with the Mueller investigation. The Times also reported that Joel Zamel had been stopped at Reagan International Airport in February 2018, had his electronic devices briefly seized, and later testified before the Mueller grand jury about his relationship with Nader. The New York Times reported on May 19, 2018, that Trump Jr. met with Nader, Prince and Zamel in Trump Tower on August 3, 2016. Nader reportedly told Trump Jr. the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE were eager to help his father win the election. According to Trump Jr.'s attorney Alan Futerfas, Zamel pitched a social media manipulation campaign from his Israeli company Psy-Group, although Zamel's attorney Marc Mukasey denied this. Trump Jr. reportedly responded favorably according to one source, although Futerfas denied this. Nader subsequently had frequent meetings with Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner. After Trump's election, Nader paid Zamel a large sum of money of up to $2 million. The Times reported that Prince had arranged the August 2016 meeting; Prince had stated in his November 30, 2017, testimony to the House Intelligence Committee that he had no formal communications or contact, nor any unofficial role, with the Trump campaign. The Times reported on October 8, 2018, that sometime after March 2016 Rick Gates had solicited Psy-Group to present proposals for social media manipulation and opposition research against Trump's primary opponents and Hillary Clinton. Gates reportedly was uninterested in the Psy-Group proposals, as social media strategy was being developed inside the Trump campaign, and there is no evidence the Trump campaign pursued the Psy-Group proposals. The Mueller investigation obtained copies of the proposals and questioned Psy-Group employees.
More InfoThe Washington Post reported on March 6, 2018, that Mueller's office had requested documents and interviewed witnesses regarding activities of Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime personal lawyer. Investigators are reported to be interested in at least two episodes relating to Russian interests, including the proposed construction of Trump Tower Moscow and "a Russia-friendly peace proposal for Ukraine that was delivered to Cohen by an Ukrainian lawmaker one week after Trump took office". The New York Times reported, on January 10, 2019, that Mueller investigators, and other federal prosecutors, were investigating the activities of over a dozen Russia-aligned Ukrainian political and business figures who attended the Trump inauguration, ostensibly promoting a pro-Russian "peace plan" for Ukraine that included the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Andrey Artemenko, a Ukrainian politician who attended the Trump inaugural, was interviewed by the FBI and the Mueller grand jury, having met, days after the inaugural, with Trump attorney Michael Cohen and former Trump business associate Felix Sater, in New York, to present a proposal. Cohen hand-delivered Artemenko's proposal to Michael Flynn one week before Flynn resigned as national security advisor.
More InfoThe Wall Street Journal reported on December 15, 2017, that Mueller's office had requested and received employee emails from Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm that worked for the Trump campaign, earlier that year. The Washington Post reported on March 20, 2018, that Christopher Wylie, an employee of Cambridge Analytica until late 2014, said that former Trump campaign CEO and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon oversaw a 2014 effort at the company (which he co-founded) to gather Facebook data on millions of Americans and test the effectiveness of anti-establishment messages such as "drain the swamp" and "deep state", which became major Trump themes after Bannon joined the campaign in August 2016. Views of Russian President Vladimir Putin were also tested. The Associated Press reported on March 22, 2018, that the special counsel is examining the connections between the company, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, particularly how voter data may have been used in battleground states.
More InfoThe Washington Post reported on March 6, 2018, that Mueller's office had requested documents and interviewed witnesses regarding activities of Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime personal lawyer. Investigators are reported to be interested in at least two episodes relating to Russian interests, including the proposed construction of Trump Tower Moscow and "a Russia-friendly peace proposal for Ukraine that was delivered to Cohen by an Ukrainian lawmaker one week after Trump took office". The New York Times reported, on January 10, 2019, that Mueller investigators, and other federal prosecutors, were investigating the activities of over a dozen Russia-aligned Ukrainian political and business figures who attended the Trump inauguration, ostensibly promoting a pro-Russian "peace plan" for Ukraine that included the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Andrey Artemenko, a Ukrainian politician who attended the Trump inaugural, was interviewed by the FBI and the Mueller grand jury, having met, days after the inaugural, with Trump attorney Michael Cohen and former Trump business associate Felix Sater, in New York, to present a proposal. Cohen hand-delivered Artemenko's proposal to Michael Flynn one week before Flynn resigned as national security advisor.
More InfoThe Washington Post reported on March 6, 2018, that Mueller's office had requested documents and interviewed witnesses regarding activities of Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime personal lawyer. Investigators are reported to be interested in at least two episodes relating to Russian interests, including the proposed construction of Trump Tower Moscow and "a Russia-friendly peace proposal for Ukraine that was delivered to Cohen by an Ukrainian lawmaker one week after Trump took office". The New York Times reported, on January 10, 2019, that Mueller investigators, and other federal prosecutors, were investigating the activities of over a dozen Russia-aligned Ukrainian political and business figures who attended the Trump inauguration, ostensibly promoting a pro-Russian "peace plan" for Ukraine that included the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Andrey Artemenko, a Ukrainian politician who attended the Trump inaugural, was interviewed by the FBI and the Mueller grand jury, having met, days after the inaugural, with Trump attorney Michael Cohen and former Trump business associate Felix Sater, in New York, to present a proposal. Cohen hand-delivered Artemenko's proposal to Michael Flynn one week before Flynn resigned as national security advisor.
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