“Any decision for war must be a mournful one."

              For the fourth time in my nearly 15 years of ministry, I have to speak on matters of war and peace and insists, along with the ELCA’s 1995 social statement “For Peace in God’s World”, that “any decision for war must be a mournful one.” Declarations of war—or kinetic responses, or whatever euphemism we are using today—ought not be like celebrating a sporting victory or bellicose bragging, but instead conducted in sackcloth and ashes, followed up by the words Kyrie Eleison—Lord have mercy.

              I would ask you, if you are a praying person, to take a moment to pray this prayer from our Hymnal:

“Gracious God, grant peace among nations. Cleanse from our own hearts the seeds of strife: greed and envy, harsh misunderstandings and ill will, fear and desire for revenge. Make us quick to welcome ventures in cooperation among the peoples of the world, so that there may be woven the fabric of a common good too strong to be torn by the evil hands of war. In the time of opportunity, make us be diligent; and in the time of peril, let not our courage fail; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

              In light of our attack on Iran, with the stated goal of regime change, it is incumbent upon Christians living in a democracy to ask some stark questions of ourselves and our government. For two thousand years we Christians have been struggling with being faithful in the world as it is, in situations of persecution, famine, feast, might, and war. And those struggles have given us a rich tradition of thought and action, something much deeper than the knee-jerk reactions of TV pundits and political intellectuals.

              In the early days of the Church, Christians were known for being pacifists. In fact, the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Mennonites still are pacifists, they see refusing to go to war as a witness to the world that the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, reigns. Other Christians, such as us Lutherans, follow a tradition that includes Just War Theory. This theory requires that we answer well the following questions, before taking any military action:

Have we given all non-volent options a try before going to war?

By what authority are we going to war?

What is the reason, the justification, for this military action?

What does success look like in this war? Is that outcome likely?

Will it all be worth it? Will the peace on the other side of this action be better than the peace that existed before the action?

Will we use more violence against Iran than they have used against us or those we are protecting?

What are we doing to ensure that we aren’t hurting or killing civilians?

              In addition to these questions, here are a few statements from the aforementioned “For Peace in God’s World” document, which particularized our understanding of Just War Theory to the challenges of the 20^th and 21^st century. Here are a few stand out statements:

            “Wars, both between and within states, represent a horrendous failure of politics. The evil of war is especially evident in the number of children and other noncombatants who suffer and die.”

            “Helping the neighbor in need may require protecting innocent people from injustice and aggression. While we support the use of nonviolent measures, there may be no other way to offer protection in some circumstances than by restraining forcibly those harming the innocent. We do not, then--for the sake of the neighbor--rule out possible support for the use of military force. We must determine in particular circumstances whether or not military action is the lesser evil.”

            “From the posture of the just/unjust war tradition, the aim of all politics is peace. Any political activity that involves coercion should be held accountable to just/unjust war principles. They are important for evaluating movements, sanctions, embargoes, boycotts, trade policies to reward or punish, and other coercive but nonviolent measures.”

            And as I began, "Any decision for war must be a mournful one."

"Help Us!" they write

 

On Wednesday we got word from Greenland, “Help us!” The Lutheran Bishop of Greenland expressed the great worries of her people, and urged us Americans “to write to their representatives on Capitol Hill to ask them to stand by Greenlanders in their right to determine their own future.”

On Thursday all 6 ELCA Bishops of Minnesota wrote a letter saying, “Help us!” expressing the profound fear and anxiety of the people in that state, our fellow citizens. “We are tired, and our hearts are broken. Yet we are not deterred… Go to church… ground yourselves in Scripture, and surround yourselves with those who will echo the voice of God for you. This is the nourishment that will sustain us… join calls for a thorough investigation into this case, accountability for the shooting and a de-escalation of ICE enforcement across the United States.”

On Friday we received yet another missive, this time from Canadian, Danish, and American Lutheran Bishops pleading, “Help us!” Writing, “We pray for peace and respect between nations… We invite you to write to your elected leaders and tell them to respect the independence of Greenland and the Greenlandic people.”

Help us, they write. Pray for and with us. Root yourself in faith and speak up for us. Care, for God’s sake, please care. Please help us.

Here is a link to find and contact your Representative, and here are two prayers.

“Almighty and everlasting God, we come before you in prayer for our nation. We pray that you would bless all elected officials with the wisdom and courage needed to best serve the common good of people. May they govern with a spirit of reverence for your will and respect for the will of the people. We especially pray for our president, our governor, our legislators, and those who serve in the court system. Amen.” (Minister’s Prayer Book, page 45)

“O Lord, make me the instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Lord, grant that we seek not to be consoled, but to console; not to be understood, but to understand; not to be loved, but to love. For it is in giving that we receive, in forgetting that we find ourselves, in pardoning that we are pardoned, and in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.” (Minister’s Prayer Book, page 176)

DOGE v. ELCA, DOGE v. DATA

DOGE v. ELCA

              One of the things I noted in my previous post about DOGE going after the Lutheran religious tradition was laziness on the part of Michael Flynn and Elon Musk’s interns. As I pointed out, all they needed to do to understand the numbers was to do a quick google search and they would have been able to read all the Lutheran Social Ministry Organization’s 990s. Instead, they jumped straight to libel about money laundering and false accusations of illegal activity, all leveled at 2am on a Sunday morning.

              And, the more you look at their data, the lazier they seem.

-On one hand, they lump several Lutheran Universities in with their spreadsheet about Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations, making no distinction between them. The only reason I can think that someone would do this is to inflate the numbers.

-On the other hand, and more damning, they are making the claim that this 600-million-dollar figure is 3 months of payments. In the instances I’ve looked into, these figures account for 7 years of federal payments to Lutherans for everything from running orphanages and senior housing to resettling refugees and helping people out after natural disasters.

              There are consequences for this lazy and reckless behavior.

-To my knowledge at least 20 people have been laid off from Lutheran Social Services because of this tweet.

-Additionally, services provided by these organizations are being disrupted. Here in New Jersey the first place this has hit is hospice care.

DOGE v. DATA

              And that would be enough—people losing their jobs and the dying not receiving dignity in their most vulnerable moments, all on account of interns not being able to understand (or purposefully fudging) the difference between 3 months and 7 years, as well as the difference between colleges and social ministry organizations—That. Would. Be. Enough.

But this kind of sloppiness isn’t confined to attacks on the ELCA. In a bunch of different ways, it seems like DOGE is getting their data wrong.

-The DOGE website was put together so poorly that it is editable by anyone and has leaked classified information.

-These interns were so reckless with how and who they fired, that we’re finding out that some of the people they fired were essential for US nuclear safety, and now DOGE can’t get ahold of them to fix major problems.

-Perhaps most alarmingly, as DOGE has started to mess with social security accounts, they are confusing a data entry error code with fraud.

So, I imagine that means a bunch of people on social security will start to get the same treatment as the Lutherans. Out of the blue they’ll be accused of illegal activity and fraud and suffer the consequences, when in fact the only dodgy thing going on is that DOGE interns were too lazy to understand the data they were looking at.

A Defense of Lutheran Social Ministries

                 Did you ever wonder why, in the movie Gran Torino, Walt Kowalski blames the Lutherans for settling the Hmong in Michigan? Isn’t it curious that one of the subplots of the book Silence of the Lambs is that Clarice Starling was raised in a Lutheran orphanage in Montana? Why would these works of fiction both single out Lutherans as do-gooders in American society? Because it was good writing, it, even in such small details, points to realities about America. In America when refugees need to be resettled, the Lutherans will be there; when orphans need to be cared for, the Lutherans will be there.

                You see, there are nearly 300 Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations scattered throughout the United States doing good. 1 out of every 50 Americas are helped by these organizations. Think of it, it is as if the entire state of Missouri or Indiana have been assisted by Lutherans.

One of the neat things about Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations is that they are one of the few places where the conservative LC-MS and the liberal ELCA still work together. We may disagree about: Bishops, women in ministry, gay marriage, ecumenical relationships, and a bunch of other things, but we sure as hell are going to help the least, last, and lost, even when it means working together.

                The previous congregation I served partnered with Lutheran Social Ministries New Jersey (LSM-NJ) to create affordable housing for seniors. At my current congregation we have a long history of collecting school supplies for poor children through LSM-NJ. I have friends who have adopted their children through Lutheran adoption agencies, I once knew a security guard who had been a “lost boy” in Somalia and was transformed into a productive tax paying American citizen, thanks to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (now Global Refugee).

                I bring all this up, because the good and faithful work of Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations are currently under attack.

                Now, I am not surprised that Musk, an heir to a South African emerald mine, and Flynn, a registered agent of Turkey and Russia who has an eight-figure bank account, don’t regularly rub shoulders with people who have had their lives made whole by Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations.

                I’m also not surprised that they are trying to make good on their promise of cutting two trillion dollars from the US budget through the process of creative destruction. They’re essentially borrowing a playbook from Richard Gere’s character at the start of Pretty Woman. The only difference is, instead of grabbing US businesses and throwing them against the wall until money falls out, they’re smashing US institutions to see if they’re piggy banks.

                What I am surprised about, is how lazy they are. It is obvious to anyone with eyes that some intern was reading through a spreadsheet, noticed a payment to Lutherans and didn’t understand it. Then someone pressed Ctrl+F and found that there were other payments to Lutheran Organizations. From there they went directly onto social media at 2am and picked a fight. They scare quoted these good and faithful organizations as “Lutheran” and “religious”, they falsely accused Lutherans of money laundering, and declared the payments the federal government makes to these organizations to be illegal.

                All they needed to do was google the organizations. Every one of them publicly publishes their budgets and tax information (they are all required to post their 990s). The payments are for grants the organizations have applied for and received, the payments are for services rendered, the payments are for contracts state and federal governments have entered into with these organizations.

                Or you know what, Musk is rather well off, I bet he has a plane; he could get out of his smelly DOGE office and go and see what these organizations do. He could go to New Orleans, step beyond the tourist areas, and talk to folk about Katrina—Lutheran Disaster Relief was the last organization out. Or go to communities along the Red River and ask them who had their back; he could go to Red Bank, NJ and they’ll tell him a thing or two—might even be less polite than the Midwesterners about it. Go to a food bank, after care or elder care—they know the score.

                Here is the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA’s response:

                And I would ask for a secondary response from all of my readers. Call your Representative and Senators. Tell them this libelous and knee jerk attack shows that Elon Musk does not have the wherewithal to be involved in DOGE, or any other aspect of the US government. Ask them to defend these vital organizations and stand with the 2% of their constituents who are most in need. Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations are part of the fabric of America, tearing them out at a whim will damage our country.

The Case for Warren/Yang 2020

            I’ve been thinkin’ some about the 2020 Democratic Primary. I’ve read Mayor Pete’s book, Sander’s book, Warren’s book, and Yang’s book. I’ve looked at some of the candidate’s ideas and I’ve listened to folk talk up their favorite candidates.

            I’m personally drawn to Mayor Pete, he’s about my age and, as I keep telling people, he makes my Wyoming feel safe. What I mean by that is that he’s been in the military so he understands discipline and I could see him cultivating Aristotelian virtues and handling himself well in a pre-industrial world. This is a gut thing that I am aware is not particularly rational or good, but it is a thing. I also am drawn to Booker, he makes me hopeful, I like how he talks about faith, I like his Baby Bonds idea, and I see some of my own character traits in him. Booker/Buttigieg would probably be the team for me, but I’m one voter. For that matter, Inslee's laser focus on Climate Change is something I wish we still had in the race.

            With that said, I think there is a good case to be made for a Warren/Yang ticket. Their candidacies have clearly stated goals, they would make an interesting electoral alliance, and a Warren/Yang administration would re-center America’s politics in some really good ways.

Clear Solutions for Actual Problems.

            Warren is running a campaign against corruption and for expanded healthcare. Yang intends for America to be ready for the inevitable consequences of automation. These are fairly concrete goals and, I think, goals most Americans can get behind. 

            Everyone should be accountable, even if they have billions of dollars. No one should be able to buy a Senator or an election. Lobbyists should not wear two hats and should not swim in and out of corporate and governmental streams, without some recognition that pollution may occur. In fact, just look at the current administration (and the two billionaires currently attempting to buy a spot on the Democratic ticket) if you need to know what unchecked oligarchy looks like.

            If you’ve ever been without good insurance or any insurance, if you’ve had insurance companies discriminate against you based on a pre-existing condition, if you’ve spent a little time with elderly people and seen how miserable the last few years of life can get on account of our current healthcare system, then you know we need a change. As long as profits are a primary concern in healthcare, the system will rarely care for our health.

            Then there is the coming robot invasion. If 20% of jobs are going to disappear in the next couple of years, and another 40% will be transformed beyond recognition by 2030 (which, as strange as it sounds, is only a decade away)… we need to figure out what to do about that. Yes, there will be new jobs that show up on account of these old jobs going away—robot maintenance, human coordinators… who knows, but I also know everyone’s life will be changed. I think of my dad’s hometown, International Falls, where my cousin Harley is mayor. There was a paper mill, which provided good paying jobs for thousands of people. Now it is automated and it provides good paying jobs for a hundred people or so. Everyone else had to hustle, hang on, or leave. 

            We need to recognize that this challenge is real, and be ready to meet it with concrete proposals, but ones that are freeing to those whose lives are most directly shaped by these changes… yes, freeing. Imagine telling all the truck drivers in the US to become nurses, giving them training to do so even (this was the Clinton solution to NAFTA job displacement). That’s good, but some of their sensibilities are going to be ruffled. Alternatively, if you give them (and everyone else, so it isn’t an act of benevolence, but our inheritance as Americans) $1,000 a month, some financial stability, they can tool around and explore, and find a vocation they find acceptable. You know, they might even all become nurses, but they’ll have chosen it, they will have made that decision. It might be a little messier and take a little longer than a White House economist incentivizing training for particular tasks that are needed—but human inefficiency is a small price to pay for human dignity.

            So, in sum, Warren and Yang are both focused on a few concrete problems facing our country. They are problems the average American sees as a problem. We can imagine what the next four to eight years would look like, where we are headed as a nation, by voting Warren/Yang.

An Interesting Alliance

            I’ve found something interesting; people who like Yang tend to be turned off by Warren and her entitled schoolmarm act, and people who like Warren tend to find Yang to be a pompous know-it-all Silicon Valley no neck. Now, that might not sound like a ringing endorsement—but then again think of Obama/Biden or even the current Trump/Pence coalitions. Obama, the too young, jumping the line, senator and Biden, the old, gaff prone, has been—together, became Barockstar and Uncle Joe with the Trans-Am invited to the cook-out. Similarly, Trump and Pence should be oil and water to one another, a slimy philandering “Greed is Good” reality TV star from New York City and an anti-gay Governor who always looks like the Senator in the X-men comics who is trying to outlaw Mutants. Together Trump is getting Pence to loosen up and Pence can tell Evangelicals that Trump is a “Baby Christian” and try to convince Trump that pets are good (this combination doesn’t appeal to me… but if I squint real hard I can see how such a combination could be appealing—sort of a perverse Green Acres/Odd Couple kind of thing). Perhaps Warren becomes the best version of Kate McKinnon’s Warren/Hillary character on SNL and Yang becomes an entrepreneur-making-android who advocates for special needs children.

            And that’s the candidates—imagine the voters! If the Yang Gang gets together with the Warren Klatch they can energize the Democratic Party and welcome in some new folk. Simply put, Yang’s supporters are mainly young and male, whereas Warren’s “Nevertheless she persisted” is now a rallying cry for female voters of all ages. If Democrats mobilize women and hold their own among men by winning more young men than last time around, they’ll win!

            Warren worked with the Obama Whitehouse Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a nod to the Obama Coalition. Warren has some populist, anti-corporate, positions that should energize the working class. In fact, some Silicon Valley folk are uncomfortable with her Teddy Roosevelt leanings. 

            That’s where Yang comes in, he can corral the Start-up class, he has the relationships, and I think, he can restate some of Warren’s positions in a way “normal people” can hear them more clearly. Finally, some members of the Yang Gang are super savvy on social media, something the Democrats had an edge over the Republicans with until 2016. A young VP who understands the interwebs could be a real plus!

A Sideways Coalition for America

            The tension and synergy between Warren and Yang, and their supporters, could be good for America.  A Warren/Yang administration would re-define America in some interesting ways.

            Firstly, there is the thrust of their policies! Fight corruption, fix health care, and get ahead of innovation before it cripples the majority of our citizens. This team would concretely care about people! Imagine Americans caring for one another again!

            Secondly, there is the tension between entrepreneurship and trust busting that Warren/Yang could make into a partnership. Both of those vocations are needed in America now. The creation of new businesses and application for new patents are down in this country. At the same time, giant companies and the rich are gaining more and more influence over our society—the golden rule is becoming “he with the gold makes the rules.” Policies that nurture new small businesses and restrain monopolies can go hand in hand and will be good for America. 

            Similarly, the ways these two think about problems are opposite, but good for each other, they balance one another out. Warren envisions government’s role as restraining bad behavior and rooting out corruption, making all actors in our society more responsible to one another. Yang recognizes the responsibility of government is to defend the freedom of the populace. When facing the problem of mass automation it is important that the solution encourages human flourishing, instead of treating humans like the very robots that are the cause of the difficulty. Imagine an America that embraces responsibility AND liberty!

            Thirdly, there is the joy of electing America’s first female president and first Asia American Vice President—this would be no small thing, especially coming on the heels of an openly misogynistic and racist president. It would be the first time a white male wasn’t on the ticket; I imagine there would be some backlash, but representation matters, and there are plenty of women and Asian Americans who deserve to feel represented in the highest offices in our land. America is mine too! Ain’t that cool!

            Diversity, responsibility and liberty, innovation, and kindness. What’s not to love?

            A Warren/Yang administration clearly articulates concrete solutions to real life problems, builds a unique election coalition, and would govern and lead America in a good direction.

My initial "hot take" on the transcripts of Donald and Volodymyr

Anti-tank Missiles for Hillary’s Server & Discrediting Mueller’s Testimony the Day Before

VOLODYMYR: Ukraine’s President: We are almost. ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.

DONALD: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike ... I guess you have one of your wealthy people... The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation… I think you are surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it's very important that you do it if that's possible.

Personal Relationship with Donald Trump for Information on a Political Opponent’s Son

VOLODYMYR: I would also like and hope to see him having your trust and your confidence and have personal relations with you so we can cooperate even more so I will personally tell you that one of my assistants spoke with Mr. Giuliani just recently and we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine. I just wanted to assure you once again that you have nobody but friends around us.

DONALD: The other thing. There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great.

Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it ... It sounds horrible to me.

The Investigation will be Done by Yes Men, You’ll Get the Result You Want
Pass on the Direction You Want the Investigation to Go

VOLODYMYR: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor First of all I understand and I'm knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament; the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned is this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case. On top of that, I would kindly ask you if you have any additional information that you can provide to μs, it would be very helpful for the investigation

The Prosecutor Removed from Office for Corruption is the Kind of Prosecutor I Want You to Use

ALSO

I’ll Bribe You with Economic Incentive for the Results I Want

DONALD: I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have. Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I'm sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict.

Emoluments Clause OR The Tower of Babel is So Beautiful!

VOLODYMYR: I stayed at the Trump Tower. I will talk to them and I hope to see them again in the future. I also wanted to thank you for your invitation to visit the United States, specifically Washington DC. On the other hand, I also wanted to assure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation. As to the economy, there is much potential for our two countries and one of the issues that is very important for Ukraine is energy independence.

Mueller Report in Meme form

So, if you watched the 7 hour grilling of Mueller you know he's super frustrated that no one read his report (other than me... apparently).

To help everyone out I posted a summary. I also posted highlights.
Here is my final attempt to make sure people know what happened... inspired by this slate article:

The Mueller Report in Meme form

Intro:

Shared Campaign Info:

Lied to Investigators:

Tampered with Evidence:

Russia Used Social Media to Influence 126,000,000 Americans... it had real world consequences:

The Russians also Hacked Democrats:

Trump's Request to Hack the DNC and Hillary were Taken Seriously:

The Trump Campaign Coordinated with Wikileaks, who Coordinated with Russia:

Trump's Son was Given the Password to an Anti-Trump PAC Website: 

Wikileaks Used Trump Jr. as a Puppet:

A Summary of the Hacking:

Trump's Campaign was Initially a Real Estate Infomercial:

Everyone Pretended to be More Important Than They Were, and that Made them More Important:

The Trump Campaign Freely Shared Information with the Russians, because they were Compromised:

But Her EMAILS!!!

So Incurious:

They Knew the Meeting was About Dirt on Clinton:

Many Trump Folk Lie, for Example:

Trump is NOT not Guilt of Obstruction of Justice:

Trump Lies:

People in Trump's Orbit Refuse to Follow Presidential Orders:

The President's Team Lied about Trump Editing his Son's Press Statements:

The Scope of the President's Actions:

Congress Needs to Hold the President Accountable because No One is Above the Law:

The President Would Not Answer Questions about Obstruction of Justice:

The President Acted in a Two-Faced Manner:

The President Refused to be Interviewed:

Either the President has a Memory Problem, or He's Lying:

Mueller Report Highlights

The intro:

            “As set forth in detail in this report, the Special Counsel’s investigation established that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election principally through two operations. First, a Russian entity carried out a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Second, a Russian intelligence service conducted computer-intrusion operations against entities, employees, and volunteers working on the Clinton Campaign and then released stolen documents.”

They Shared Campaign Information with the Russians

“Months before that meeting, Manafort had caused internal polling data to be shared with Kilimnik, and the sharing continued for some period of time after their August meeting.”

They Trump Campaign Members Lied to Investigators

“the investigation established that several individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign lied to the Office, and to Congress, about their interactions with Russian-affiliated individuals and related matters. Those lies materially impaired the investigation of Russian election interference. The Office charged some of those lies as violations of the federal false-statements statute. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying about his interactions with Russian Ambassador Kislyak during the transition period. George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor during the campaign period, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about, inter alia, the nature and timing of his interactions with Joseph Mifsud, the professor who told Papadopoulos that the Russians had dirt on candidate Clinton in the form of thousands of emails. Former Trump Organization attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about the Trump Moscow project.”

“And in February 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Manafort lied to the Office and the grand jury concerning his interactions and communications with Konstantin Kilimnik about Trump Campaign polling data and a peace plan for Ukraine.”

They Tampered with Evidence

“Further, the Office learned that some of the individuals we interviewed or whose conduct we investigated—including some associated with the Trump Campaign—deleted relevant communications or communicated during the relevant period using applications that feature encryption or that do not provide for long-term retention of data or communications records. In such cases, the Office was not able to corroborate witness statements through comparison to contemporaneous communications or fully question witnesses about statements that appeared inconsistent with other known facts.”

The Russians used Social Media to Influence at least 126 Million Americans

“By the end of the 2016 U.S. election, the IRA had the ability to reach millions of U.S. persons through their social media accounts. Multiple IRA-controlled Facebook groups and Instagram accounts had hundreds of thousands of U.S. participants. IRA-controlled Twitter accounts separately had tens of thousands of followers, including multiple U.S. political figures who retweeted IRA-created content. In November 2017, a Facebook representative testified that Facebook had identified 470 IRA-controlled Facebook accounts that collectively made 80,000 posts between January 2015 and August 2017. Facebook estimated the IRA reached as many as 126 million persons through its Facebook accounts.6 In January 2018, Twitter announced that it had identified 3,814 IRA-controlled Twitter accounts and notified approximately 1.4 million people Twitter believed may have been in contact with an IRA-controlled account.”

“To reach larger U.S. audiences, the IRA purchased advertisements from Facebook that promoted the IRA groups on the newsfeeds of U.S. audience members. According to Facebook, the IRA purchased over 3,500 advertisements, and the expenditures totaled approximately $100,000.”

These Social Media Activities had Real World Consequences “The Office identified dozens of U.S. rallies organized by the IRA. The earliest evidence of a rally was a “confederate rally” in November 2015.”

The Russians also Hacked the Democrats

“On July 6, 2016, WikiLeaks again contacted Guccifer 2.0 through Twitter’s private messaging function, writing, “if you have anything hillary related we want it in the next tweo [sic] days prefable [sic] because the DNC is approaching and she will solidify bernie supporters behind her after.” The Guccifer 2.0 persona responded, “ok…i see.” WikiLeaks also explained, “we think trump has only a 25% chance of winning against hillary…so conflict between bernie and hillary is interesting.””

“As reports attributing the DNC and DCCC hacks to the Russian government emerged, WikiLeaks and Assange made several public statements apparently designed to obscure the source of the materials that WikiLeaks was releasing. The file-transfer evidence described above and other information uncovered during the investigation discredit WikiLeaks’s claims about the source of material that it posted.”

Trump’s Request that Russians Hack Hillary was Taken Seriously by Russia

“Within approximately five hours of Trump’s statement, GRU officers targeted for the first time Clinton’s personal office. After candidate Trump’s remarks, Unit 26165 created and sent malicious links targeting 15 email accounts at the domain ████████████████████████████████████████████████ including an email account belonging to Clinton aide ████████████████████████████████████████████████ The investigation did not find evidence of earlier GRU attempts to compromise accounts hosted on this domain. It is unclear how the GRU was able to identify these email accounts, which were not public.”

The Trump Campaign Coordinated with Wikileaks, who Coordinated with the Russians

“According to Gates, by the late summer of 2016, the Trump Campaign was planning a press strategy, a communications campaign, and messaging based on the possible release of Clinton emails by WikiLeaks.”

Trump’s Son was Given the Passwords to an Anti-Trump PAC’s Website!

“Donald Trump Jr. had direct electronic communications with WikiLeaks during the campaign period. On September 20, 2016, an individual named Jason Fishbein sent WikiLeaks the password for an unlaunched website focused on Trump’s “unprecedented and dangerous” ties to Russia, PutinTrump.org.252 WikiLeaks publicly tweeted; “‘Let’s bomb Iraq’ Progress for America PAC to launch “PutinTrump.org’ at 9:30am. Oops pw is ‘putintrump’ putintrump.org.” Several hours later, WikiLeaks sent a Twitter direct message to Donald Trump Jr., “A PAC run anti-Trump site putintrump.org is about to launch. The PAC is a recycled pro-Iraq war PAC. We have guessed the password. It is ‘putintrump.’ See ‘About’ for who is behind it. Any comments?”253. Several hours later, Trump Jr. emailed a variety of senior campaign staff: Guys I got a weird Twitter DM from wiki leaks. See below. I tried the password and it works and the about section they reference contains the next pic in terms of who is behind it. Not sure if this is anything but it seems like it’s really wikileaks asking me as I follow them and it is a DM. Do you know the people mentioned and what the conspiracy they are looking for could be? These are just screen shots but it’s a fully built out page claiming to be a PAC let me know your thoughts and if we want to look into it…The next day (after the website had launched publicly), Trump Jr. sent a direct message to WikiLeaks: “Off the record, I don’t know who that is but I’ll ask around. Thanks.”

Wikileaks Used Donald Trump Jr. as a Puppet

“On October 12, 2016, WikiLeaks wrote again that it was “great to see you and your dad talking about our publications. Strongly suggest your dad tweets this link if he mentions us wlsearch.tk.”257 WikiLeaks wrote that the link would help Trump in “digging through” leaked emails and stated, “we just released Podesta emails Part 4.”258 Two days later, Trump Jr. publicly tweeted the wlsearch.tk link.”

A Summary of the Hacking

“In sum, the investigation established that the GRU hacked into email accounts of persons affiliated with the Clinton Campaign, as well as the computers of the DNC and DCCC. The GRU then exfiltrated data related to the 2016 election from these accounts and computers, and disseminated that data through fictitious online personas (DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0) and later through WikiLeaks.”

Trump’s Campaign for President Seen as an “Infomercial” for Trump’s Real Estate Empire

“According to Cohen, he did not consider the political import of the Trump Moscow project to the 2016 U.S. presidential election at the time. Cohen also did not recall candidate Trump or anyone affiliated with the Trump Campaign discussing the political implications of the Trump Moscow project with him. However, Cohen recalled conversations with Trump in which the candidate suggested that his campaign would be a significant “infomercial” for Trump-branded properties.”

Everyone Pretended to be More Important than they were… and they became Important

“According to Papadopoulos, Mifsud at first seemed uninterested in Papadopoulos when they met in Rome.416 After Papadopoulos informed Mifsud about his role in the Trump Campaign, however, Mifsud appeared to take greater interest in Papadopoulos.”

Not Actually Putin’s Niece

“I just finished a very productive lunch with a good friend of mine, Joseph Mifsud, the director of the London Academy of Diplomacy--who introduced me to both Putin’s niece and the Russian Ambassador in London--who also acts as the Deputy Foreign Minister.428 The topic of the lunch was to arrange a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump. They are keen to host us in a “neutral” city, or directly in Moscow. They said the leadership, including Putin, is ready to meet with us and Mr. Trump should there be interest, Waiting for everyone’s thoughts on moving forward with this very important issue.”

The Trump Campaign Freely Shared Campaign Information with the Russians

“did not see a downside to sharing campaign information, and told Gates that his role in the Campaign would be “good for business” and potentially a way to be made whole for work he previously completed in the Ukraine. As to Deripaska, Manafort claimed that by sharing campaign information with him, Deripaska might see value in their relationship and resolve a “disagreement”—a reference to one or more outstanding lawsuits.”

Manafort saw the Campaign as a Business Opportunity

“Manafort agreed to work on the Campaign without pay. Manafort had no meaningful income at this point in time, but resuscitating his domestic political campaign career could be financially beneficial in the future. Gates reported that Manafort intended, if Trump won the Presidency, to remain outside the Administration and monetize his relationship with the Administration.”

“Gates reported that Manafort said that being hired on the Campaign would be “good for business” and increase the likelihood that Manafort would be paid the approximately $2 million he was owed for previous political consulting work in Ukraine.”

First Reasserting Russian Control of Ukraine, then the Rust Belt 
“First, Manafort and Kilimnik discussed a plan to resolve the ongoing political problems in Ukraine by creating an autonomous republic in its more industrialized eastern region of Donbas,922 and having Yanukovych, the Ukrainian President ousted in 2014, elected to head that republic.923 That plan, Manafort later acknowledged, constituted a “backdoor” means for Russia to control eastern Ukraine.

Second, Manafort briefed Kilimnik on the state of the Trump Campaign and Manafort’s plan to win the election.930 That briefing encompassed the Campaign’s messaging and its internal polling data. According to Gates, it also included discussion of “battleground” states, which Manafort identified as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.

Third, according to Gates and what Kilimnik told Patten, Manafort and Kilimnik discussed two sets of financial disputes related to Manafort’s previous work in the region. Those consisted of the unresolved Deripaska lawsuit and the funds that the Opposition Bloc owed to Manafort for his political consulting work and how Manafort might be able to obtain payment.”

Trump People Keep Bluffing and Exaggerating their Importance

“After his dinner with Prince, Nader sent Prince a link to a Wikipedia entry about Dmitriev, and sent Dmitriev a message stating that he had just met “with some key people within the family and inner circle”—a reference to Prince—and that he had spoken at length and positively about Dmitriev.”

But Her Emails!

“Bannon told the Office that, during both the months before and after the Seychelles meeting, he regularly used his personal Blackberry and personal email for work-related communications (including those with Prince), and he took no steps to preserve these work communications.”

So Incurious

“Kushner stated in an interview that he did not engage in any preparation for the meeting and that no one on the Transition Team even did a Google search for Gorkov’s name.”

They Knew the Meeting was about Dirt on Clinton

“Documentary evidence in the form of email chains supports the inference that Kushner and Manafort were aware of that purpose and attended the June 9 meeting anticipating the receipt of helpful information to the Campaign from Russian sources.”

Is Information a Contribution?

“in light of the unresolved legal questions about whether giving “documents and information” of the sort offered here constitutes a campaign contribution, Trump Jr. could mount a factual defense that he did not believe his response to the offer and the June 9 meeting itself violated the law.”

“Given his less direct involvement in arranging the June 9 meeting, Kushner could likely mount a similar defense. And, while Manafort is experienced with political campaigns, the Office has not developed evidence showing that he had relevant knowledge of these legal issues.”

This Account was False
“During the interview, Papadopoulos lied about the timing, extent, and nature of his communications with Joseph Mifsud, Olga Polonskaya, and Ivan Timofeev. With respect to timing, Papadopoulos acknowledged that he had met Mifsud and that Mifsud told him the Russians had “dirt” on Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails.” But Papadopoulos stated multiple times that those communications occurred before he joined the Trump Campaign and that it was a “very strange coincidence” to be told of the “dirt” before he started working for the Campaign. This account was false.”

Flynn Lied

“Michael Flynn agreed to be interviewed by the FBI on January 24, 2017, four days after he had officially assumed his duties as National Security Advisor to the President. During the interview, Flynn made several false statements pertaining to his communications with the Russian ambassador.”

Cohen Lied:

“The letter contained three representations relevant here. First, Cohen stated that the Trump Moscow project had ended in January 2016 and that he had briefed candidate Trump on the project only three times before making the unilateral decision to terminate it. Second, Cohen represented that he never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the project and never considered asking Trump to travel for the project. Third, Cohen stated that he did not recall any Russian government contact about the project, including any response to an email that he had sent to a Russian government email account.Each of the foregoing representations in Cohen’s two-page statement was false and misleading.

Sessions Lied

“The investigation also established that Sessions and Kislyak both attended a reception held before candidate Trump’s foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., in April 2016, and that it is possible that they met briefly at that reception.”

The OLC Claims a Sitting President is Above the Law

“The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has issued an opinion finding that “the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions” in violation of “the constitutional separation of powers.”

The President is NOT not Guilty of Obstruction of Justice

“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. The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Trump Lies

“After WikiLeaks released politically damaging Democratic Party emails that were reported to have been hacked by Russia, Trump publicly expressed skepticism that Russia was responsible for the hacks at the same time that he and other Campaign officials privately sought information ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ about any further planned WikiLeaks releases. Trump also denied having any business in or connections to Russia, even though as late as June 2016 the Trump Organization had been pursuing a licensing deal for a skyscraper to be built in Russia called Trump Tower Moscow.”

Folk in Trump’s orbit choose whether or not to follow his orders

“On June 17, 2017, the President called McGahn at home and directed him to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed. McGahn did not carry out the direction, however, deciding that he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre.”

Trump’s team lies about the President editing his son’s press statement

“Before the emails became public, the President edited a press statement for Trump Jr. by deleting a line that acknowledged that the meeting was with “an individual who [Trump Jr.] was told might have information helpful to the campaign” and instead said only that the meeting was about adoptions of Russian children. When the press asked questions about the President’s involvement in Trump Jr.’s statement, the President’s personal lawyer repeatedly denied the President had played any role.”

Congress needs to hold Trump accountable, because no one is above the law

“The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.”

The President Refused to be Interviewed

“After more than a year of discussion, the President declined to be interviewed.”

The President would not answer questions related to Obstruction of Justice

“During the course of our discussions, the President did agree to answer written questions on certain Russia-related topics, and he provided us with answers. He did not similarly agree to provide written answers to questions on obstruction topics or questions on events during the transition.”

The President Acts in a Two Faced Manner

“Priebus recalled that the President hugged Flynn, shook his hand, and said, “We’ll give you a good recommendation. You’re a good guy. We’ll take care of you.”212 Talking points on the resignation prepared by the White House Counsel’s Office and distributed to the White House communications team stated that McGahn had advised the President that Flynn was unlikely to be prosecuted, and the President had determined that the issue with Flynn was one of trust.213 Spicer told the press the next day that Flynn was forced to resign “not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue, [where] a level of trust between the President and General Flynn had eroded to the point where [the President] felt he had to make a change.””

Christie doesn’t follow orders

Towards the end of the lunch, the President brought up Comey and asked if Christie was still friendly with him.224 Christie said he was.225 The President told Christie to call Comey and tell him that the President “really like[s] him. Tell him he’s part of the team.”226 At the end of the lunch, the President repeated his request that Christie reach out to Comey.227 Christie had no intention of complying with the President’s request that he contact Comey.228 He thought the President’s request was “nonsensical” and Christie did not want to put Comey in the position of having to receive such a phone call.229 Christie thought it would have been uncomfortable to pass on that message.

Sanders Lied

“Sanders told this Office that her reference to hearing from “countless members of the FBI” was a “slip of the tongue.”482 She also recalled that her statement in a separate press interview that rank-and-file FBI agents had lost confidence in Comey was a comment she made “in the heat of the moment” that was not founded on anything.”

Rosenstein gets used

“Also on May 10, 2017, Sessions and Rosenstein each spoke to McGahn and expressed concern that the White House was creating a narrative that Rosenstein had initiated the decision to fire Comey.484 The White House Counsel’s Office agreed that it was factually wrong to say that the Department of Justice had initiated Comey’s termination.”

Another Person Doesn’t Follow Orders

“The message “definitely raised an eyebrow” for Dearborn, and he recalled not wanting to ask where it came from or think further about doing anything with it.627 Dearborn also said that being asked to serve as a messenger to Sessions made him uncomfortable.628 He recalled later telling Lewandowski that he had handled the situation, but he did not actually follow through with delivering the message to Sessions, and he did not keep a copy of the typewritten notes Lewandowski had given him.”

Hope Hicks tries to stop the president from shooting himself in the foot

“Sessions’s recusal, the President said, was “very unfair to the president. How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I can’t, you know, I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair, and that’s a mild word, to the president.”632 Hicks, who was present for the interview, recalled trying to “throw [herself] between the reporters and [the President]” to stop parts of the interview, but the President “loved the interview.””

Yet Another Person Doesn’t Follow the President’s Orders

“Porter did not contact Brand because he was sensitive to the implications of that action and did not want to be involved in a chain of events associated with an effort to end the investigation or fire the Special Counsel.”

Trump’s People Continue to Try to Stop Him from Obstructing Justice

“The President then directed Porter to tell McGahn to create a record to make clear that the President never directed McGahn to fire the Special Counsel.797 Porter thought the matter should be handled by the White House communications office, but the President said he wanted McGahn to write a letter to the file “for our records” and wanted something beyond a press statement to demonstrate that the reporting was inaccurate.798 The President referred to McGahn as a “lying bastard” and said that he wanted a record from him.799 Porter recalled the President saying something to the effect of, “If he doesn’t write a letter, then maybe I’ll have to get rid of him.”…the President’s efforts to have McGahn write a letter “for our records” approximately ten days after the stories had come out—well past the typical time to issue a correction for a news story—indicates the President was not focused solely on a press strategy, but instead likely contemplated the ongoing investigation and any proceedings arising from it.”

Trump’s feelings are false or fickle, based on if you are useful to him

“I understand your situation, but let me see if I can’t state it in starker terms….[I]t wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gone on to make a deal with…the government….[I]f…there’s information that implicates the President, then we’ve got a national security issue,…so, you know,…we need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of protecting all our interests if we can….[R]emember what we’ve always said about the President and his feelings toward Flynn and, that still remains….

As the proceedings against Manafort progressed in court, the President told Porter that he never liked Manafort and that Manafort did not know what he was doing on the campaign.851 The President discussed with aides whether and in what way Manafort might be cooperating with the Special Counsel’s investigation, and whether Manafort knew any information that would be harmful to the President.

Lot’s of Winks and Nods

Giuliani also said in an interview that, although the President should not pardon anyone while the Special Counsel’s investigation was ongoing, “when the investigation is concluded, he’s kind of on his own, right?”

“Obstructive act. The President’s actions towards witnesses in the Special Counsel’s investigation would qualify as obstructive if they had the natural tendency to prevent particular witnesses from testifying truthfully, or otherwise would have the probable effect of influencing, delaying, or preventing their testimony to law enforcement.”

Those statements, combined with the President’s commendation of Manafort for being a “brave man” who “refused to ‘break’,” suggested that a pardon was a more likely possibility if Manafort continued not to cooperate with the government.

Trump Assumes everyone is corrupt and everyone hates each other

At the same time, although the President had privately told aides he did not like Manafort, he publicly called Manafort “a good man” and said he had a “wonderful family.” And when the President was asked whether he was considering a pardon for Manafort, the President did not respond directly and instead said he had “great respect for what [Manafort]’s done, in terms of what he’s gone through.” The President added that “some of the charges they threw against him, every consultant, every lobbyist in Washington probably does.” In light of the President’s counsel’s previous statements that the investigations “might get cleaned up with some presidential pardons” and that a pardon would be possible if the President “come[s] to the conclusion that you have been treated unfairly,” the evidence supports the inference that the President intended Manafort to believe that he could receive a pardon, which would make cooperation with the government as a means of obtaining a lesser sentence unnecessary.

Some evidence supports a conclusion that the President intended, at least in part, to influence the jury.

Cohen was lying for Trump

On October 24 and 25, 2017, Cohen testified before Congress and repeated the false statements he had included in his written statement about Trump Tower Moscow.1005 Phone records show that Cohen spoke with the President’s personal counsel immediately after his testimony on both days.

On February 19, 2018, the day after the New York Times wrote a detailed story attributing the payment to Cohen and describing Cohen as the President’s “fixer,” Cohen received a text message from the President’s personal counsel that stated, “Client says thanks for what you do.”

Obstruction is Obstruction no matter the intention 

In this investigation, the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference. But the evidence does point to a range of other possible personal motives animating the President’s conduct. These include concerns that continued investigation would call into question the legitimacy of his election and potential uncertainty about whether certain events—such as advance notice of WikiLeaks’s release of hacked information or the June 9, 2016 meeting between senior campaign officials and Russians—could be seen as criminal activity by the President, his campaign, or his family.

Tweeting can threaten justice

enhanced by his unique ability to attract attention through use of mass communications. And no principle of law excludes public acts from the scope of obstruction statutes. If the likely effect of the acts is to intimidate witnesses or alter their testimony, the justice system’s integrity is equally threatened.

Although the events we investigated involved discrete acts—e.g., the President’s statement to Comey about the Flynn investigation, his termination of Comey, and his efforts to remove the Special Counsel—it is important to view the President’s pattern of conduct as a whole. That pattern sheds light on the nature of the President’s acts and the inferences that can be drawn about his intent.The incidents were often carried out through one-on-one meetings in which the President sought to use his official power outside of usual channels. These actions ranged from efforts to remove the Special Counsel and to reverse the effect of the Attorney General’s recusal; to the attempted use of official power to limit the scope of the investigation; to direct and indirect contacts with witnesses with the potential to influence their testimony. Viewing the acts collectively can help to illuminate their significance.

People not taking the President’s orders seriously is what kept him safe

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.

The scope of the president’s actions

the President attempted to remove the Special Counsel; he sought to have Attorney General Sessions unrecuse himself and limit the investigation; he sought to prevent public disclosure of information about the June 9, 2016 meeting between Russians and campaign officials; and he used public forums to attack potential witnesses who might offer adverse information and to praise witnesses who declined to cooperate with the government. Judgments about the nature of the President’s motives during each phase would be informed by the totality of the evidence.

The President isn’t above the law
Under that view, any statute that restricts the President’s exercise of those powers would impermissibly intrude on the President’s constitutional role. The President’s counsel has conceded that the President may be subject to criminal laws that do not directly involve exercises of his Article II authority, such as laws prohibiting bribing witnesses or suborning perjury.

The President isn’t a King

Under that framework, we concluded, Article II of the Constitution does not categorically and permanently immunize the President from potential liability for the conduct that we investigated. Rather, our analysis led us to conclude that the obstruction-of-justice statutes can validly prohibit a President’s corrupt efforts to use his official powers to curtail, end, or interfere with an investigation.

Under OLC’s analysis, Congress can permissibly criminalize certain obstructive conduct by the President, such as suborning perjury, intimidating witnesses, or fabricating evidence, because those prohibitions raise no separation-of-powers questions.

n this context, a balancing test applies to assess separation-of-powers issues. Applying that test here, 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.

Under the Supreme Court’s balancing test for analyzing separation-of-powers issues, the first task is to assess the degree to which applying obstruction-of-justice statutes to presidential actions affects the President’s ability to carry out his Article II responsibilities.

In the case of the obstruction-of-justice statutes, 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 government.

Corruption

Direct or indirect action by the President to end a criminal investigation into his own or his family members’ conduct to protect against personal embarrassment or legal liability would constitute a core example of corruptly motivated conduct. So too would action to halt an enforcement proceeding that directly and adversely affected the President’s financial interests for the purpose of protecting those interests. In those examples, officiai power is being used for the purpose of protecting the President’s personal interests. In contrast, the President’s actions to serve political or policy interests would not qualify as corrupt. 

No One Is Above The Law

In sum, contrary to the position taken by the President’s counsel, we concluded that, in light of the Supreme Court precedent governing separation-of-powers issues, we had a valid basis for investigating the conduct at issue in this report. In our view, the application of the obstruction statutes would not impermissibly burden the President’s performance of his Article II function to supervise prosecutorial conduct or to remove inferior law-enforcement officers. And the protection of the criminal justice system from corrupt acts by any person—including the President—accords with the fundamental principle of our government that “[n]o [person] in this country is so high that he is above the law.”

while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

The President Should Have Been Interviewed

We also advised counsel that “[a]n interview with the President is vital to our investigation” and that this Office had “carefully considered the constitutional and other arguments raised by…counsel, and they d[id] not provide us with reason to forgo seeking an interview.”

Either the President has a memory problem or is weaseling out of the truth

We received the President’s written responses in late November 2018.4 In December 2018, we informed counsel of the insufficiency of those responses in several respects.5 We noted, among other things, that the President stated on more than 30 occasions that he “does not ‘recall’ or ‘remember’ or have an ‘independent recollection’” of information called for by the questions.6 Other answers were “incomplete or imprecise.”7 The written responses, we informed counsel, “demonstrate the inadequacy of the written format, as we have had no opportunity to ask follow-up questions that would ensure complete answers and potentially refresh your client’s recollection or clarify the extent or nature of his lack of recollection.”

We again requested an in-person interview, limited to certain topics, advising the President’s counsel that “[t]his is the President’s opportunity to voluntarily provide us with information for us to evaluate in the context of all of the evidence we have gathered.”9 The President declined.

It was just a joke

I made the statement quoted in Question II (d) in jest and sarcastically, as was apparent to any objective observer.