Publisher’s note: The Intercept‘s Glenn Greenwald needs to answer for his organization’s decision to cease publication of the Snowden files with only 10% of them in the public domain. Here, however, he takes a serious scalpel to the Mueller report, showing the highly anticipated and newly released report “obliterates” the much-hyped Trump/Russia conspiracy theory. Worth a close read. Stephen Lendman weighs in, below, along with Jimmy Dore talking with The Nation’s Aaron Mate. Thanks (?) to the US “news” media for gift wrapping for Mr. Trump a big fat talking point – “witch hunt + exoneration!” – for his 2020 reelection campaign. #Grotesque. Meanwhile, the US of Empire trundles on. Free Vermont!

US Media Reinterpret Mueller Report Findings

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)

The vast majority of US media are hostile to Trump for the wrong reasons, not key right ones they ignore.

Never in modern US history was media coverage so outrageously biased for one presidential candidate over the other.

They oppose him for triumphing over media darling Hillary, along with suggesting he’s a Manchurian candidate for Putin.

During the presidential campaign, neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post editors called him “a unique threat to American democracy.” No one can threaten what doesn’t exist.

NYT editors turned truth on its head, calling Hillary “one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history” – ignoring her unaccountability for war crimes, racketeering, perjury, and contempt for the nation’s most disadvantaged.

Slamming Trump, Times editors called him “the worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history.” He, Hillary, husband Bill, and GW Bush qualify for that dubious distinction.

Major media headlines on the Mueller report turned truth on its head, some examples:

Reuters: “Mueller report gives Democrats political ammunition” – falsely claiming it “provide(s) extensive details on…Trump’s efforts to thwart the probe…”

AP News: “The Latest: Report shows Trump trying to shut down probe”

ABC News: “No collusion, but a case for obstruction of justice in Robert Mueller’s report”

CBS News: “Trump tried to thwart Russia probe”

NBC News: “Mueller report found Trump directed White House lawyer to ‘do crazy s—t’ ”

MSNBC: “Mueller report: President Trump tried to get Mueller removed”

CNN: “Mueller report is devastating…Mueller had everything he needed to charge Trump with obstruction, but didn’t”

The NYT has been in the vanguard of vilifying Trump for the wrong reasons. Following Thursday’s release, it headlined “Mueller Reveals Trump’s Efforts to Thwart Russian Inquiry in Highly Anticipated Report,” saying:

The special counsel “detailed a frantic monthslong (sic) effort by President Trump to thwart a federal investigation that imperiled his presidency from the start.”

“(T)he report offered reams of evidence of a climate of deceit — and a base impulse for self-preservation — among a president and his top aides.”

Separately, Times editors headlined “Mr. Mueller’s Indictment,” saying:

“…Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors and investigators found ‘substantial evidence’ that President Trump broke federal law on numerous occasions by attempting to shut down or interfere with the nearly-two-year Russia investigation.”

The neocon/CIA house organ Washington Post headlined “Mueller report lays out obstruction evidence against the president,” saying:

The 448-page report “lays out in alarming detail abundant evidence against President Trump, finding 10 ‘episodes’ of potential obstruction of justice…”

Separately, WaPo editors headlined “The Mueller report is the opposite of exoneration,” saying:

“Mueller compiled a damning account of Mr. Trump’s lies, behind-the-scenes manipulations and attempts at coercion while Justice Department officials were properly investigating Russia’s election-year activities and Mr. Trump’s own possible obstruction.”

Wall Street Journal editors went the other way, headlining “Obstruction of Nothing,” saying:

Trump “and his campaign did not conspire or coordinate with Russians to steal the 2016 election. Try as he did to find a crime regarding Russia or obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller found nothing to prosecute.”

Fox News went the same way, saying “Mueller’s report…did not find evidence of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia…”

“Mueller ultimately did not reach a conclusion on whether the president’s conduct amounted to obstruction, stating: ‘(W)hile this report does not conclude that (DLT) committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Fact: Despite his culpability for major high crimes, Trump did nothing to interfere with Mueller’s probe – or House and Senate ones. He let them play out to conclusion.

Fact: No evidence suggests he and/or his team colluded with Russia to triumph over Hillary – or obstruct justice.

Fact: He cooperated with the House, Senate, and Mueller probes, withholding no evidence requested. He could have invoked executive privilege but waived the right.

Here’s how Law Professor Jonathan Turley put it, quoted as well in a same day article, saying:

Trump “did not fire anyone involved in the investigation. He did not destroy any evidence. He did not end the investigation prematurely.”

“He took no actual obstructive acts. To charge him would have amounted to a virtual thought crime.”

“…Trump not only ordered senior staff to cooperate with Mueller, but he did not withhold evidence. Most important, he waived executive privilege over the entirety of the report in an unprecedented degree of transparency.”

None of the above media reports hostile to Trump explain this information.

Dems won’t let go, intending to politicize the Mueller report to their advantage by twisting its findings, supported by most establishment media – wanting Trump weakened in the 2020 race for the White House.

A personal note:

I deplore him. He broke every positive campaign promise made. He escalated wars of aggression inherited, continuing the rape and destruction of nations threatening no one, responsible for countless tens of thousands of casualties and human misery affecting tens of millions during his time in office.

He’s the most one-sided US president ever for apartheid Israel, contemptuous of fundamental Palestinian rights far more than his predecessors.

He’s hostile to unwanted aliens of the wrong race and ethnicity, along with Muslims from the wrong countries.

He’s no friend of the earth. His ecocide agenda supports corporate polluters and climate change deniers over ecosanity, public health, and the general welfare.

He’s waging war by other means on Iran and Venezuela, seeking to unlawfully topple their legitimate governments, wanting both countries transformed into US vassal states, their resources looted, their people ruthlessly exploited.

He’s hostile to truth-telling, wanting Chelsea Manning, other whistleblowers, Julian Assange, and others like him prosecuted and silenced for the “crime” of journalism the way it’s supposed to be.

He’s contemptuous of ordinary people at home and abroad, along with scorning international, constitutional and US statute laws.

He added two right-wing extremists to the Supreme Court, stacking lower courts with similar figures, contemptuous of equity and justice for all.

He elevated serial lying to an unprecedented level, failing the Pinocchio test repeatedly, exceeding the worst of his predecessors.

More despot than democrat, he matched Star Trek, going where no US president went before – mocking what governance of, by, and for everyone is supposed to be all about.

Report on Mueller’s Witch Hunt Exposes Russiagate Hoax

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)

Summarized, redacted or in full doesn’t matter. House, Senate and Mueller probes ended with a whimper, not a bang. They laid an egg, discovering nothing connected to mandate of what was probed.

Russiagate has been and remains a colossal hoax. Cooked up by Obama’s Russophobic CIA director John Brennan, it’s one of the most shameful chapters in US political history.

Since the US intelligence community falsely accused Russia of US election meddling in October 2016 — presenting no evidence because there is none — Mueller’s report was much ado about nothing.

His 19-lawyer team, 40 FBI special agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants, and other professional staff spent around $25 million.

They issued 2,800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, almost 50 orders authorizing use of pen registers, 13 requests to foreign governments for evidence, over 230 orders for communication records, interviewed about 500 individuals, and made 34 politicized indictments on dubious charges unconnected to his mandate.

The Mueller team discovered nothing connected to phony allegations of possible Trump team/Russia collusion to triumph over Hillary, no collusion or obstruction of justice. See below on the latter.

From inception in May 2017, Muelle’s politicized probe lacked legitimacy – a colossal waste of time and millions of dollars spent for nothing. He never should have been appointed special counsel in the first place.

Accusations of Russian US election meddling persist, “in sweeping and systematic fashion,” according to the Mueller report – despite no evidence suggesting it, nothing but baseless accusations.

Why would Russia or any other country interfere in America’s political process?

The outcomes are always the same. Dirty business as usual wins every time. Republicans and undemocratic Dems are two sides of the same coin. Not a dime’s worth of difference separates them on major issues mattering most.

They’re two right wings of one-party rule. The war party runs things – beholden exclusively to Wall Street, the military, industrial, security, media complex, and other corporate interests, along with high-net worth individuals.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Mueller report “is not an issue for us. It is not a thing that interests us or causes us concern,” adding:

“All the reports on the matter that have been released so far contain nothing but cursory statements. We have more interesting and important things to do.”

DNC/Podesta emails were leaked by a Dem insider, not hacked by Russia, any other country or individual. No evidence suggests otherwise.

Former UK ambassador Craig Murray earlier explained that “(t)he source of these emails and leaks has nothing to do with Russia at all,” adding:

“I discovered what the source was when I attended the Sam Adam’s whistleblower award in Washington. The source of these emails comes from within official circles in Washington DC. You should look to Washington not to Moscow.”

“WikiLeaks has never published any material received from the Russian government or from any proxy of the Russian government. It’s simply a completely untrue claim designed to divert attention from the content of the material.”

Big Lies repeated enough get most people to believe them. Polls show most Americans believe Russia interfered in the US 2016 presidential election. They believe Russia hacked DNC/Podesta emails – despite no evidence proving either allegation.

Around half of Americans believe Trump colluded with Russia to triumph over Hillary. Again no evidence suggests it. The House, Senate, and Mueller reports debunked the notion.

The Mueller report states the following:

“Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency (sic) and worked to secure that outcome (sic), and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts (sic), the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”

According to Common Cause, “(t)here is no federal law making collusion a crime.” US law prohibits “the solicitation or receipt of a contribution from a foreign national” or government.

“Federal law prohibits candidates from cooperating or consulting with a foreign national (that) is spending money to influence a US election.”

No evidence suggests Russia contributed to or in any way tried to influence the outcome of the US 2016 presidential election – or any other US elections. Claims otherwise are baseless because nothing supports them.

No evidence suggests Trump and/or his team engaged in a conspiracy as defined in US law – an agreement between two or more parties to commit an illegal act, along with intent to achieve a stated goal.

The Mueller report includes 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice by Trump and his campaign staff – short of accusing  anyone of this crime.

According to Law Professor Jonathan Turley, “(c)rimes must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. They cannot be purely matters of perception. That has been the case regarding the obstruction allegations made against the president.”

“(O)bstruction theories against (Trump) far outstrip the available evidence of the crime…Trump appears more guilty of obsessive rather than obstructive conduct” – the former a personality trait, not a crime.

Following release of the Mueller report, Turley said the following:

Trump “did not fire anyone involved in the investigation. He did not destroy any evidence. He did not end the investigation prematurely.”

“He took no actual obstructive acts. To charge him would have amounted to a virtual thought crime.”

“…Trump not only ordered senior staff to cooperate with Mueller, but he did not withhold evidence. Most important, he waived executive privilege over the entirety of the report in an unprecedented degree of transparency.”

There’s plenty about Trump to criticize and hold him accountable for, including high crimes of war and against humanity, along with serving monied interests at the expense of the general welfare, and much more.

No evidence suggests he or his team engaged in collusion with Russia to triumph over Hillary or obstruction of justice.

Debunking the colossal Russiagate hoax by House, Senate and Mueller reports should close this ugly chapter in US history.

The politicized show will go on as long as Trump remains in office – Dems wanting it used for political advantage in the 2020 race for the White House.