Full scale of Mueller’s Russia ‘collusion’ probe by man accused of plotting to wiretap Donald Trump finally released
THE full scale of Robert Mueller’s powers to probe alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election have been revealed in a document written by the man once accused of plotting to wiretap Donald Trump.
The Justice Department has released a mostly unredacted version of then-Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s August 2017 memo outlining the extent of the authority of the former Special Counsel.
Rosenstein – who later left the Justice Department for a law firm – oversaw Mueller’s investigation and played a central role in the high-profile drama.
He was once even accused of discussing wearing a “wire” to meetings with the US President.
In September 2018, The New York Times reported he suggested he secretly recorded Trump “to expose the chaos consuming the administration.”
The paper claimed he had talked about invoking the 25th amendment of the US constitution to remove the President from office.
That amendment allows for the President to be replaced by the vice-President in the event of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation.
Rosenstein has long denied he pursued any recording and a source in the room for the conversation said Rosenstein was being sarcastic, reported CNN.
Rosenstein’s memo has long been sought by Republicans who believed it would reveal Mueller and his team overstepped their authority during the probe.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice provided a less redacted version of the memo to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham after he asked for it.
It includes a list authorizing Mueller to investigate certain allegations against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous and former campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Regarding Papadopoulos, Mueller was authorized to probe whether there had been a “crime or crimes” committed when he allegedly acted “as an unregistered agent of the government of Israel.”
The newly-released version of the memo spells out Mueller could look into whether Flynn “committed a crime or crimes by engaging in conversations with Russian government officials during the period of the Trump transition.”
The allegations referenced the possibility that Flynn broke the law under the obscure Logan Act – which criminalizes negotiation by unauthorized American citizens with foreign governments having a dispute with the US.
The Rosenstein “scope memo” further authorizes a review into Flynn’s dealings with Turkey.
Some of the allegations listed in the memo were eventually borne out in charges later handed down by Mueller.
Manafort was convicted of eight counts of fraud related to his foreign business dealings and was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
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Papadopolous went onto plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials in October 2017 and served 12 days in prison.
And Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his dealings with the Russian ambassador.
In January he filed a motion to withdraw his plea, and his sentencing was then postponed indefinitely.
Mueller’s investigation concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election — but he said the investigation did not find sufficient evidence to connect a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia.