Redacto ad Absurdum: The Special Counsel report released yesterday lists acts of obstruction of justice taken by President Trump in the investigation of Russian election influencing and leaves it to Congress whether to take action. 

  The report concludes that, “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, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

  When Trump or any of his supporters say the Mueller report exonerates him, they’re lying. The report also says that Trump was frequently saved from committing overt acts of obstruction by aides who refused to follow his orders.

  Overall, the report confirms a picture of turmoil, sleaziness, dishonesty, and unsavory dealings by the President, his campaign associates, and White House aides.

The Russia Thing: Despite Trump’s description of the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt,”  it clearly lays out how Russian computer intelligence operatives tried to influence the 2016 election, and even responded the same day to Trump’s public suggestion that they dig into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

  The report does say there was no effort by the Trump campaign to work with the Russians to win the election, although it details some unusual connections. 

  The report says,  “While the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign, the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges. Among other things, the evidence was not sufficient to charge any Campaign official as an unregistered agent of the Russian government or other Russian principal. And our evidence about the June 9, 2016 meeting and WikiLeak’s release of hacked materials was not sufficient to charge a criminal campaign-finance violation.”

Ten Acts:  The report lists 10 acts that the Special Counsel said could be interpreted as obstruction of justice.

   It says, “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.”

“This is Terrible”: Trump was never shy about displaying his dismay over the investigation both in public and private. The report says that when Trump was told a Special Counsel had been appointed to investigate Russian actions and possible coordination with his campaign he said, “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m fucked.”

  The report outlines why the Special Counsel took no action against the President, starting with the Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.

  The report says Trump in some instances had the legal authority to do some of the things he did or tried to do. The investigation also found no underlying crime Trump was trying to cover for, although there doesn’t have to be one to commit obstruction. It’s a question of intent. Trump also committed some of the acts in public speeches, which is unusual, but if the things he said were intended to obstruct the investigation then that would have been a crime.

Lies and Lying Liars:  The report delves into incidents in which Trump lied, ordered aides to lie, or aides lied for him. Some of the lies were obvious at the time, but the report provides confirmation.

  It says, “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 instead threatened to resign. The report says Trump then ordered McGahn to lie and say the incident never happened.

  The report says the President and his aides lied when they said he was not involved in providing a false explanation for the meeting his son Don. Jr. and campaign aides took with a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.

  Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders baldly lied when she told reporters “countless” FBI agents had called the White House offering support for the firing of Director James Comey. She told the Special Counsel that wasn’t true and it was “a slip of the tongue.” The report says Sanders’ statement about FBI support  had no basis in fact.

Undermining: The report says that despite denials, Trump has considered pardoning his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

  It describes an incident involving former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn that comes close to witness tampering. After Flynn ended his joint legal defense with the President, the report says, “The President’s personal counsel left a message for Flynn’s attorneys reminding them of the President’s warm feelings toward Flynn, which he said ‘still remains,’ and asking for a ‘heads up’ if Flynn knew ‘information that implicates the President.’” 

Internal Revolt: The report details how Trump aides either refused or ignored orders given by the President they thought were illegal, unethical, or a danger to themselves.

  In one incident, outraged by the investigation and Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions recusing himself, the President ordered his aide Corey Lewandowski to bring Sessions a message. The report says, “The message said that Sessions should publicly announce that, notwithstanding his recusal from the Russia investigation, the investigation was ‘very unfair’ to the President, the President had done nothing wrong, and Sessions planned to meet with the Special Counsel and ‘let (him) move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections.’”

  Lewandowski delayed then dodged delivering the message, delegating the job to another aide, who also did not deliver the message.

No Me Acuerdo:President Trump was never subpoenaed or interviewed by Mueller or his investigators. In written answers to questions, Trump said nearly three dozen times that he didn’t remember facts or events.

Real News: The report also confirms that many of the news stories Trump and his aides decried as made up and “fake news” were right on target.

Hom: The Muller report is frequently redacted with black blocks featuring several explanations including “Harm to Ongoing Matters,” or “Hom,” both of which are likely to be embedded in the culture along with “alternative facts.” 

  All of it is Harm to Ongoing Matters.

Read a searchable copy of the entire Special Counsel Reporthere.