<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-muellers-decision-on-obstruction-helped-save-us-president-donald-trump-211649">How Mueller's decision on obstruction helped save US President Donald Trump</a>

The US Attorney General decided that President Donald Trump did not obstruct a probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia, but some legal experts said prosecutors laid out a wealth of evidence to the contrary and that they intended to leave that determination to Congress.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-lands-1-billion-from-softbank-toyota-for-self-driving-unit-211646">Uber lands $1 billion from SoftBank, Toyota for self-driving unit</a>

Uber's autonomous vehicle unit has raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including SoftBank Group Corp, giving the company a much-needed funding boost for its pricey self-driving ambitions on the eve of its public stock offering.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-in-major-cabinet-reshuffle-portfolios-of-several-ministers-changed-211652">In major cabinet reshuffle, portfolios of several ministers changed in Pakistan</a>

Announcing his first major cabinet reshuffle after taking office, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday brought in five new aides and changed the portfolios of four ministers, including that of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who has now been assigned Science and Technology ministry.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-unflattering-detail-mueller-report-reveals-trump-actions-to-impede-inquiry-211647">In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry</a>

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how&nbsp;President Donald Trump&nbsp;tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-finds-no-conspiracy-but-extensive-trump-russia-contacts-211659">Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts</a>

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between&nbsp;Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

How Mueller's decision on obstruction helped save US President Donald Trump The US Attorney General decided that President Donald Trump did not obstruct a probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia, but some legal experts said prosecutors laid out a wealth of evidence to the contrary and that they intended to leave that determination to Congress.

How Mueller's decision on obstruction helped save US President Donald Trump The US Attorney General decided that President Donald Trump did not obstruct a probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia, but some legal experts said prosecutors laid out a wealth of evidence to the contrary and that they intended to leave that determination to Congress. Uber lands $1 billion from SoftBank, Toyota for self-driving unit Uber's autonomous vehicle unit has raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including SoftBank Group Corp, giving the company a much-needed funding boost for its pricey self-driving ambitions on the eve of its public stock offering. In major cabinet reshuffle, portfolios of several ministers changed in Pakistan Announcing his first major cabinet reshuffle after taking office, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday brought in five new aides and changed the portfolios of four ministers, including that of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who has now been assigned Science and Technology ministry. In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 US election described in extensive and sometimes unflattering detail how President Donald Trump tried to impede the probe, raising questions about whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice. Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election.

News brief: Big stories of the day

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-unflattering-detail-mueller-report-reveals-trump-actions-to-impede-inquiry-211647">Donald Trump</a>`s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. &nbsp;&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-tried-to-interfere-with-us-presidential-polls-trump-did-not-cooperate-says-attorney-general-william-barr-while-releasing-full-report-211580">Mueller said in his report </a>released on Thursday that he found "numerous links" and that the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-muellers-decision-on-obstruction-helped-save-us-president-donald-trump-211649">Trump campaign</a> "expected it would benefit" from Russia`s effort to tilt the ballot in Trump`s favour.

Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn`t amount to criminal behaviour or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump`s orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed.&nbsp;

Trump and his allies, who derided the Mueller probe as a political "witch hunt", portrayed the report as vindication. "No collusion. No obstruction. For all the haters and the radical left Democrats, game over," Trump tweeted on Thursday.&nbsp;

"The bottom line is the president is exonerated and the campaign is exonerated of collusion," said Michael Caputo, a former adviser to Trump`s campaign.

Some legal experts and political strategists were more circumspect, saying the report confirmed the Russian government was attempting to help Trump with the election.&nbsp;

"I think that`s a pretty extraordinary finding of historical significance, whether or not there`s a crime," said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor who is now a San Francisco-based lawyer.

Many of the contacts in the report were already known. They included former national security adviser Michael Flynn`s conversations in late 2016 with Sergei Kislyak, Russia ambassador at the time, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort`s interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a political consultant who the FBI has determined has ties to Russian intelligence.

But the report contained fresh details on the range of official and unofficial dealings Trump campaign advisers and supporters had with Russians before and after the 2016 election.&nbsp;

For example, the report says that Manafort, shortly after he joined the campaign in the spring of 2016, directed his deputy to share internal polling data with Kilimnik with the understanding it would be passed on to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch known to have close ties to the Kremlin.

Lawyers for Manafort did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kilimnik did not reply to an email seeking comment.

A Washington-based attorney for Deripsaka said he could not comment. In a statement to Reuters in January, representatives for Deripaska said he has never had any communication with Kilimnik.

The report also says that Manafort told Kilimnik in August 2017 about the campaign`s efforts to win the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Trump ended up winning three of those states in the November election.

Mueller`s investigation did not find a connection between Manafort`s sharing of polling data and Russia`s meddling in the US election or that he otherwise coordinated with Russia.

Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI official, said he was nonetheless bothered by the interactions between Manafort and Kilimnik, especially their talking about battleground states.&nbsp;

"As a longtime counterintelligence investigator it makes the hair stand on the back of my neck," Montoya said.

The report detailed a meeting in December 2016 between Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Sergei Gorkov, the head of a Russian state-owned bank under US&nbsp;sanctions. Gorkov gave Kushner a painting and a bag of soil from the town in Belarus where Kushner`s family is from, the report says.

Mueller`s team said it could not resolve a conflict in the accounts of Kushner, who said the meeting was diplomatic in nature, and Gorkov, who said it was business related.

Kushner has said neither sanctions nor his business activities were discussed at the meeting. Kushner`s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on Mueller`s report.

The report also provided new details about a meeting that campaign advisers Donald Trump Jr., the president`s oldest son, Kushner and Manafort held with a Russian lawyer at New York`s Trump Tower in June 2016. The meeting was set up after the advisers were promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, Trump`s Democratic challenger for president.

Mueller`s team considered whether the advisers violated laws barring election contributions from foreigners. But, the report says, they ultimately decided there was not enough evidence to show they "wilfully" broke the law and they might have had problems proving the information offered on Clinton was really valuable.

When news of the Trump Tower meeting broke in July 2017, Trump Jr. issued a statement saying the meeting was set up to discuss adoption policy, not politics, before later admitting he had been expecting intelligence on Clinton.&nbsp;

Such interactions have broadly been referred to by Democratic congressional investigators as examples of possible "collusion". But because collusion is not a legal term, Mueller`s team examined the Trump Tower meeting and other contacts through the lens of federal conspiracy law.

Mueller said his investigation was unable to establish that such contacts with Russians met the bar of criminality which required that the contacts "amounted to an agreement to commit any substantive violation" of US laws, including those governing campaign finance and foreign agent registration.

Therefore, Mueller said his office "did not charge any individual associated with the Trump Campaign with conspiracy to commit a federal offence arising from Russia contacts."

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump`s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump`s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. Mueller said in his report released on Thursday that he found "numerous links" and that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from Russia`s effort to tilt the ballot in Trump`s favour. Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn`t amount to criminal behaviour or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump`s orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed. Trump and his allies, who derided the Mueller probe as a political "witch hunt", portrayed the report as vindication. "No collusion. No obstruction. For all the haters and the radical left Democrats, game over," Trump tweeted on Thursday. "The bottom line is the president is exonerated and the campaign is exonerated of collusion," said Michael Caputo, a former adviser to Trump`s campaign. Some legal experts and political strategists were more circumspect, saying the report confirmed the Russian government was attempting to help Trump with the election. "I think that`s a pretty extraordinary finding of historical significance, whether or not there`s a crime," said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor who is now a San Francisco-based lawyer. Many of the contacts in the report were already known. They included former national security adviser Michael Flynn`s conversations in late 2016 with Sergei Kislyak, Russia ambassador at the time, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort`s interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a political consultant who the FBI has determined has ties to Russian intelligence. But the report contained fresh details on the range of official and unofficial dealings Trump campaign advisers and supporters had with Russians before and after the 2016 election. For example, the report says that Manafort, shortly after he joined the campaign in the spring of 2016, directed his deputy to share internal polling data with Kilimnik with the understanding it would be passed on to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch known to have close ties to the Kremlin. Lawyers for Manafort did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kilimnik did not reply to an email seeking comment. A Washington-based attorney for Deripsaka said he could not comment. In a statement to Reuters in January, representatives for Deripaska said he has never had any communication with Kilimnik. The report also says that Manafort told Kilimnik in August 2017 about the campaign`s efforts to win the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Trump ended up winning three of those states in the November election. Mueller`s investigation did not find a connection between Manafort`s sharing of polling data and Russia`s meddling in the US election or that he otherwise coordinated with Russia. Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI official, said he was nonetheless bothered by the interactions between Manafort and Kilimnik, especially their talking about battleground states. "As a longtime counterintelligence investigator it makes the hair stand on the back of my neck," Montoya said. The report detailed a meeting in December 2016 between Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Sergei Gorkov, the head of a Russian state-owned bank under US sanctions. Gorkov gave Kushner a painting and a bag of soil from the town in Belarus where Kushner`s family is from, the report says. Mueller`s team said it could not resolve a conflict in the accounts of Kushner, who said the meeting was diplomatic in nature, and Gorkov, who said it was business related. Kushner has said neither sanctions nor his business activities were discussed at the meeting. Kushner`s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on Mueller`s report. The report also provided new details about a meeting that campaign advisers Donald Trump Jr., the president`s oldest son, Kushner and Manafort held with a Russian lawyer at New York`s Trump Tower in June 2016. The meeting was set up after the advisers were promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, Trump`s Democratic challenger for president. Mueller`s team considered whether the advisers violated laws barring election contributions from foreigners. But, the report says, they ultimately decided there was not enough evidence to show they "wilfully" broke the law and they might have had problems proving the information offered on Clinton was really valuable. When news of the Trump Tower meeting broke in July 2017, Trump Jr. issued a statement saying the meeting was set up to discuss adoption policy, not politics, before later admitting he had been expecting intelligence on Clinton. Such interactions have broadly been referred to by Democratic congressional investigators as examples of possible "collusion". But because collusion is not a legal term, Mueller`s team examined the Trump Tower meeting and other contacts through the lens of federal conspiracy law. Mueller said his investigation was unable to establish that such contacts with Russians met the bar of criminality which required that the contacts "amounted to an agreement to commit any substantive violation" of US laws, including those governing campaign finance and foreign agent registration. Therefore, Mueller said his office "did not charge any individual associated with the Trump Campaign with conspiracy to commit a federal offence arising from Russia contacts."

Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts

A timeline of the Mueller probe

Former Trump campaign chairman <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/paul-manafort-lied-during-interviews-with-prosecutors-robert-mueller-182331">Paul Manafort</a> could face a much longer prison sentence than expected after a Washington judge ruled Wednesday that he had broken his plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Federal district judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed with prosecutors that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-manafort-pardon-not-off-the-table-interview-180174">Manafort had "intentionally"</a> lied to investigators about his contacts with a suspected Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik in 2016 and 2017, despite having pledged to cooperate as part of his September plea agreement.

Jackson also ruled that Manafort had lied about a secretive payment he made to a law firm, and lied on another occasion when investigators queried him about a separate, still secret investigation related to the Mueller probe.

The ruling meant that Mueller no longer has to abide by the deal, in which Manafort agreed to plead guilty to two reduced conspiracy charges, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

It could also elevate whatever punishment arises from the 69-year-old's guilty verdict in a separate jury trial last year in Virginia.

Mueller's side is "no longer bound by its obligations under the plea agreement, including its promise to support a reduction" in Manafort's sentence, Jackson said.

Theoretically, that could mean Manafort is also vulnerable to new charges, though prosecutors have indicated they want to move quickly to sentencing and not spend more time on the case.

The breakdown of the deal set back what had been seen as a major success of the 21-month-old Mueller probe in turning Manafort into a possible key witness against President Donald Trump, his family and other top aides.

Manafort is one of seven former Trump campaign associates who have been charged by Mueller's team.

He was convicted in August in a Virginia court on eight charges of banking and tax fraud related to his work for Russia-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014.

He was separately charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offenses, which were consolidated into the two conspiracy charges in the plea bargain.

- 'Deep secrets' - 
The mostly secret arguments over the lying accusations in between December and February bared tantalizing hints at possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, the core of the Mueller investigation.

While he now faces spending possibly the rest of his life in prison, Mueller's team and analysts say Manafort may have lied to protect Trump in hopes of getting a pardon.

Telling the truth would have "negative consequences in terms of the other motive that Mr. Manafort could have, which is to at least augment his chances for a pardon," one of Mueller's prosecutors told the court.

"I think Paul Manafort is protecting deep, deep secrets that if he told them, would probably put himself and his family and the president, his best chance at a pardon, at risk," Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell told CNN Thursday.

In a November 28 interview with the New York Post, two days after prosecutors accused Manafort of breaking the plea deal, Trump left the possibility of a pardon dangling.

"It was never discussed, but I wouldn't take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?" he said.

"You know this flipping stuff is terrible," he added about Mueller's efforts to get people like Manafort to cooperate.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort could face a much longer prison sentence than expected after a Washington judge ruled Wednesday that he had broken his plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort could face a much longer prison sentence than expected after a Washington judge ruled Wednesday that he had broken his plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Federal district judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed with prosecutors that Manafort had "intentionally" lied to investigators about his contacts with a suspected Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik in 2016 and 2017, despite having pledged to cooperate as part of his September plea agreement. Jackson also ruled that Manafort had lied about a secretive payment he made to a law firm, and lied on another occasion when investigators queried him about a separate, still secret investigation related to the Mueller probe. The ruling meant that Mueller no longer has to abide by the deal, in which Manafort agreed to plead guilty to two reduced conspiracy charges, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. It could also elevate whatever punishment arises from the 69-year-old's guilty verdict in a separate jury trial last year in Virginia. Mueller's side is "no longer bound by its obligations under the plea agreement, including its promise to support a reduction" in Manafort's sentence, Jackson said. Theoretically, that could mean Manafort is also vulnerable to new charges, though prosecutors have indicated they want to move quickly to sentencing and not spend more time on the case. The breakdown of the deal set back what had been seen as a major success of the 21-month-old Mueller probe in turning Manafort into a possible key witness against President Donald Trump, his family and other top aides. Manafort is one of seven former Trump campaign associates who have been charged by Mueller's team. He was convicted in August in a Virginia court on eight charges of banking and tax fraud related to his work for Russia-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014. He was separately charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offenses, which were consolidated into the two conspiracy charges in the plea bargain. - 'Deep secrets' - The mostly secret arguments over the lying accusations in between December and February bared tantalizing hints at possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, the core of the Mueller investigation. While he now faces spending possibly the rest of his life in prison, Mueller's team and analysts say Manafort may have lied to protect Trump in hopes of getting a pardon. Telling the truth would have "negative consequences in terms of the other motive that Mr. Manafort could have, which is to at least augment his chances for a pardon," one of Mueller's prosecutors told the court. "I think Paul Manafort is protecting deep, deep secrets that if he told them, would probably put himself and his family and the president, his best chance at a pardon, at risk," Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell told CNN Thursday. In a November 28 interview with the New York Post, two days after prosecutors accused Manafort of breaking the plea deal, Trump left the possibility of a pardon dangling. "It was never discussed, but I wouldn't take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?" he said. "You know this flipping stuff is terrible," he added about Mueller's efforts to get people like Manafort to cooperate.

Ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort lied 'intentionally' to investigators on suspected Russian operative: US judge