WASHINGTON: US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has complained to the US Attorney-General over his characterisation of the Russia probe that allowed US President Donald Trump to declare himself cleared of obstruction of justice, US media reported on Tuesday. Mr Trump cast himself as fully exonerated after Attorney-General Bill Barr delivered a four-page memo to Congress on March 24 that he called a summary of the two-year probe's key findings, telling lawmakers the evidence was insufficient to support obstruction charges. The release of a redacted version of the full 448-page report on April 18 however, revealed Mr Mueller had detailed numerous attempts by Mr Trump to thwart the investigation. The Washington Post said Mr Mueller's letter to Mr Barr three days later complained his memo "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this office's work and conclusions". "There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation," Mr Mueller … [Read more...] about Mueller criticises Barr’s depiction of Russia probe
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News Mueller complained to Barr about his summary of Russia probe -Washington Post
WASHINGTON - Special Counsel Robert Mueller complained in a letter to Attorney General William Barr that his four-page summary of Mueller's Russia report "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the investigation's conclusions, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The Post said it reviewed a copy of Mueller's letter, which was written in late March after Barr released a summary on March 24 that said Mueller had found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Hints, but no proof of crime, in Mueller's hunt for a Trump-Russia conspiracy Barr also said in the summary that Mueller had not reached a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had found the evidence insufficient to support such a charge. US attorney general says Mueller report finds ‘no collusion’ Barr's four-page summary was released more than three weeks before a redacted version of … [Read more...] about News Mueller complained to Barr about his summary of Russia probe -Washington Post
Washington tells Russia to stop playing games over detained ex-US marine
MOSCOW: The United States told Russia on Tuesday (Apr 30) to stop playing games over a detained former US marine accused of espionage and said it feared his long isolation increased the risk of Moscow trying to extract a forced confession.The comments from the US Embassy in Moscow were the sharpest yet from Washington in the case of Paul Whelan, who was detained in a Moscow hotel room on Dec 28 and accused of espionage, a charge he denies.Whelan, 49, holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, and if found guilty could be imprisoned for up to 20 years.His case has dragged already dire US-Russia relations lower, as has that of another American, prominent investor Michael Calvey, who is under house arrest while being investigated on embezzlement charges.US Ambassador Jon Huntsman visited Whelan in a Moscow jail on Tuesday. Following this Andrea Kalan, a spokeswoman for the embassy, said the situation surrounding Whelan was beyond a joke."Today marks 124 days … [Read more...] about Washington tells Russia to stop playing games over detained ex-US marine
How Russia contaminated US$2.7 billion of oil exports to Europe
MOSCOW/LONDON: It was a quiet Easter holiday at the offices of major European oil companies and refiners when an email in Russian landed. "What the hell does it say?" one manager recalled thinking as he sent it to his Moscow office for translation.He was in for a shock.The letter was from the state pipeline company in Belarus, Gomeltransneft, telling oil refiners and pipeline operators in Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic that the crude heading toward them from Russia down the 5,500 km (3,400 mile) Druzhba pipeline network was heavily contaminated."We ask you to immediately take all measures to avoid potential losses and other negative consequences," said the Gomeltransneft letter dated April 19 and seen by Reuters.For the next 10 days, refiners and oil firms in Europe cut purchases of Russian oil by up to a million barrels a day - or 10 percent of European oil imports - in a major disruption to supply from the world's second largest oil exporter.The disruption … [Read more...] about How Russia contaminated US$2.7 billion of oil exports to Europe
Study says Russia holding 236 political prisoners
WASHINGTON: Russia is holding 236 political prisoners, a significant increase over the past few years as President Vladimir Putin goes on the offensive against perceived threats, a study backed by human rights advocates said Monday (Apr 29).The number compares with 46 political prisoners on a February 2015 list by Memorial, the veteran Russian civil society movement that supported the latest study.The report, led by Perseus Strategies, a Washington-based law firm focused on human rights, listed 236 people it identified as political prisoners, although it said the number was likely "much higher" when including cases that could not be rigorously researched.The study said Russia has been able to jail opponents through its "notoriously vague" prohibitions, such as bans on hooliganism and insulting religious feeling.Canada's former justice minister Irwin Cotler - now chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, one of the groups that commissioned the study - said Russia has seen a … [Read more...] about Study says Russia holding 236 political prisoners