By Steve Neavling
Special counsel Robert Mueller considered charging Donald Trump Jr. and GOP operative Roger Stone with crimes but ultimately declined, according to a newly unredacted version of the Mueller report.
The new version of the report, obtained by BuzzFeed News, reveals new details about the report that produced multiple convictions against Trump associates.
Mueller opted not to charge Trump Jr. with a misdemeanor count of computer intrusion for using a password obtained from Wikileaks to access a website called “putintrump.org” before the 2016 election.
Mueller also declined to charge Stone with crimes in connection to the hack of the Democratic National Committee.
According to the report, Mueller said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Trump Jr., who was able to gain access to the website.
“Given that Trump Jr. did not himself initiate the plan to access the website or guess the password, the absence of evidence that his acts caused any damage to the website or obtained valuable information, the technical nature of the violation, and the minimal punishment that a misdemeanor conviction could be expected to carry in these circumstances, the Office decided against pursuing charges,” the report states.
The evidence against Stone, who was pardoned by Trump after being found guilt of lying to congressional investigators and tampering with evidence, “was not sufficient” to warrant charges, according to the report.
“The absence of evidence as to knowledge, in short, would both hinder the government’s ability to prove conspiracy liability and also potentially provide a First Amendment defense,” the report states. “Therefore, the Office did not seek charges against WikiLeaks, Assange, or Stone for participating in the computer-intrusion conspiracy.”
