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Here’s what we know so far about Robert Mueller’s report
Donald Trump’s campaign didn’t collude with Russia, the special counsel found – but he wouldn’t go so far as to rule out possible obstruction of justice by the U.S. President. Those are the key takeaways from a summary of the findings issued by Attorney-General William Barr.
On Russia, Barr said Mueller wrote: “The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or co-ordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” This answers a key question of the 2016 campaign, while also removing any immediate legal jeopardy for Trump and undercutting the chance of impeachment.
On obstruction, Mueller wrote: “While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” But Mueller only listed evidence for and against an obstruction charge without saying whether one is warranted. That left Barr to state that Trump’s actions didn’t constitute obstruction, suggesting that the President couldn’t be charged because there was no underlying crime that he was trying to cover up.
What we don’t know: We still only have a summary of the report; Barr said he intends to release as much of it as possible but has to examine the legalities around doing so.
What comes next: Democrats are already accusing Barr, who was appointed by Trump, of bias. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr’s letter “raises as many questions as it answers” and called for the full report to be made public. And the Democratic head of the judiciary committee said he was prepared to subpoena Mueller or others to get answers if Barr doesn’t release the report.
Trump’s reaction: “There was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction. None whatsoever,” Trump said, adding that “This was an illegal takedown that failed.”
The view from our opinion section
Jared Yates Sexton, author and professor at Georgia Southern University: “I truly hope all of this is a witch hunt. I hope the President isn’t a compromised crook and I hope Russia hasn’t totally poisoned the American political process. Finding that out would be a blessing any of Trump’s critics would welcome. But Sunday’s developments didn’t put those worries to rest.”
Lawrence Martin: “Donald Trump has won his greatest moment of vindication since his election victory in the 2016 election. The Mueller report summary released on Sunday was an I-told-you-so moment for him, an eat-crow day for the Democrats.” (for subscribers)
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Racism in Thunder Bay: What’s happening in the wake of damning reports
Racism at an “institutional level” within the police force. A call to reopen nine “flawed” sudden-death investigations. A police board failing to protect Indigenous people from hate crimes.
Those were just some of the findings contained within a pair of reports released last December calling for sweeping reforms in Thunder Bay, a city grappling with racism against Indigenous people. The Globe has opened up a bureau in Thunder Bay to see the problems firsthand, and ask residents, police and politicians what they’re doing to fix them. Go here to read our initial report on where things stand.
A key First Nations leader is urging municipal leaders, including the mayor, to offer a clear commitment to address the problem. “It is very challenging to fight racism if the leadership of the municipality, first of all, doesn’t want to take part in fighting it,” said Alvin Fiddler, the Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. Earlier this year, Mayor Bill Mauro pushed back on a $1.1-million funding request from the city’s police chief to help enact the recommendations from the December review.
Did Trudeau aides have inside knowledge of SNC prosecution? The PMO won’t say
The Prime Minister’s Office will neither confirm nor deny Jody Wilson-Raybould’s assertion that senior Trudeau advisers told her chief of staff about an apparent internal dispute between the director of public prosecutions and one of the federal prosecutors handling the SNC-Lavalin case. (for subscribers)
“PMO would never have had any sort of contact with the Public Prosecution Service,” Trudeau’s communications director Cameron Ahmad said. “That is really all I can say.” Asked if the information came from SNC-Lavalin, Ahmad said: “I don’t know.”
In her testimony before the justice committee, Wilson-Raybould described a September conversation where PMO staff “said they understand that the individual Crown prosecutor wants to negotiate an agreement, but the director does not.”
The former attorney-general plans to provide follow-up written testimony this week to show there was interference in the SNC affair. On Friday, Trudeau chalked up the dispute with Wilson-Raybould to a “pretty serious difference of opinion.”
Meanwhile, a key figure in Canada’s business community says SNC is one of the few Canadian firms that stands out on the global stage and that Ottawa should ensure it stays that way. “Shall we try as Canadians to save a company like this? Yes. Big time,” said Paul Tellier, who served as privy council clerk under Brian Mulroney.
At the same time, he criticized what he described as a “centralization of power” in the PMO that began with the Harper government. “If there is a perception that the buck stops there, corporate Canada will be calling on the Prime Minister’s Office,” Tellier said. (for subscribers)
Critics are questioning the results of a federal questionnaire on gun control
More than 75 per cent of the responses opposed new limits on access to handguns and assault weapons – but one firearm-rights advocate says he alone submitted between 25,000 and 35,000 of those using automation software.
There were 134,917 responses to the survey, which was launched as part of the Liberal government’s consultations on guns after last year’s Danforth shooting in Toronto that left two dead and 13 injured.
Besides manipulation of results, critics also raised concerns about the ambiguity of the questions and said the findings don’t square with more scientific polls.
As Minister Bill Blair vows to soon release a report on gun-law sentiment, New Zealand just announced sweeping bans on semi-automatics in the wake of deadly mosque shootings in Christchurch.
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ALSO IN THE NEWS
Hundreds had to be rescued by helicopter when a cruise ship got caught in a storm off Norway’s frigid western coast over the weekend. Passengers described waves crashing through the vessel’s glass doors, sweeping people back and forth across the floor. Twenty people were injured, with questions now being raised about why the captain chose to sail through rough waters during a storm forecast by meteorologists.
An inquest begins today into the death of the Radiohead drum technician who died when the stage collapsed prior to the band’s Toronto show in 2012. While tour promoter Live Nation as well as the contractor and engineer were initially charged over the incident, a judge stayed the case after it took too long to reach trial.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks mixed
World stocks hit a 12-day trough on Monday as fears for economic growth sent investors dashing for safe-haven assets, but the selloff lost some momentum after better-than-expected data from Germany. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 3 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite each shed about 2 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was down marginally by about 6:40 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 up by between 0.1 and 0.2 per cent. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was at about 74.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Did the truck driver in the Humboldt crash deserve his eight-year sentence?
Lisa Kerr: “The number of victims in Jaskirat Sidhu’s case makes it tragically unique. For that reason, many expected to see a sentence at the high end of the typical range of 14 months to four years for this manner of dangerous driving. The question is whether the highly publicized and terrible harms in this case should attract a punishment so far beyond what other dangerous but sober drivers have received for similar conduct.” Lisa Kerr is an assistant law professor at Queen’s University where she teaches criminal law, sentencing and prison law.
Why humans ignore the slow-motion catastrophes all around them
Globe editorial: “It takes nothing away from the appalling fate of the Max 8 victims to note that, every year, thousands of people around the world die in less dramatic but equally avoidable ways. The response to the tragedy in Ethiopia has been spot on, but it has also highlighted the need to act just as urgently, and make similar tradeoffs, when tackling deadly catastrophes that move slower – or that we’ve come to view as normal.”
The debate in sports over the definition of womanhood is paternalistic – and hypocritical
Ann Peel: “[South African runner] Caster Semenya is a great, clean, female athlete, and as a reward for being too damn good at the sport she loves, she has endured highly invasive questions about her body, her genetic composition and her place in the sport. No one, meanwhile, muses about whether some physical anomaly disqualifies great male athletes such as Usain Bolt; we celebrate his achievements and his charming flair. But we can’t seem to celebrate the transcendent female athlete, especially when that athlete is a black woman.” Ann Peel founded Athletes CAN, was the vice-chair of Athletics Canada, and the first executive director of Right to Play.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(David Parkins/The Globe and Mail)TGAM
LIVING BETTER
How your office job is affecting your metabolism
Four days of prolonged sitting induces a state called “exercise resistance,” according to a new study. The findings add to evidence that indicates those who sit the most benefit the least from a given amount of exercise. The bottom line? Try to stay at least minimally active even during busy weeks, so you can ensure you maximize the benefits of a workout.
MOMENT IN TIME
Computers in the newsroom, 1979
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. In March, we’re looking back at The Globe through the ages.
(Jack Dobson/The Globe and Mail)Jack Dobson/The Globe and Mail
It’s February, 1979, and The Globe has taken a bold step into the computer age. This image, by long-time Globe photographer Jack Dobson, reveals a newsroom now devoid of typewriters, as editors settle in before their fancy new Computek terminals to bring that day’s stories to a brilliant shine. These terminals are cutting-edge: Displaying green lettering on black screens, they are linked via coaxial cable to a series of mini computers in the basement – with every four terminals sharing a robust 16K of RAM between them. Installing them had been a huge job. The fledgling IT department needed to rewire almost the entirety of the Globe headquarters, but all this work will prove to be worthwhile, as computers accelerate the writing and editing workflow, and also banish tedious ribbon replacement and whiting out of errors. – Ken Carriere
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