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Posted: 2019-04-18T22:21:10Z | Updated: 2019-07-23T17:28:35Z

Robert Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee and House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, when the former special counsel will likely face questions about whether President Donald Trump made efforts to obstruct justice.

Muellers report , released in April, detailed 10 incidents that the special counsels office looked at to see if Trump obstructed justice.

The Presidents efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests, Muellers report states.

Obstruction of justice is a serious charge that could be grounds for impeachment . It was part of the articles of impeachment against presidents Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon.

Here is a rundown of the 10 episodes of potential obstruction mentioned in the Mueller report:

1. Trump suggested letting Flynn go.

In December 2016, during the transition, Michael Flynn , who would become national security adviser, had two calls with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in which they discussed newly imposed U.S. sanctions on Russia. Flynn later lied to administration officials and the FBI about the calls, which got him fired from the White House and later resulted in him pleading guilty to lying to investigators.

On Jan. 27, 2017, Trump had a private dinner with then-FBI Director James Comey in which he asked for Comeys loyalty. In a private conversation the next day, Trump told Comey, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go, according to Muellers redacted report.

Trump later instructed K.T. McFarland, then the deputy national security adviser, to contact Flynn, telling him the President felt bad for him and that he should stay strong, the report states. Muellers redacted report discusses whether Trumps actions amount to obstruction of justice but does not make a definitive pronouncement.

2. Trump pushed Sessions to reverse his recusal from the Russia probe.

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in early 2017 after reports that he had twice met with Ambassador Kislyak in 2016. Sessions recusal infuriated Trump, who privately asked the attorney general to reverse his decision. After Comey confirmed the existence of the Russia investigation in March 2017, the redacted report states Trump contacted Comey and other intelligence agency leaders and asked them to push back publicly on suggestions the president was connected to Russian meddling.

The special counsel found that the evidence does not establish that the President asked or directed intelligence agency leaders to stop or interfere with the FBIs Russia investigation in this specific case. But the redacted report states the incident helps illuminate Trumps motivations behind other actions with regard to the investigation and notes that he complained to advisors that if people thought Russia helped him with the election, it would detract from what he had accomplished.

3. Trump fired Comey.

Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017, and acknowledged that he intended to fire Comey regardless of the DOJ recommendation and was thinking of the Russia investigation when he made the decision, according to the redacted report. Trump was angered that Comey had not publicly stated that Trump wasnt under investigation and worried the investigation would limit what he could do while in office.

I just fired the head of the F.B.I., Trump told Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after Comeys firing, according to the report. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. Thats taken off ..... Im not under investigation.

There is evidence that Trumps firing of Comey was an attempt to protect himself from an investigation into his campaign, according to the redacted report. But it also states that the evidence does not establish that the termination of Comey was designed to cover up a conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and Russia.

4. Trump tried to get rid of Mueller.

After special counsel Robert Mueller took his post in May 2017, Trump fumed to senior advisers that Mueller had conflicts of interest but was told that his criticisms had no grounds and were ridiculous. Nevertheless, Trump twice called White House Counsel Don McGahn to tell him that he wanted Mueller removed due to those perceived conflicts of interest the latter time more forcefully directing McGahn to tell Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire him.

McGahn recalled the President telling him Mueller has to go and Call me back when you do it. McGahn understood the President to be saying that the Special Counsel had to be removed by Rosenstein, the redacted report states.

McGahn decided that he would not carry out the presidents order and instead informed White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that he intended to resign, telling Priebus that the President had asked him to do crazy shit. Although McGahn ultimately did not resign and Trump did not follow up with him again, the redacted report discusses whether or not Trumps actions were attempts to obstruct justice.

5. Trump tried to limit the special counsels investigation.

Days after Trump told McGahn to remove Mueller, he called former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski into the Oval Office for a private meeting. In the meeting, Trump dictated a speech for Sessions to give and then instructed Lewandowski to give it to the then-attorney general.

Trump wanted Sessions to state that Trump had been treated unfairly and that the special counsels investigation would be limited only to Russian interference in future elections rather than looking into past conduct. Trumps speech for Sessions also featured the line [Trump] didnt do anything wrong except he ran the greatest campaign in American history, according to the report.

Muellers redacted report discusses whether Trumps attempt to curtail the probe constituted obstruction of justice, in one section finding that there is substantial evidence the presidents attempt was intended to prevent further investigative scrutiny of the Presidents and his campaigns conduct.

6. Trump tried to prevent the public disclosure of evidence.

Trump made numerous attempts to prevent emails surrounding a June 9, 2016, meeting between his son Donald Trump Jr. , son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya from becoming public. The meeting stemmed from music promoter Rob Goldstone telling Trump Jr. that he could connect the campaign with Russian nationals who could offer dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton s campaign, to which Trump Jr. responded: if its what you say I love it.

President Trump directed aides to not publicly disclose the emails, according to the redacted report, and also directed his sons false statement to The New York Times that claimed the meeting was about adoptions. Although there is a lot of evidence that Trump tried to block information about the meeting from the public and press, the special counsel notes that the evidence does not establish that the President took steps to prevent the emails or other information about the June 9 meeting from being provided to Congress or the Special Counsel.

7. Trump tried to get the attorney general to take over the investigation.

Trump continued to be furious at Sessions for his recusal from the Mueller probe and at some point called him at home to ask that he reverse his decision, according to Sessions. The president said he wanted Sessions to take back his recusal so that he could direct the attorney general to investigate and prosecute Hillary Clinton. Trump repeatedly and publicly criticized Sessions for recusing himself over the following months.

Trump floated possible replacements for Sessions when talking with staff and brought up that a new attorney general would directly oversee the special counsel.

There is evidence that at least one purpose of the Presidents conduct toward Sessions was to have Sessions assume control over the Russia investigation and supervise it in a way that would restrict its scope, the redacted report states.

8. Trump tried to get McGahn to lie about attempts to remove Mueller.

After The New York Times reported on Jan. 25, 2018, that Trump had told McGahn to get rid of Mueller, Trump tried to get McGahn to deny that the incident ever took place. Trump first instructed aides to relay the message to McGahn, but after the White House counsel refused to lie about the conversation, Trump held a meeting with him in the Oval Office where the president insisted that McGahn deny he was ever told to fire Mueller. McGahn still refused, and Trump additionally asked why McGahn had told the special counsels office about the incident.

The redacted report presents evidence of Trumps repeated attempts to get McGahn to change his story and states there is substantial evidence that the president tried to influence McGahns account in order to deflect or prevent further scrutiny of the Presidents conduct towards the investigation.

9. Trump interfered with prosecutions.

Trumps actions toward the special counsels witnesses is another point of possible obstruction, with the redacted report looking at his conduct concerning Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a third individual whose name is redacted possibly longtime adviser Roger Stone .

While the special counsel was prosecuting Manafort, Trump repeatedly stated that his former campaign chair was being treated unfairly and floated the possibility of a pardon. Both Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani publicly defended Manafort and talked about presidential pardon power. Trump engaged in similar actions with regard to Flynn, and his personal counsel left a voicemail on Flynns lawyers answering machine asking for some kind of heads up if youve gone on to make a deal with ... the government.

The special counsels analysis mentions that Trumps actions had the potential to sway Manafort, Flynn and jury members in their prosecution. This was especially the case with Manafort, the special counsel argues.

Evidence concerning the Presidents conduct towards Manafort indicates that the President intended to encourage Manafort to not cooperate with the government, the redacted report states.

10. Trump tried to influence Michael Cohen.

Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen began cooperating with the special counsels office in July 2018 and told investigators that the president had repeatedly lied about the extent of a proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow. Cohen also admitted to falsely telling Congress that he briefed Trump on the project only three times, in an attempt to distance the president from Russia.

After the FBI raided Cohens home and office in April 2018 in relation to the special counsels investigation, Cohen says he began discussing pardons with the presidents personal counsel and believed that if he stayed on message, he would get a pardon or the President would do something else to make the investigation end, the redacted report states. The president also tweeted that Cohen would not flip after the raid.

The Mueller investigation looked at whether Trump aided or participated in Cohens false statements to Congress and whether Trump tried to prevent Cohen from being truthful with the government. The special counsel found the evidence available to us does not establish that the President directed or aided Cohens false testimony, even if there is evidence that the president knew Cohen was lying. Regarding the presidents positive backing of Cohen before turning on him and calling him a rat, the special counsels office found that there is evidence to infer that Trump wanted Cohen to not cooperate with prosecutors and then sought to discredit him once he began aiding the investigation.