Politics

Four Reports, One Election

Everything we know about Russian interference in 2016, and the FBI’s flawed investigation

Image by author

The 2016 presidential election was not normal. That’s true in several ways, but perhaps most important, both major party candidates were under active investigation by the FBI. At the time, it was the investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server that dominated the news since it was public knowledge. However, since then it’s been issues surrounding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election that have been the focus of four major government reports.

The Investigations

The Justice department appointed Robert Mueller in May 2017, just months after President Trump took office. They tasked him with investigating Russian interference, the possible involvement of Trump in that interference, and whether Trump obstructed justice in suppressing the FBI’s investigation. Running concurrent to the Mueller investigation was the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence which conducted a bi-partisan investigation into pretty much all aspects of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Department of Justice, Inspector General (IG) Report focused on potential issues with the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign. Finally, Special Counsel John…