Project Resources

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ACS-CREW analyses, event videos, and key documents to to promote informed public evaluation of the investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others into Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters.

NEW: Stark Contrasts Between Mueller Report and AG Barr's Summary

Stark Contrasts Between the Mueller Report and Attorney General Barr’s Summary

ACS-CREW Reports

Background and Context for Mueller Indictment from ACS-CREW Presidential Investigation Education Project

The Smear Campaign Against Mueller: Debunking the Nunes Memo and the Other Attacks on the Russia Investigation - Noah Bookbinder, Norman Eisen, Caroline Fredrickson, and Kristin Amerling examine the facts and law relating to seven major allegations regarding the conduct of the Russia investigation that collectively amount to one of the most sustained smear campaigns against honest government officials since Senator Joe McCarthy’s attacks of the 1950’s. The authors explain why (1) Mueller does not have conflicts of interest that disqualify him from being special counsel; (2) Mueller’s investigative team does not face conflicts of interest; (3) No DOJ employee actions have justified removal of Mueller; (4) Trump transition materials accessed by the Special Counsel likely do not raise privilege concerns; (5) the Mueller inquiry does not turn on opposition research funded by the Clinton campaign; (6) Representative Devin Nunes’s memo claiming that the FBI improperly obtained a warrant to conduct surveillance on Trump campaign officials lacks credibility; and (7) an additional special counsel is not warranted under applicable law. Although this inquiry is still unfolding and any assessment is necessarily preliminary, the report concludes that based on what is publicly known, the Special Counsel has conducted an inquiry that fully complies with relevant laws, rules, and guidelines – and that is wholly consistent with Mueller’s reputation for playing by the book. (January 31, 2018)

Why President Trump Can't Pardon His Way Out of the Special Counsel and Cohen Investigations - Noah Bookbinder, Norm Eisen, Caroline Fredrickson, and Conor Shaw detail why the pardon strategy will not work. In the first three sections, we focus on the exposure to possible state charges in New York of three representative individuals: Paul Manafort, a defendant in two pending cases; his deputy Rick Gates, a cooperating witness who has pled guilty; and Michael Cohen, the as-yet unindicted focus of a separate investigation. (May 10, 2018)

Evidentiary Privileges Can Do Little to Block Trump-Related Investigations - Norm Eisen and Andrew Wright examine privilege doctrines raised by witnesses in the congressional and criminal investigations of President Trump and his associates—including executive privilege, attorney-client privilege, and the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. (June 29, 2018)

The Implications for the Mueller Investigation of Confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh- Professor Neil Kinkopf examines the consequences that confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Associate Justice of the United States, would have for the ongoing investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential election. Because Judge Kavanaugh is an ardent proponent of the Unitary Executive Theory, the implications of Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation are reasonably clear: the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh would significantly undermine the ability of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, or any other authority, to conduct a credible, independent investigation of the President or the President’s campaign. This paper begins by setting forth the meaning of the Unitary Executive Theory of presidential power as well as Judge Kavanaugh’s advocacy of the theory. The paper then examines a number of the specific ramifications of this theory for the Mueller probe. (August 23, 2018)