Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

1 Year In, Trump Claims the Mueller Probe Is a 'Witch Hunt,' But CNN Has the Receipts

1 Year In, Trump Claims the Mueller Probe Is a 'Witch Hunt,' But CNN Has the Receipts
(Photos by Win McNamee and Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Facts are stubborn things.

Last year, the United States Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions decided to conduct a more thorough investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and any ties to the campaign of President Donald Trump. This move came after investigations led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and in the House and Senate and the high profile firing of the FBI director, James Comey, by the president.

Trump administration member AG Sessions recused himself from the investigation, turning it over to another Trump appointee, Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein decided to appoint former FBI director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel exactly one year ago today. All three men are lifelong Republicans.


Trump mocked and  ridiculed the investigation from the beginning and continues to do so, referring to it as a "witch hunt" or a "hoax" perpetrated by Democrats. The president marked the anniversary of Mueller's appointment with another series of mocking tweets.

The president made the same claim—greatest witch hunt in American history—one day after the special counsel appointment occurred.

But is it really a witch hunt or a hoax? Has the investigation bore no fruit? CNN doesn't think so and they've been kind enough to break it down, by the numbers, for us all.

19 is the number of individuals with charges brought against them because of the investigation. 3 companies also were subject to charges.

Among those charged? 1 White House adviser, 3 Trump campaign aides, 1 prominent Russian oligarch, and 12 internet trolls with ties to Putin's Kremlin.

75 is the number of criminal charges they face. Charges encompass bank fraud and tax violations, lying to FBI investigators, identity fraud and conspiracy against the United States.

5 defendants plead guilty. They include Trump campaign aide Rick Gates and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Both chose to cooperate with Mueller's investigation.

1 person who plead guilty, Alex van der Zwaan, guilty of lying to the special counsel, is already serving a prison sentence for the crime.

1 person, Paul Manafort, chose to fight the Justice Department's charges in court. Manafort was chairman of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.

Meanwhile, at least 40 people voluntarily spoke to the Office of the Special Counsel and at least 7 went before a grand jury.

Despite the mounting numbers of charges and indictments, the first occurring 5 months into the probe, Trump has used the phrase "witch hunt" to refer to the Russia investigation 39 times. Twitter users provided some feedback for him about that claim.

More from People/donald-trump

Sabrina Carpenter and Madonna at Coachella
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella

Madonna Pleads For Safe Return Of Vintage Clothes From Her Sabrina Carpenter Coachella Performance After They Go Missing

Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's performance at the second weekend of Coachella is pretty much THE pop culture event of the moment, but it ended on something of a low note for the Queen of Pop.

Madonna joined Carpenter onstage to celebrate both the 20th anniversary of her 2006 performance at Coachella to promote Confessions On A Dance Floor, and the forthcoming release of its sequel, Confessions II.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alex Jones and

Alex Jones Has Shirtless Meltdown After 'The Onion' Reaches Deal To Take Over 'InfoWars': 'They're Body Snatchers!'

On Monday, InfoWars founder Alex Jones flipped out, crashing an X livestream shirtless, in reaction to The Onion's bid to license his website and all associated branding potentially moving forward.

In November 2024, Global Tetrahedron, parent company of The Onion, attempted to buy InfoWars through a bankruptcy auction, but the move was blocked by the judge overseeing sales of Jones' property.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Tim Cook
Alex Wong/Getty Images; John Nacion/FilmMagic

Trump Just Shared A Truly Unhinged Tribute To Tim Cook After He Announced He's Stepping Down As Apple CEO—And, Hoo Boy

President Donald Trump shared an unhinged tribute to Apple CEO Tim Cook—whom he again referred to as "Tim Apple"—following Cook's announcement that Apple will have a new leader starting in September, openly reminiscing about all the times Cook would call him to "kiss my ass."

Cook took over from Steve Jobs and reshaped Apple by leaning on his operations expertise. He streamlined and expanded global supply chains, introduced Apple-designed chips, and pushed the company beyond hardware into services, launching subscription offerings like Apple News, Apple TV+, and Apple Pay, which have since become major revenue drivers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Donald Trump
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Alex Brandon/Pool/Getty Images

AOC Offers Hilarious Take On Why Trump's Golfing Amid Iran War Might Actually Be A Good Thing

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke frankly with MeidasTouch Network's Pablo Menriquez when asked about President Donald Trump's second-term golfing habits, pointing out why Americans might actually want him on the "golf course more than you want him in the Oval Office."

She said it was “awful” that Trump was golfing while the U.S. is at war with Iran and facing rising prices, arguing he should be focused on his responsibilities instead.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahlex Jones; Donald Trump
@RealAlexJones/X; Allison Robbert/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Alex Jones Claims Trump Has A 'Deal' With The 'Deep State' To Throw The Midterms—And MAGA Is Crashing Out Hard

Former friend of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, grifter, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones widened the gap between himself and the MAGA movement he helped create back in 2015.

In the caption for his five-minute video posted to X on Friday, Jones wrote:

Keep ReadingShow less