Mueller Report on Ray Rice Investigation Released: Latest Details, Reaction

Former FBI director Robert Mueller has released his independent report about the investigation of the Ray Rice incident from February, which involved an assault of his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, in an Atlantic City casino elevator.

The Mueller Report, which can be found here, notes that "despite extensive investigation, we have found no evidence that anyone at the League received or viewed the in-elevator video prior to its public release" and that there was "no evidence of a woman at the League acknowledging receipt of that video in a voicemail message left on April 9, 2014."

However, the report goes on to say that the NFL's past stance of deferring to law enforcement may have caused additional problems for the League:

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With respect to the second question, we have identified the investigative steps that the League took in the wake of the Rice incident, steps that reflect the League’s longstanding practice of deferring to law enforcement—a practice that can foster an environment in which it is less important to understand precisely what a player did than to understand how and when the criminal justice system addresses the event. In this case, that deference led to deficiencies in the League’s collection and analysis of information during its investigation. We conclude that there was substantial information about the incident that should have put the League on notice of a need to undertake a more thorough investigation to obtain available evidence of precisely what occurred inside the elevator. Had the League done so, it may have uncovered additional information about the incident, possibly including the in-elevator video prior to its public release.

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Mike Freeman obtained a copy of the letter commissioner Roger Goodell sent to NFL employees regarding the report:

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As you know, last September we engaged former FBI Director Robert Mueller to conduct an independent investigation into the report that our office had received video of Ray Rice striking his then-fiancé inside an elevator at an Atlantic City hotel before it became public on September 8.

Earlier today, Director Mueller issued his report, which is available at http://robertmuellerreport.com/muellerfinalreport.pdf I encourage everyone to read the report at your convenience, but I want to highlight a few points.

First, Director Mueller found no evidence that any video had been sent to anyone at the NFL; that anyone at the league office had seen video from inside the elevator before it became public; or that anyone at the league placed a call to acknowledge receiving a copy of any video. These findings confirm what I have always believed to be true. The report states:

“[D]espite extensive investigation, we have found no evidence that anyone at the League received or viewed the in-elevator video prior to its public release. Likewise, we have found no evidence of a woman at the League acknowledging receipt of that video in a voicemail message left on April 9, 2014.”

Beyond simply the absence of any evidence to support the notion that the video was viewed here before it became public, the investigation uncovered evidence contradicting the claim that anybody in our office had received or viewed the video before it became public. “To the contrary,” the report states, “our document review uncovered evidence inconsistent with a conclusion that senior League officials had seen the in-elevator video, either during March or April or at any time prior to September 8.”

Second, the investigation conducted by Director Mueller was extremely thorough and detailed. As the report states, he and his team collected more than 3 million documents, including emails, texts, and documents retained on computers, interviewed more than 200 individuals, some on multiple occasions, and including every woman working in the league office on April 9 (the date on which the call acknowledging receipt of the video was supposedly placed), conducted forensic examinations of hundreds of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices, verified the recipient of telephone calls made from the league office on April 9, and analyzed mailroom records as part of the investigation. In Director Mueller’s words: “We undertook exhaustive efforts to investigate allegations that the League had received the in-elevator video prior to September 2014 and that a woman at the League called the Associated Press source (“the AP source”) on April 9 to acknowledge receipt of the video.”

 Third, the report was entirely independent. Nobody in this office had any input into the report and nobody saw the report before today. The report is entirely the work of Director Mueller and his colleagues. As Director Mueller stated in the report:

 “[T]his investigation was completely independent from the League. . . . [T]he League agreed not to conduct, direct, oversee, or otherwise manage or influence the investigation or its results. The League did not impose any limits on access to information, nor did it require or prohibit any specific investigative steps. In fact, I had the sole discretion to employ investigative resources, techniques, and processes appropriate to complete the investigation and the report.”

“The League did not impose a deadline for completion of the investigation or the issuance of this report. Instead, we were urged to be thorough and to take as much time as was needed to be complete.”

Fourth, and consistent with the independence of the investigation, Director Mueller and his staff have been unequivocal in expressing their appreciation for the cooperation and support that they have received from each of you. I am deeply grateful for the candid and complete responses from our staff, and for the time and effort put into responding to Director Mueller’s requests.

Fifth, Director Mueller has made a series of observations regarding our prior investigative process, and has included a number of recommendations regarding our investigatory procedures going forward. In particular, he has identified the limitations or our former policy of relying almost entirely on law enforcement agencies in personal conduct matters. We have similarly recognized the deficiencies of this kind of process and as the report notes, many of the concerns were addressed as part of our own revisions to the Personal Conduct Policy that were made last month. Along with members of the league’s new Conduct Committee, I intend promptly to address the additional recommendations made in the report. 

Again, my thanks to each of you for your cooperation with Director Mueller, but more important, for your commitment to the game, for your resilience, and for your support. I could not be more proud of you or feel more honored to work with such an outstanding group of colleagues. While this investigation has now concluded, our focus on the underlying issues and our commitment to positive change remain as strong as ever. We have all learned a great deal in the past months and expect to be judged by how we lead going forward on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. I believe that the last six months have made us a stronger and better organization and look forward to working with all of you to make a difference in the years ahead.

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Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper provides Goodell's statement on the findings:

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We are grateful to Director Mueller for conducting an extremely thorough and detailed investigation, and we accept his findings and recommendations. I want to express my appreciation to John Mara and Art Rooney for their leadership. Director Mueller made a series of very constructive observations and recommendations regarding our prior investigatory procedures. We have already addressed many of these points in the revisions to the Personal Conduct Policy that were announced last month. I look forward to reviewing these recommendations with the league’s new Conduct Committee chaired by Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill.

While this investigation has now concluded, our focus on the underlying issues and our commitment to positive change remain as strong as ever. We have all learned a great deal in the past months and expect to be judged by how we lead going forward on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault.

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CSN Baltimore also provided a statement from Ravens president Dick Cass:

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“We welcome completion of the ‘Mueller Report,’ and we look forward to cooperating with the League on any new policies resulting from this report," he wrote.

“More than anything, the report reminds us all of the gravity of the consequences of intimate partner abuse and the lessons we must all learn. We have taken steps to educate ourselves, and others, about this important issue, and will continue to do so.”

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The report noted the league's "investigation was limited, but it possessed substantial information suggesting a serious event had occurred inside the elevator that the League should have further investigated."

Per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe on Twitter, the report does mention that the Baltimore Ravens were told in detail about the incident by the Atlantic City Police Department:

In September, the Associated Press reported, via Tom Pelissero of USA Today, that a law enforcement official sent a video of the incident to the NFL in April and the official "also played the AP a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived. A female voice expresses thanks and says: 'You're right. It's terrible.'"

However, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes, the Mueller Report says the voicemail featuring a law enforcement official and an unnamed female never occurred:

Rapoport also pointed out this nugget from Mueller about the level of cooperation he received from the Associated Press during his investigation:

Two NFL owners, John Mara and Art Rooney, were appointed by commissioner Goodell to oversee Mueller's investigation. The pair released a joint statement about the Mueller Report, via Burt Lauten of the Pittsburgh Steelers' public relations:

Rice had his indefinite suspension overturned in December after former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones concluded the former Ravens running back "did not lie to or mislead" the NFL when he was initially questioned about what happened. 

The findings by Mueller do line up with Goodell's comments to 60 Minutes in September, via The New York Post, that to his knowledge, no one at league offices saw the tape of Rice striking Palmer before it was made public. 

The NFL has been put under a microscope for its handling of the investigation, particularly how it was perhaps hindered by relying on local law enforcement to relay information instead of taking a more proactive approach from the start. Many were hoping the Mueller report would provide clarity to the situation, though questions still linger about the handling of the investigation.