'The Walls Are Closing In': Two Years of Mueller Countdown Coverage
From 2017 through early 2019, anchors, guests and columnists repeatedly said the 'walls were closing in' on Trump and that the Mueller probe was the 'beginning of the end' of his presidency.

Kept alive the idea that the Russia probe would soon end Trump's presidency.
What was reported
From 2017 through early 2019, anchors, guests and columnists repeatedly said the 'walls were closing in' on Trump and that the Mueller probe was the 'beginning of the end' of his presidency.
What actually happened
The Washington Free Beacon counted the phrase being used at least monthly from May 2017 on, and The Federalist and the Daily Caller compiled dated examples from CNN, The Guardian, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and others. Fox News later collected cable examples, including Anderson Cooper on Nov. 15, 2018 and Donny Deutsch calling it 'the beginning of the end' in May 2017. Mueller's report said the investigation did not establish that the campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia. On obstruction it neither concluded Trump committed a crime nor exonerated him. Trump finished his term, and the phrase kept resurfacing for years afterward.
The proof
Mueller's final report (April 2019) brought no conspiracy charge against Trump or his campaign, and a Reuters factbox reported Mueller recommended no further indictments.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
'The Walls Are Closing In': Two Years of Mueller Countdown Coverage — Bad Call. Mueller's final report (April 2019) brought no conspiracy charge against Trump or his campaign, and a Reuters factbox reported Mueller recommended no further indictments. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/walls-closing-in-mueller/
Original reporting
- Fox News: Flashback compilation of CNN/MSNBC 'he's going down' predictions (Mar. 28, 2022)https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-cnn-mueller-probe-trump-russia-investigation-media
- Washington Free Beacon: Media, Democrats love saying the walls are closing in (Aug. 1, 2018)https://freebeacon.com/politics/media-democrats-love-saying-the-walls-are-closing-in-on-trump/
- Grabien supercut: Seven years of 'The Walls Are Closing In'https://grabien.com/story?id=416669
- The Federalist: dated roundup of 'closing in' headlines (Dec. 13, 2018)https://thefederalist.com/2018/12/13/promises-mueller-closing-trump-far-just-media-crying-wolf/
Corrections, findings & records
- Daily Caller: Many claimed 'Mueller is closing in', then he filed his report (Mar. 23, 2019)https://dailycaller.com/2019/03/23/many-claimed-mueller-closing-in-report/
- Reuters factbox via Lincoln Daily News: Mueller recommended no further indictments (Mar. 23, 2019)https://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Mar/23/NEWS/news_w.shtml
- Axios: Full context of Mueller's conclusions on conspiracy and obstructionhttps://www.axios.com/2019/04/18/mueller-report-bill-barr-letter-principal-conclusions
- Mueller report (GovInfo)https://www.govinfo.gov/features/mueller-report
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: Fox News: Flashback compilation of CNN/MSNBC 'he's going down' predictions (Mar. 28, 2022)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-cnn-mueller-probe-trump-russia-investigation-media
- Archived copy: Washington Free Beacon: Media, Democrats love saying the walls are closing in (Aug. 1, 2018)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://freebeacon.com/politics/media-democrats-love-saying-the-walls-are-closing-in-on-trump/
- Archived copy: Grabien supercut: Seven years of 'The Walls Are Closing In'https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://grabien.com/story?id=416669
- Archived copy: The Federalist: dated roundup of 'closing in' headlines (Dec. 13, 2018)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://thefederalist.com/2018/12/13/promises-mueller-closing-trump-far-just-media-crying-wolf/