Mueller report clears Trump of Russian collusion but does not exonerate him
The Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. President elections found that neither Donald Trump nor his associates colluded with Russia. But Attorney General William Barr wrote that the report did not exonerate the US President. Meanwhile, the Democrats demand that Congress sees the full report.
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After an almost two-year long investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller his report to US Attorney General William Barr last Friday. Barr released a letter on Sunday outlining the main findings of the report.
In his letter, Barr wrote that "The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that any US person or Trump campaign official conspired or knowingly co-ordinated with Russia."
On the matter of obstruction of justice, Barr quoted from Mueller who wrote in his report that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
He added that "the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish whether the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense”.
As a result, William Barr and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided not to pursue charges.
In his letter, Barr wrote that he will release "as much of the report" as he can given that some of the materials contained in the report cannot be made public.
Trump claims victory but Democrats sceptic
President Donald Trump who repeatedly described this investigation as a witch hunt immediately tweeted "complete and total exoneration."
No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019
Speaking to reporters from Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Trump said that "it's a shame that our country had to go through this, to be honest it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this for, before I even got elected it began. This was an illegal take-down that failed.”
Meanwhile, the Democrats are not satisfied with Barr's letter. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said William Barr's letter "raises as many questions as it answers."
The Democratic leaders said Congress needs "the full report and the underlying documents so that the Committees can proceed with their independent work."
Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat and chairman of the House judiciary committee, vowed to bring Barr before his panel. Nadler said that the decision the Attorney General had not ruled out that Trump might have obstructed justice.
Nadler believes that there are concerning discrepencies between the 22-months Mueller report and the decision reached by the Justice department in two days not to take any action.
In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future.
(((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019
The Democrats in Congress are already conducting some 17 investigations of the Trump administration.
Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said that, in light of the findings of the Mueller report, this represents "an opportunity to reset a lot in our relations" while adding that the question remains whether "Trump would risk that."
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