As the articles and reports come flooding in over the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings on Russia’s involvement in the 2016 Presidential Election, you may be having trouble trying to wrap your head around all the different viewpoints and what they all mean. Mueller reported his findings to Attorney General William Barr, and Barr has summarized the report to the public in form of a letter. The main takeaways you must know are as follows:
There is no evidence that Trump or any of his aides coordinated with the Russian government in the 2016 election.
While Mueller determined that there were no Americans involved with the Russian interference, there were many Russians charged for hacking and interfering in the 2016 election. This is not the bomb shell information that many were expecting and it could play a major role in the decision of Democrats on whether or not to begin impeachment proceedings against the president.
Mueller did not take a firm stance on whether or not Trump obstructed justice.
According to Barr’s letter, the Special Counsel report states, “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Barr concludes that there is not sufficient evidence for an obstruction of justice offense.
Exoneration would mean that President Trump is absolved from all blame or fault of wrongdoing, but as Mueller stated, the report does not completely prove either side of the question of whether or not Trump committed any crime, or had any criminal intent. Contrary to the statement made by the Special Counsel regarding obstruction of justice, President Trump tweeted, “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” As previously stated, it was not total exoneration, but he is correct about the collusion findings.
There is intense pressure for the entirety of the report to be released to the public. Barr said that his goal is to release as much of the report as possible, but warned that, by law, parts of it cannot be made public. Barr also began the letter by stating he is still in the act of reviewing the report, but wanted to release a summary to the public as soon as possible.
Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference and collusion lasted nearly two years. He indicted, or convicted, 34 people. Six of those include previous associates of Trump. The report did not include any new indictments.
Ned Price, a former U.S. Intelligence official said that broader questions about Trump’s possible conflicts of interest were not addressed. For example, the fact that Michael Cohen claimed that the building of the Moscow Trump Tower continued longer into 2016 than Trump and his associates claimed.
It is unlikely that we will see the full report, but hopefully with time we will receive more detailed information.
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