Trump didn’t collude with Russia on 2016 elections – Attorney General speaks on Mueller report
United States Attorney-General, Bill Barr, announced on Thursday, that Robert Mueller had found that ‘no Americans’ participated in Russia’s hacking efforts during the 2016 elections after his two-year long special counsel investigation.
Speaking just hours before he said he would transmit the Mueller report to Congress, Barr stated that Mueller’s report concluded that neither President Trump nor members of his campaign team participated in Russia’s election interference. He said the public should be ‘grateful’ that Mueller was able to confirm this.
‘The Russian government sought to interfere in our election process,’ Barr said at the Justice Department, on Thursday.
‘Thanks to the Special Counsel’s thorough investigation. We now know that the Russian operatives that perpetuated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign – or the knowing assistance of any other American for that matter,’ he said.
He thanked Mueller and Deputy Attorney-General, Rod Rosenstein, and said Mueller found ‘no collusion’ – a favorite term of the president’s.
William Barr outlined his reasons Thursday for not pursuing an obstruction of justice charge against President Donald Trump ahead of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
WHAT BILL BARR SAID ABOUT MUELLER – AT A GLANCE
The Russian government sponsored efforts to interfere with the 2016 election campaign
Trump and his campaign did not collude or co-operate with Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 election
Nobody from Trump’s campaign or associated with the campaign conspired with operations to hack Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign emails
Russia’s GRU gave stolen emails to Wikileaks for publication – but no member or affiliate of the Trump campaign illegally encouraged or played a role in these dissemination efforts
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Special Counsel did not find any conspiracy to violate U.S. law between Russian-linked persons and the Trump campaign
Mueller recounts ten ‘episodes’ involving Trump which could have been considered to obstruct justice – and said that he had not
Trump ‘was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks’
Barr revealed the report recounts ten episodes involving the president and ‘discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense.’
He said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein disagreed with some of theories but did not solely rely on that in making their decision not to pursue the charge.
His words hinted the episodes may not paint the president in the most flattering light.
‘In assessing the President’s actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context,’ he said at his Thursday press conference.
‘President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinising his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates. At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President’s personal culpability.’
He said the report reflects Trump’s frustration and anger at the situation.
‘There is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks,’ he said.
He also noted the White House ‘fully cooperated’ and did not assert executive privilege.
Although Mueller submitted his report to the attorney general with no fanfare, simply submitting a classified document as required under statute, Barr scheduled a press conference where he will once again discuss its findings.
In just the latest partisan clash over the Mueller probe, Democrats scoffed at Barr’s move – which the president revealed in a radio interview.
TIMELINE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER’S RUSSIA PROBE
May 17, 2017 – Former FBI Director Mueller is appointed as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
June 15, 2017 – It’s revealed Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice.
November 6, 2018 – Democrats gain control of the House in the elections, positioning the party to control panels with oversight authority of the Justice Department.
November 8, 2018 – US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns and Trump appoints Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general.
November 20, 2018 – Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel.
March 22, 2019 – Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to US Attorney General William Barr.
March 24, 2019 – Barr releases a summary of Mueller’s report, saying the investigation did not find evidence that Trump or his associates broke the law during the campaign.
March 29, 2019 – After facing a backlash from Democratic critics, Barr tells Congress the report is nearly 400 pages long and that he will make the report public.
April 3, 2019 – Democratic-run House Judiciary Committee votes to subpoena the full Mueller report.
April 18, 2019 – Attorney General William Barr makes public a redacted version of the Mueller report.
In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer blasted the attorney general for ‘his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference’ before it becomes public and for his ‘irresponsible testimony before Congress last week.’
They demanded that Mueller come and testify before Congress immediately to discuss his findings, saying that would be the only way to restore ‘public trust’ in the handling of the probe.
President Trump put his own spin on the Mueller report Thursday morning. ‘PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!’ read the president’s tweet shortly after 8 am.
In another tweet, the president wrote there was ‘No collusion, no obstruction!,’ and retweeted a video featuring various clips of Trump repeating his ‘no collusion’ mantra ten different times, set to dramatic music. It concluded with two CNN commentators providing spot analysis of Barr’s four-page summary of the Mueller report, and casting it as a win for Trump.
The president in the video called the exercise an ‘illegal takedown.’
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To date, Barr has only described the report through letters and testimony before Congress, while refusing to divulge its substance beyond core conclusions. The president suggested that he, too, may weigh in.
The rollout strategy was the latest example of Trump trying to turn the Mueller probe, which he has branded as ‘illegal’ and part of a ‘coup’ that he even called ‘treasonous’ – part of his 2020 reelection strategy.
The PR effort left little doubt that President Trump once again intended to proclaim ‘no collusion’ following the final submission of a probe he repeatedly branded as a ‘witch hunt.’
The release of the report, even in redacted form, provides a key milestone, if not an endpoint, to the probe that has drawn the wrath of the president. Throughout its course, the investigation raised alarms of a constitutional crisis, and even prompted talk of impeachment while it was underway.
Outside of what the report itself reveals, Barr’s decision to redact four categories of material is already setting up the next battle with Congress over the report.
The House Judiciary Committee has voted to authorise a subpoena for the full report, which panel chairman Rep. Jerold Nadler is demanding. If Barr blocked out information that seems key to Mueller’s conclusions, Trump critics will once again accuse him of whitewashing the special counsel’s findings.
Mueller submitted his confidential report to Barr on March 22, nearly two years after his inquiry began. (DailyMail)
