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Special counsel investigation finds no evidence of President Donald Trump’s campaign conspiring with Russia

The Russia report has cleared Donald Trump of conspiring with the Kremlin. But one crucial line means he may not be completely off the hook.

Gavin Fernando
6 min read
March 25, 2019 - 11:25AM
Mueller report: Trump unleashes after findings reveal no collusion

A summary of a special counsel investigation has revealed no evidence that US President Donald Trump and his associates conspired with Russia.

But the letter, written by Attorney-General William Barr to Congress, does include one line that exposes the President: “While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

In other words, while there is no evidence of crimes to a criminal standard, special counsel Robert Mueller has not let Mr Trump off the hook completely.

The line is fuelling calls among Democrats for the official report to be released to the public.

Mr Trump and the White House have ignored the line altogether. Speaking to the media after the letter went public, the President said the allegations against him were “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard”, and deemed it “complete exoneration”.

“There was no obstruction — none whatsoever — and it was a complete and total exoneration,” he told the media. “It’s a shame our country had to go through this. To be honest, it’s a shame that your President has had to go through this. Before I even got elected it began, and it began illegally.

“This was an illegal take-down that failed. And hopefully, somebody’s going to be looking at the other side. So it’s complete exoneration. No collusion. No obstruction.”

Contrary to the summary, he later tweeted that it was “Total EXONERATION”.

Jerrold Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Committee, said Mr Trump was “wrong” to call it total exoneration.

“This report does not amount to a so-called total exoneration,” he told reporters. “Special counsel Mueller was clear that his report ‘does not exonerate’ the President.”

He said Mr Barr’s conclusions “raise more questions than they answer”.

He also reiterated calls for the full report to be made public, noting he intends to fight for that transparency. “The American people are entitled to a full accounting of the president’s misconduct referenced by the special counsel,” he said. “We cannot simply rely on what may be a hasty, partisan interpretation of the facts.”

He threatened legal action to make the report public and get Mr Barr to appear before the Committee, noting that he would use subpoena powers “if necessary”.

He said impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump will “move forward”, noting the Democrats will continue to look for any evidence of obstruction of justice, abuse of power and corruption.

WHAT’S IN THE REPORT?

The report is based on an almost two-year special investigation into whether Mr Trump and his associates worked with the Kremlin to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

Since May 2017, Mr Mueller’s team has indicted or received guilty pleas from a total of 34 people and three companies during the campaign.

The investigation highlighted Russia’s assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

“The special counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or co-ordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 US Presidential Election,” Mr Barr wrote.

Keep in mind, the full report has not been released to the public. This is all based on the Barr report on the Mueller report.

We know from the Attorney-General’s letter that the report is divided into two parts. The first delves into the results of Mr Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the federal election.

The second element involved the Kremlin’s efforts to conduct computer hacking operations to gather and spread information to influence the election.

The letter notes Russian government actors successfully hacked into computers and obtained emails from people affiliated with the Clinton campaign and Democratic Party organisations.

“Based on these activities, the Special Counsel brought criminal charges against a number of Russian military officers for conspiring to hack into computers in the United States for purposes of influencing the election,” the letter states. “But … the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or co-ordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”

WHAT’S BEEN THE REACTION?

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement shortly after the letter was made public, in which she said the findings “exonerated” Trump.

“The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. Attorney-General Barr and Deputy Attorney-General Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction,” Ms Sanders said. “The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.”

Her final sentence is misleading, as Mr Barr specifically wrote that the report “does not exonerate him” based on the findings.

High-profile Democrats have responded by pushing strongly for full disclosure of Mr Mueller’s report, and have threatened legal action if necessary to get it.

They are citing the department’s recent precedent of norm-breaking disclosures, including during the Hillary Clinton email investigation, to argue that they’re entitled to Mr Mueller’s entire report and the underlying evidence he collected.

Mr Barr spent the weekend combing through the report, which he received Friday, deciding how much of it Congress and the public will see.

He said he wants to release as much as he can under the law. That decision requires him to weigh the Justice Department’s longstanding protocol of not releasing negative information about people who aren’t indicted against the extraordinary public interest in a criminal investigation into the President and his campaign.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement urging the report to be made public.

“Attorney General Barr’s letter raises as many questions as it answers. The fact that Special Counsel Mueller’s report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay.

“Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report

and most obviously, for the president to say he is completely exonerated directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility.

“Congress requires the full report and the underlying documents so that the Committees can proceed with their independent work, including oversight and legislating to address any issues the Mueller report may raise. The American people have a right to know.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement saying he “welcomed” Mr Mueller’s work.

“The special counsel’s conclusions confirm the President’s account that there was no effort by his campaign to conspire or coordinate with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. However, Russia’s ongoing efforts to interfere with our democracy are dangerous and disturbing, and I welcome the special counsel’s contributions to our efforts to understand better Russia’s activities in this regard,” he said.

“And I look forward to the continuing work of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the threats posed to our democratic institutions by foreign interference. I appreciate the Attorney-General’s commitment to review the record in this matter over the coming days, in conjunction to with special counsel Robert Mueller, with the goal of producing as much information as possible, consistent with the law.”

Mr Trump spent the weekend at his Florida estate, making no public appearances. Before Mr Barr’s letter was publicised, he posted these tweets overnight:

IT’S NOT OVER FOR THE PRESIDENT

The conclusion of Mr Mueller’s investigation does not remove legal peril for the President.

He faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election. He’s also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Mr Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president’s inaugural committee.

A number of Trump associates and family members have been dogged by speculation of possible wrongdoing. Among them are Donald Trump Jr., who helped arrange a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was interviewed at least twice by Mr Mueller’s prosecutors.

Justice Department legal opinions have held that sitting presidents may not be indicted. But many Democrats say Mr Trump should not be immune from a public accounting of his behaviour.

— with AP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/a-special-counsel-investigation-has-found-no-evidence-of-president-donald-trumps-campaign-conspiring-with-russia/news-story/a34b2edc73a516c9282a25bb6bfb874b