Putting collusion claims to rest

The full details of special counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report on alleged Russian collusion by Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign have yet to emerge. But indications Mr Mueller has found no reason to recommend further indictments should come as a relief to the President and his circle of close advisers, including members of his immediate family. Once released and studied, the report also should provide an opportunity for both sides of US politics to draw a line under the issue of uncorroborated charges of collusion that have dogged the White House for more than two years.

As Democrats prepare for the US presidential election next year, backed by their hyperventilating, Mr Trump-hating media allies, they will do neither themselves nor the US any good if they persist in seeking to make political capital out of the issue. They should learn from the negative public reaction when Democrat house Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to embarrass Mr Trump in January by interfering with the date of his state of the union address.

For its part, the administration must ensure full details of the Mueller report are published. From the outset, Mr Trump has derided allegations of Russian collusion by his campaign as “the single greatest witch-hunt of a politician in American history” based on “fake news”.

While the public has grown tired of the pursuit of Mr Trump without solid evidence to back the charges, Attorney-General William Barr must ensure there is the maximum transparency as regards the report’s release. Anything less would play into hands of Trump critics who have spent two years suggesting, ludicrously, that Mr Trump might be an agent of the Kremlin.

The US deserves deliverance from the ruinous politics of the 2016 campaign that still sees some Democrats refusing to accept the legitimacy of Mr Trump’s win, claiming it was achieved only as a result of help from Russian dirty tricks. US interests, and those of its allies, are ill-served when the credentials of the leader of the free world are undermined.

Throughout Mr Mueller’s protracted investigation, Mr Trump, to his credit, declined the advice of those arguing he should intervene to halt the probe. Instead, as Mr Barr emphasised in a note to the US congress following delivery of the report, “there were no” instances when Justice Department officials overruled or otherwise sought to interfere in Mr Mueller’s investigative plans. That should help give the lie to claims of a cover-up.