Mueller finds no proof of collusion with Russia or obstruction by Trump

While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

14 thoughts on “Mueller finds no proof of collusion with Russia or obstruction by Trump

  1. From politicalwire (members version)
    A close reading of Barr’s letter strongly suggests we’re not being told the whole story.

    For instance, Barr focuses on whether the Trump campaign “conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” But it says nothing about the Trump campaign coordinating with third parties like WikiLeaks or with Russian oligarchs or Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The letter also focuses solely on “election interference” but ignores other issues such as ending sanctions on Russia.

    Barr also concludes that Trump did not obstruct justice even though Mueller specifically wrote that his report “does not exonerate him.” We don’t know the basis for that determination.

    Any confusion you may feel this morning is real and almost certainly part of a deliberate political strategy. We need to see the full Mueller report.

  2. No direct collusion but Putin pretty much said he wanted Trump to win. So though he may have not ordered it, his minions took it upon themselves to try to turn the election that way. Trump was cutting deals up until the night before his election because he didn’t really think he was going to win, so “why not?, might as well make the most of this stupid election process until I get back to my business life.”

    1. Not against the law to do business while running for President nor is it odd that Russia was meddling. They have done that in every American election since the 50’s.

  3. While Trump himself was not found guilty of any wrongdoing, the investigation did find 7 of his inner circle compatriots guilty/indicted/convicted, so I’d say it was a successful probe all in all. He is truly the Teflon Don. I’m not a fan, but it’s painfully clear that he will win a second term.

  4. Prosecutors aren’t in the business of exonerating people. They look at the evidence and if it’s insufficient, they decline to prosecute. Even courts don’t find people Innocent, they find them Not Guilty.

    Also, as some portion of the Mueller Report deals with Grand Jury testimony, that CAN’T be released. And the inability to release that will be enough for the DEMs to say that Trump MUST be guilty, as they didn’t see the entire report.

  5. nobody is backpedaling. Manafort was the key in linking Trump, and he wouldn’t flip, even though he is going to die in either a NY or a Federal prison because of it.

  6. Man, I can smell the burning rubber clear over here. Y’all need to quit back-peddling so hard, you’re gonna hurt yourselves!

    I have six words for all the people (two of whom are commenting above) who were absolutely certain that Mueller was going to find Trump and all his associates guilty of collusion, election fixing and a whole host of other things:

    Na na na nana na!

      1. No, I have to get older I don’t have to grow up. Go buy yourself a sense of humor.

  7. It’s not clear Barr intends to release the entire report. Odds are that in the end the report is going to be released because the Dems are going to insist on it. If it really doesn’t show a crime by Trump or his campaign, releasing it is probably going to be the smarter move politically. Otherwise you are gifting a campaign issue to the Democrats. But Justice Department regulations prohibit releasing the names of people investigated but not charged. The report probably contains many names of people (besides Trump, his family, and close aids) who were investigated but not charged. So releasing only the summary may be the proper legal ethical thing to do. But the pressure to release the entire report is going to be tremendous. In the end Trump may overrule him. Otherwise you may have a second attorney general found in contempt of Congress. (The first being Eric Holder.) The thing is I don’t think either Barr or Trump could in anyway hope to prevent damning evidence from the report being made public. Therefore the summary is probably enough and may well be the “proper” amount of disclosure. But it won’t be enough to satisfy the public.

  8. The key word is proof. If you want to believe that this whole meeting happened at Trump Tower – with Kushner, Junior & Manafort – and Trump was uninvolved…that’s a stretch. Still, proving it is a whole nother thing.

    But I keep coming back to: he’s too dumb to be effectively devious. Maybe he really didn’t do much of anything; the Russians helped him get elected on their own because that is what would be most destructive to America.

    They should release the full report. People will never shut up about a cover-up if they don’t. Should make for a more interesting read than the Starr report.

  9. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that it’s very difficult for prosecutors to *prove* a ‘quid pro quo.’

    Basically, for wealthy people anyway, bribery is legal.

    I suggest waiting until the actual report is released before judging what Trump and his campaign did and didn’t do.

Comments are closed.