President Trump, acquitted in narrow investigation, while questions of obstruction loom: Analysis
Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation into alleged collusion between Trump and his associates, and whether or not he obstructed justice, has now officially come to a close.
This afternoon, the Attorney General released a short, four-page letter outlining a few of the key findings.
In the interest of transparency, the full report should be made public as soon as possible, especially given the peculiar nature of Attorney General William P. Barr’s letter.
To summarize:
Then-candidate Trump (or his campaign) did not “knowingly [coordinate] with the IRA in its efforts,” an allegation that was never the subject of public discourse.
Furthermore, the report also found that the Trump campaign did not coordinate with the Russian government’s covert hacking operations of the DNC/Clinton campaign. Nevertheless, Mueller’s report intimates that there were discussions about such matters.
Essentially, the Trump campaign didn’t deliberately assist in any hacking activities, which (again) has never been the subject of public debate. It is also necessary to clarify that these two points are the only matters referenced in regards to collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
So far, Mueller has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to convict the President of two arbitrary allegations in the context of Russian collusion, which is certainly far more expensive than merely computer crimes and an illicit deal made between a presidential campaign and an obscure startup.
How is that a win for his administration?
The President has been cleared of crimes he was never accused of committing.
Finally, the fascinating aspect of this letter deals with obstruction. Mueller declined to make a “traditional prosecutorial judgment,” but instead presented evidence of the President’s actions that appeared criminal in nature. The President is not acquitted of this charge.
Mueller has left it to Attorney General Barr to determine the next steps of this investigation, and whether or not the President should be charged with obstruction of justice. Again, there are DOJ rules about indicting a sitting President, so don’t expect Trump to be matched out in handcuffs.
The full report will likely contain a number of intriguing details. However, don’t allow Fox News and Trump sycophants to shift the narrative. The Trump campaign is not innocent, but on these two counts? Well, at least his campaign didn’t betray us outright.
In short, a severely restricted investigation found no evidence of criminal conduct in very specific circumstances, and whether the President obstructed justice is to be determined by an Attorney General appointed by Trump, who has publicly criticized Mueller in the past.
It’s a madhouse, folks.
Links: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/us/politics/mueller-report-summary.html
