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The US President claimed “total innocence” after Attorney General William Barr said special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that Donald Trump or his campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
However, Barr said in a four-page letter to Congress on Sunday that was later made public that “while this (Mueller) report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it does not exonerate him” and provided Evidence on “Both Sides of the Issue”.
The investigation has cast a shadow over Trump’s presidency for nearly two years, with Democratic leadership alleging that Russian interference helped him win the 2016 election.
Barr said Mueller found no evidence of such a conspiracy “despite repeated offers from individuals with ties to Russia to assist the Trump campaign.”
“The Special Counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump Campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” the attorney general said.
Barr told lawmakers that Mueller “did not conclude whether the conduct examined constituted obstruction of justice” in his report.
Barr said: “For each relevant action investigated, the report presents evidence on both sides of the issue, and the special counsel’s ‘legal and factual difficulties’ regarding whether the president’s actions and intent can be considered obstruction of justice are not resolved.” He also said Mueller “ultimately decided not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment.”
He also said in the letter that the Justice Department has determined there is insufficient evidence to prove that Trump committed obstruction of justice.
“After reviewing the special counsel’s final report on these issues; consulting with department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the federal prosecutorial principles that guided our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence presented during the Special Counsel’s investigation was insufficient to establish that the President was guilty of obstruction of justice,” the letter reads.
“The special counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia to attempt to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” the statement said, adding, “The report does not find that any Conduct that appears to us to constitute obstruction.”
Democrats are pinning their hopes on Mueller’s findings to defeat Trump in the 2020 election. Many are also discussing impeachment of the president if the report reveals collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
“This is a complete exoneration,” the president told reporters in Florida on his way back to Washington, D.C., from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump called the collusion allegations “the most ridiculous thing ever” and said: “It’s shameful that this is happening to our country. It’s shameful that this is happening to your president, honestly.”
He has repeatedly claimed he is the victim of a “witch hunt” while insisting there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russians.
“It was an illegal attack that failed and hopefully someone will look at their other side,” Trump said.
“After a long review and investigation, after so many people were hurt so badly, after so many bad things happened on the other side of the story… we just announced that we had no collusion with Russia,” he said, adding He said, “This is a complete exoneration.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the report vindicated the president’s position.
“The special counsel found no collusion and found no obstruction. Attorney General Barr and Deputy Secretary Rosenstein further determined that there was no obstruction. The Department of Justice’s findings fully exonerate the president of the United States,” she said.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said this is a great day for all Americans.
“As we have said all along, there was no collusion and no obstruction. Now that the investigation is over, Democrats need to finally end their baseless investigation and political crusade against President Trump for the good of the country,” she said.
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said Mueller’s report “completely and completely exonerated” the president.
“After issuing 2,800 subpoenas and 500 search warrants, interviewing 500 witnesses, hiring 40 FBI agents and 19 attorneys, and spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, Robert Mueller unequivocally concluded that ‘the investigation ‘Further, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General determined there was no evidence of obstruction of justice,’ Parscale said.
“Nonetheless, Democrats have put us on a wild, confusing, conspiracy-filled roller coaster ride for two years, alleging conduct that doesn’t exist,” he claimed.
“Democrats, distraught and blindsided by the results of the 2016 election, have continually lied to the American people in hopes of undermining President Trump’s legitimate election,” Parscale said.
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