Mueller Report Delivered to Congress, Attorney General Barr Releases Summary Letter –

Robert Mueller

By Glynn Wilson –

In one of the most disappointing moments in the history of American democracy and jurisprudence, Attorney General William Barr released a short, four-page letter to Congress on Sunday summarizing the key findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report after nearly two years of investigating a conspiracy on the part of Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

In short, if Barr’s summary is fully accurate, the hero Democrats expected in Mueller instead will be seen as a Republican plant to let Trump off the hook. The talk has already started on social media.

Barr says that while Mueller made no conclusion on possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, leaving that door open for further investigation by a grand jury and Congress, he concludes his investigation without finding conclusive proof of a conspiracy that Trump or his campaign team engaged directly in “collusion” with Russia to win the election.

“The Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign,” Barr says in his letter.

To prove a conspiracy, Mueller’s team would have had to show that Trump and one or more of his associates were engaged in direct communications with Russia urging them to interfere in the election through computer espionage, illegal use of social media or other criminal means.

But the investigation showed Trump asking Russia to obtain and leak emails about his opponent in a public speech, and the hacking and social media activity beginning literally that day. Also, Roger Stone, the president’s longtime friend, tried to enlist intermediaries to connect with WikiLeaks, Russia’s chosen depository for Democratic emails stolen by Russian hackers. The reasoning is that absent an explicit agreement with the Russian government, none of the evidence adds up to Trump or his associates breaking the law as co-conspirators with the Kremlin.

Obstruction of Justice

“The report found evidence on both sides of the question” of obstruction of justice, the letter says, and “leaves unresolved what the special counsel views as difficult issues of law. While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Apparently in consultation over the weekend with Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed Mueller, Barr concludes that there was “insufficient evidence” to establish that the president intentionally committed obstruction of justice by firing FBI Director James Comey and other steps already widely known by the public.

Planning at a later date to send lawmakers the detailed summary of Mueller’s full report that the attorney general is required under law to deliver to Capitol Hill, Barr says in the letter while his “goal and intent” is to release as much of the Mueller report as possible, he warned that some of the report was based on grand jury material that “by law cannot be made public.”

Providing some details of the investigation, Barr’s letter said that the special counsel’s office employed 19 lawyers and was assisted by about 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and other staff. About 500 witnesses were interviewed, and 13 foreign governments were asked to turn over evidence. More than 2,800 subpoenas were issued, and nearly 500 search warrants were served, with more than 230 orders for communications records.

Reaction

Democratic lawmakers already have demanded the full report as well as the underlying evidence so they can pursue their own investigations, and Democratic candidates who seek to replace him in 2020 joined in demanding the full release of the report.

On Sunday some members of Congress criticized Barr’s conclusion that the president had not obstructed justice, something that requires making a determination about whether Trump had “corrupt intent” when he took steps to impede the investigation, considering that the special counsel’s team never got to question the president in person. After months of debate over a potential interview, Mueller’s investigators agreed to accept written answers from the president.

Shortly after releasing Barr’s letter, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York said on Twitter that he planned to call Mr. Barr to testify about what he said were “very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department.”

Trump, who has proclaimed or tweeted “NO COLLUSION” more than 200 times and has routinely denounced Mueller’s investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt,” made no comment on the special counsel’s report over the weekend in Florida. He spent much of the time on his golf course with partners including Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, who quickly came out with a statement saying the report exonerates the president.

As soon as Barr’s letter was made public, however, Trump and his Republican allies began to crow loudly claiming the report exonerates the president.

The president trumpeted the news, not surprisingly mischaracterizing the findings.

“It was a complete and total exoneration,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Florida before boarding Air Force One to head back to Washington. “It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest, it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this.”

“This was an illegal takedown that failed,” he added over the noise at the airstrip.

Graham called the findings a “good day for the rule of law. Great day for President Trump and his team. No collusion and no obstruction. The cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report. Bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down.”

Emails were sent out immediately, including one from Alabama Republican Congressman Bradley Byrne, who has announced that he will run for the Republican nomination to take on Birmingham Democrat Doug Jones for the senate seat formerly occupied by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“On Friday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report on Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election to Attorney General Barr. With this, we learned that no additional indictments are expected and that Mr. Mueller will soon be leaving his position,” Byrne said in the email blast to supporters.

“This sideshow is finally over,” he crowed. “As I expected all along, there are no indictments or charges related to President Trump. The whole exercise was a waste of time and money. I just hope Democrats will now accept that they lost the 2016 election and let’s move on.”

No New Indictments

Justice Department officials, who described Mueller’s report as comprehensive, said he didn’t recommend any additional indictments and doesn’t have any secret indictments under seal.

Mueller helped secure guilty pleas from five people involved in Trump’s presidential campaign — including his campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, his first national security adviser — though none admitted to conspiring with Russian operatives to sway the election even though they had multiple contacts with Russians during the campaign. Mueller also indicted more than two dozen Russian hackers and military intelligence officers, although they may never see the inside of a courtroom, protected from extradition in Russia.

While Mueller didn’t seek an indictment of Trump or members of his family, they’re not necessarily in the clear, according to Bloomberg and other news outlets.

Trump faces continuing risk from other investigations, with federal prosecutors in New York looking into his private company, presidential campaign and inaugural committee. Through a series of indictments, Mueller laid out a picture of operatives and hackers tied to Russian intelligence agencies doing all they could to help put Trump in the White House even as other Russian officials had scores of contacts with people tied to Trump’s campaign.

Mueller has been sharing some matters and handing off others to U.S. attorney’s offices in Washington, Manhattan and Alexandria, Virginia as well as the Justice Department’s national security division. That may keep alive cases that touch on his personal and business affairs.

And then there’s that pesky little emoluments clause case in Greenbelt, Maryland filed by the attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Federal Judge Denies Trump’s Request for a Stay in Emoluments Clause Case

Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed in May 2017 to conduct one of the most consequential investigations in U.S. history. He hasn’t spoken a word in public since then, leaving it to the indictments he’s filed to build his case.

Mueller’s investigation cost about $25 million from his appointment in May 2017 through September 2018, according to the latest figures, provided by the Justice Department in December.

The report is so inconclusive it is doubtful to change many minds among the public.

“Opinions have hardened over time, with many Americans already convinced they knew the answers before Mr. Mueller submitted his conclusions,” the New York Times writes. “Some believe that the special counsel’s previous indictments, twinned with voluminous news media reporting, have already shown a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.”

Read the Letter Here

AG March 24 2019 Letter to House and Senate Judiciary Committees