The 448-page report painted a clear picture of how Trump had tried to hinder Mueller’s probe but stopped short of concluding the Republican president had committed the crime of obstruction of justice, although it did not exonerate him
Mueller noted Congress has the power to address whether Trump violated the law, and Democrats quickly vowed to steam ahead with congressional investigations of the president.But party leaders played down talk of impeachment just 18 months before the 2020 presidential election, even as some prominent members of the party’s progressive wing, most notably U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, promised to push the idea.
“There seems to be some confusion … This isn’t a matter of legal interpretation; it’s reading comprehension,” Collins wrote on Twitter. “The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law,” Mueller said in his report.Many of the report’s findings are certain to be repeated on the campaign trail as Democrats make their case against Trump’s re-election, although Democratic presidential candidates were cautious in responding on Thursday.
After the report’s release, Trump appeared to be in a celebratory mood. Trump, having long described Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt,” on Thursday night told a crowd of well wishers in Florida where he will spend the weekend: “Game over folks, now it’s back to work.” Attorney General William Barr told a news conference Mueller had detailed “10 episodes involving the president and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offence.” Barr concluded last month after receiving a confidential copy of Mueller’s report that Trump had not actually committed a crime.
The inquiry laid bare what the special counsel and U.S. intelligence agencies have described as a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, denigrate 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump, the Kremlin’s preferred candidate. Russia has denied election interference.
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