Special counsel Robert Mueller concluded there was no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but did not make a determination on whether President Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr wrote in letter to lawmakers on Sunday.
“The Special Counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election,” Barr said in the four-page letter describing the conclusions of Mueller’s nearly two-year investigation.
The Trump campaign did not conspire or knowingly coordinate with the Internet Research Agency to conduct disinformation and social media campaigns to sow discord and interfere in the election nor did it conspire or coordinate with the Russian government during efforts to hack Democrats, despite offers from the Russians to assist the campaign, the special counsel determined.
Mueller did not issue a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice during the investigation, leaving it to the attorney general to decide whether the president obstructed justice. The special counsel said that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
Barr revealed that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein have found that there is not “sufficient” evidence to determine whether Trump obstructed 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 principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel’s investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense,” Barr wrote.
[Related: 2020 Democrats unsatisfied with Barr’s letter: Release Mueller’s ‘damn’ report]
The White House called Mueller’s findings “a total and complete exoneration” of Trump.
“The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Barr sent his letter to lawmakers less than two days after Mueller completed his investigation. He and Rosenstein, who oversaw the investigation, spent the weekend analyzing the report and determining how much of it Congress and the American public will get to see. The attorney general has said he wants to be transparent, though how much of the report will be released depends on the law. Justice Department guidelines recommend against releasing negative information on people who have not been indicted. Barr said Sunday he will follow those guidelines.
A contentious battle is expected over the report as top Democrats demand the full release of Mueller’s report, while some Republicans want to take transparency a step further, including the release of the scope memo for the Russia investigation and related documents. Earlier this month, the House voted 420-0 to pass a resolution calling for the release of Mueller’s final report to the public, with four Republicans voting “present.”
The president could also try and assert executive privilege in order to stop the Justice Department from releasing evidence in the investigation, though Trump has so far said he’s fine with the report being released. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Supreme Court has already established that a president could not claim executive privilege to “hide wrongdoing.”
Nadler, noting that “Mueller did not exonerate the President,” announced in a tweet Sunday afternoon that his committee will be called in to testify in the near future.
In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future.
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019
The investigation has lingered over Trump for most of his presidency, ensnaring some of his close advisers. Mueller indicted 34 people and three Russian companies, including six people close to the president. Mueller is not recommending any further indictments.
Barr’s chief of staff called White House lawyer Emmet Flood shortly before the summary of Mueller’s conclusions was released to the public to give him a “read out” of the four-page document, CNN reported. A Justice Department official told the network that has been the extent of communications between the department and the White House on the matter.
Trump left Washington, D.C., on Friday morning for Florida, where he is spending the weekend at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron, who turned 13 last week. Over the course of the weekend Trump was updated about any Russia investigation developments by his lawyers.
On Sunday, in his first tweet since Mueller concluded his investigation, Trump appeared upbeat. “Good Morning, Have A Great Day!” he wrote. It marked a change, even if momentarily, in how Trump has reacted to Mueller-related news.
The president has often ranted against the “witch hunt” and declared “no collusion” amid developments in the investigation. At times, he publicly insisted the investigation be shut down. The president ultimately let Mueller finish the investigation.
