Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction of

[riversedge]

Source: nytimes




Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction of Justice




March 24, 2019
WASHINGTON — The investigation led by Robert S. Mueller III found that neither President Trump nor any of his aides conspired or coordinated with the Russian government’s 2016 election interference, according to a summary of the special counsel’s findings made public on Sunday by Attorney General William P. Barr.

Mr. Barr also said that Mr. Mueller’s team drew no conclusions about whether Mr. Trump illegally obstructed justice. Mr. Barr and the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, concluded that the special counsel’s investigators lacked sufficient evidence to establish that Mr. Trump committed that offense, but added that Mr. Mueller’s team stopped short of exonerating Mr. Trump.......................

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/us/politics/mueller-report-summary.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

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I looked at a few headlines and generally only the first part about No conspiracy is printed (not the no exonerating of Obstruction).





"This is a developing story. The New York Times will be examining the findings. Check back for updates."






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The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and his wife, Ann, walk near the White House after attending church on Sunday.CreditCliff Owen/Associated Press
Image

[Comatose Sphagetti]

1. Read further into the report...

Mueller did not exonerate. Barr did.

[still_one]

23. Exactly

[benld74]

31. Exact wording

“While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime it also does NOT exonerate him” — Mueller Report

[still_one]

33. Not only does the full report need to be released, but Mueller needs to testify along with Barr

[benld74]

44. Barr did NOT

Use any full sentence from the report
He cherry picked what he wanted
Dear leader to read

[lagomorph777]

69. "While this report does not conclude..." Barr's SPIN about Mueller's report.

NOT Mueller's report! Nobody has seen even one senstence of Mueller's report; we have only seen Barr's SPIN!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Barr weasel words. Turned "did not establish" into "did not find". tRump not home free. . . nt

[Thekaspervote]

3. A sad day indeed

[fountainofyouth]

4. I've tried to get people to anticipate this

Mueller is not a silver bullet and never was going to be. It is extremely plausible that Trump's campaign let Russia interfere without giving them any direction. Manafort's odd behavior was more easily explained by his debts to Oleg Deripaska.

So here's the good news: we can put together a winning 2020 message that will resonate outside of the Beltway.

[sandensea]

5. "...according to a summary by Attorney General William P. Barr."

I.e. the fat bastard who engineered the blanket pardon of all the Iran-Cocaine-Contra perps.

[SergeStorms]

34. Yep.

Barr voiced his opinion on this before Trump selected him for AG. Barr was going to stop any criminal processes within his power against TrumpCo. Another job "well done" for Bill Barr protecting GOP criminals.

[dalton99a]

41. +1

[George II]

6. Not arguing with you, but that is BARR'S interpretation of Mueller's report....

....not necessarily the true conclusion of the report. This is why we need the full report released to Congress and the public.

[cstanleytech]

15. True and Barr did make up his mind months ago.

[SergeStorms]

35. Decades ago.

It's his opinion that republicans can commit no crimes.

[Igel]

27. I'm going to say that what's in " " are quotations.

It's also very much a summary, which isn't surprising because it says it's a summary.

[LuvNewcastle]

64. People shouldn't be saying that these are the findings of the report.

A summary from the administration isn't worth the paper it's printed on. If they weren't desperately trying to do damage control, they would have released the report itself days ago instead of this bullshit summary. Who cares what Barr thinks about the report?

[lagomorph777]

70. Barr CLAIMS they are quotes.

Based on Barr's reputation, it's impossible not to assume that it's a partial sentence, taken out of context, or completely made up, or something he threatened Mueller into saying (e.g. threatening his pension, McCabe-style).

[yaesu]

7. Remember that campaign speech when tRump said that he welcomed russias help with the hacked emails

well, to my surprise or maybe not surprised, after checking youtube I can't find one example of it, edited out versions but not one where he said it. Now, I've seen it several times in the past so I figure they have sanitized the web. Maybe Mueller made them take it down. Hope someone can find an unedited version, I sure can't.

[CloudWatcher]

17. Russia if you're listening ...

[yaesu]

24. yes, thats it, thanks for posting. nt

[KPN]

8. Just this ...

[link:https://m.

|

[SergeStorms]

37. Probably my favorite Cohen song.

It sums up life in Amerikkka to a tee.

[Pathwalker]

9. So, Trump - The Lyin' King wins this round.

He's going to be insufferable. Gonna boycott the news for awhile.

[StarryNite]

10. Our country is screwed...

again. And the sick part of it is that there are those who are celebrating it. I want to throw up!

[srobertss]

45. That's what makes it so hard....

....these assholes crowing their “victory.” I’m absorbing the pain. Pain is good.

And then remember the upside. We don’t have to go through an impeachment process that the Republicans in the Senate will refuse to convict on. Maybe this will have a more positive result for 2020.

[Terminally_Chill]

11. ONE HAND WASHES THE OTHER

SAME AS IT EVER WAS

[Snellius]

12. Virginia Heffernan:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[humbled_opinion]

13. Sad Day for Democracy n/t

[cstanleytech]

14. I find it amazing given the clandestine meeting they had with the Russians that Trump swore

never took place that we then learned actually did take place.

[uppityperson]

16. According to Barr.

Can his summary be trusted?

[LiberalFighter]

18. For someone that supposedly is innocent he did everything he could to obstruct.

[Gravitycollapse]

21. That's because he's stupid and arrogant.

Not because he was a mastermind.

[SkatmanRoth]

19. We are now waiting for Jerry Nadler, Elijah Cummings, and Adam Schiff to take their turn

Mueller may not have been able to establish a Russia connection, but the investigations of Nadler, Cummings, and Schiff are going to show obstruction, finance irregularities, and other corruption. We can still run Trump out of office and make sure the Republicans lose in 2020.

[Gravitycollapse]

20. Trump is going to be re-elected.

Many on the left relied to much on this investigation taking Trump down. Turns out it was a paper tiger-something I suspected from the beginning. Now we have reinvigorated his base and probably persuaded some moderates to support him. This is not a good situation for us.

[DeminPennswoods]

22. Trump support and opposition is baked in

The SCO investigation was never going to change that. Dems were elected to control the House to check Trump, not because Russia helped him win, but because Trump's policies are a complete non-starter with the majority of Americans.

Trump might not be a traitor, but Dem investigations are going to show he's a garden variety crook and grifter who surrounds himself with crooks and grifters only in it to enrich themselves.

Nadler and Schiff are going to get all the underlying evidence that Mueller uncovered, hold hearings about it and then Americans will decide.

Frankly, I'm glad this summary has been released and we can move on to talking about real policy and the direction the country is headed.

[Gravitycollapse]

25. We should have been focusing on policy all along.

Now it’s probably too late. The time to address policy concerns is when policy changes. We’ve been distracted for the last two years and—despite minor protests—Trump has gotten away with all sorts of things.

He is a grifter and a crook and piece of human garbage. But he’s beyond the reach of most prosecutors until he is out of office. And since his odds of re-election just shot up, he might be in office until 2025.

We need to focus hard on taking the Senate. If we can’t win the White House, at least we can disrupt his policy agenda.

[DeminPennswoods]

30. Trump wants above all to be loved and accepted

He is the emotionally neediest person I think I have ever seen. If Dems control Congress in 2020, Trump will gladly sign on to and support their agenda. He has no core beliefs. I would bet dollars to donuts, Trump would turn into the most liberal president we've seen in many years.

[at140]

52. I totally believe what you said....nt

[DeminPennswoods]

65. I remember the joke about Nixon that he would've

turned out better if his mother had only said "I love you". I think the same is true of Trump except it's his father who never said it.

[at140]

71. Only his 3 wives probably said it

And Ivanka.

[videohead5]

28. We don't know what's going to happen

The next 2 years also don't forget the New York FBI is still investigating Trump and some states are also. The economy is going to take a down turn soon and Trump can't win with a slowing economy.

[Snellius]

39. Wait and see if they release the report before jumping over a cliff

Probably as much chance as Trump's tax returns that it will see the light of day. If not, why not? Mueller was never a Messiah. Pelosi saw through that false hope. Barr's report is NOT a summary of Mueller's investigation. It's Barr's spin. Without the full original to compare it to. If no report, the cover-up, like in Watergate, will be worse than the crime. Mueller may not have found hard, prosecutable evidence does not mean he didn't find a mass of likely, circumstantial evidence that may be more damning than what a prosecution can take to court. Besides, without the "witch hunt" what does Trump have to fire up his base? Hillary? She's gone. The swamp? Now he's the swamp. Infrastructure?

[Rizen]

57. This isn't the only investigation

Look at what NY is investigating him for. This not finding him guilty does not mean nothing else will.

[Gravitycollapse]

58. I'd be shocked if SDNY got him when Mueller didn't.

They’re looking for crimes that might not even be prosecutable against a sitting president.

We really need to focus more on community outreach and coalition building to oust him in 2020 AND win the senate. I think these investigations are largely a waste of time.

[Rizen]

59. His lawyer got 3 years in prison iirc.

Just because 1 of many investigations turns up empty doesn't mean another will.

[DeminPennswoods]

66. SDNY has already named Individual 1 (Trump)

as a co-conspirator with Cohen to pay hush money payments. We have Trump and Cohen on an audio recording discussing the matter. Cohen is going to jail for this crime and others.

[LanternWaste]

72. Another of your unsupported "false sense of protection" arguments.

What specifically leads you to allege the investigations are a waste of time?

[SHRED]

26. His campaign colluded

Not sure why Mueller ignored this.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211950669

[cstanleytech]

29. Could he have not simply referred it to the DA for where the meeting took place to

investigate?

[ArizonaLib]

43. They are saying no 'agreement' was in place

Just bullshit though. You are right - there were transactions and there were understandings. What is being implied today is that it is all ok. 'Lock her up' means an email server was not ok, but all this other crap was fine.

[Maxheader]

32. And the rich get richer...

of course...

[Magoo48]

67. Yup,

Chumped? Punked? Hoodwinked? Bamboozled? Had? Okeydoked? Jerked around? Played? In the always relevant words of George Carlin, “It’s a big fucking club and you ain’t in it, you ain’t in the big fucking club.”🤫🚶🏼?♂️🤫🚶🏼?♂️A friend recently suggested that if I didn’t like it, kick rocks. I think we the people just got told—kick rocks....

[Honeycombe8]

36. Well, at least these things were neutrally investigated by a top investigator.

Trump is cleared. I personally still think he did it, but who am I to second guess Mueller, who is a professional and has examined reams of evidence?

This was what was needed. And the result is in.

So I guess we move on to the 2020 election.

A dark day.

[ArizonaLib]

42. What about intent to commit conspiracy?

If someone is caught with the intent or trying to buy illegal drugs, aren't they put away?

[rockfordfile]

38. Here is the problem. Republican investigating Republican. Seems it was a white wash from the start

Look at how the Republicans handled the House and Senate investigations. Look at the past.

[Norman Conkedwest]

40. Remember Nixon's {expletive deleted} "Transcripts" during Watergate?

Now we have the same kind of shit from Barr.

[DeminPennswoods]

47. Yep, selectively edited to make Nixon

appear to be an innocent victim.

[onetexan]

46. AG Barr, Trump appointee, says Trump did not obstruct justice. MUELLER NEVER DID.

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/mueller-states-no-exoneration-for-trump-on-obstruction-trump-claims-opposite-1464027715848?fbclid=IwAR1koZbYWvuDJ7VMPWciv_Y3Fxlz8gc3QDf-D0lNKuMqgxyXMYArkZ6xD4k

Neal Katyal says Barr's letter raises more concerns than there were answers:
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/katyal-letter-caused-me-grave-concern-1463998019971

[DeminPennswoods]

48. Barr made a big mistake taking for himself the decision to

exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. Since DoJ has an internal policy saying it cannot indict a sitting President, that question then defaults to Congress, specifically the House.

It's a clumsy attempt at a cover up. And as Rick Wilson says "everything Trump touches dies" and Barr will leave his AG post as disgraced as Mitchell and Kleindenst.

[onetexan]

53. disgraced, exactly what i was thinking when i heard the news earlier today

you're absolutely right, with this despicable coverup attempt he has in deed disgraced himself in the history books forever. And all for whom? A traitorous blowhard who has no loyalties to anyone but himself.

I actually think he had already planned and prepared ahead of time that regardless of what was contained in Mueller's report, that he would scrub it and draft a dumbed up summary to send to Congress. God-willing someone on Mueller's team, or Mueller himself, will leak the report in full so the American public and the world will know the truth unfiltered.

[kwolf68]

49. Poor play by the left

We needed more focus on Trumps malignant policies, instead many doubled down on this report. While the world burned all I could hear was RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA, for a long while Rachel couldn't do a show without it, even Bill Maher became obsessed with it. When two brilliant Liberals like Rachel and Bill fall for it, then it's hopeless. I know MANY on the left did focus on his policies, but too much of that got washed away in the Russia minutia. I don't know what Democrats have to do, because on the issues the people side with us far more than the right, issues after issue after issue, yet they have the White House, Senate and the judiciary and Dolt 45 just got a real bee to put in his bonnet.

[rockfordfile]

50. Do it all. The House should continue to investigate.

[Puzzledtraveller]

55. I have been called a Putin apologist for suggesting the same

[samnsara]

51. so mueller did to trump what comey did to hillary

...and how did that turn out?

[Puzzledtraveller]

54. Absolutely no surprise.

I personally think it was a mistake to stake so much on it.

[DallasNE]

56. The Key Passage Reads

"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. Our determination was made without regard to, and is not based on, the constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president."

That is not what the man that worked on this case for nearly two years said. How can someone look at it for two days and be so definitive as to conclude no obstruction. What was missing? And what is the case history for level of evidence in obstruction cases. Should not Barr be citing case history. Without that it is no more than a political statement - even when coming from the Attorney General.

[Progressive Jones]

60. So, I'll have to assume that Gates, Flynn, et all, actually gave Mueller nothing.

Flynn alone had around 20 charges dropped in return for his cooperation. One would think that
Flynn's offerings were big, to get that many charges dropped. Clearly, nothing.
What a fucking scam....

[JonLP24]

61. All I see is a whole bunch of people fell on the sword for Trump

[still_one]

62. What was the Cohen testimony about? Why was Comey asked to stop investigating Russia, and lay off

Flynn? What was the National Enquirer and the Trump financial manger interviews about?

etc. etc. etc.

[dustyscamp]

63. F Trump

“The fact is, I shouldn't say this 'cause I want to unite, I do eventually want to unite, but the fact is we're driving (Democrats) crazy,” Trump said. “We're driving them crazy. They don't know what to. They're going loco, loco. That's all right. Hopefully it's all going to come together someday like a beautiful puzzle.”

[treestar]

68. Dotard is too dumb to live

Why bother with obstructing justice if you know you didn't collude?

He must have done something else.