The Release of the Mueller Report

This note provides initial assessments of the contents of the Mueller report on Russia/Trump collusion and obstruction of justice.

1.  After opening remarks and thanks offered to both Deputy AG, Rod Rosenstein, and Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller AG Bill Barr proceeded to make remarks about the report. Included were these:

On Collusion with Russia.   "As you know, one of the primary purposes of the Special Counsel’s investigation was to determine whether members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, or any individuals associated with that campaign, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.  Volume I of the Special Counsel’s report describes the results of that investigation.  As you will see, the Special Counsel’s report states that his “investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”  I am sure that all Americans share my concerns about the efforts of the Russian government to interfere in our presidential election.  As the Special Counsel’s report makes clear, the Russian government sought to interfere in our election.  But thanks to the Special Counsel’s thorough investigation, we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign – or the knowing assistance of any other Americans for that matter.  That is something that all Americans can and should be grateful to have confirmed."  And,  "As you know, one of the primary purposes of the Special Counsel’s investigation was to determine whether members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, or any individuals associated with that campaign, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.  Volume I of the Special Counsel’s report describes the results of that investigation.  As you will see, the Special Counsel’s report states that his “investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”  I am sure that all Americans share my concerns about the efforts of the Russian government to interfere in our presidential election.  As the Special Counsel’s report makes clear, the Russian government sought to interfere in our election.  But thanks to the Special Counsel’s thorough investigation, we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign – or the knowing assistance of any other Americans for that matter.  That is something that all Americans can and should be grateful to have confirmed."  And,  "So that is the bottom line.  After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas, and hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the Special Counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes." 

On Obstruction of Justice.  "After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report, and in consultation with the Office of Legal Counsel and other Department lawyers, the Deputy Attorney General and I concluded that the evidence developed by the Special Counsel is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."  And,  "In assessing the President’s actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context.  President Trump faced an unprecedented situation.  As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates.  At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President’s personal culpability.  Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion.  And as the Special Counsel’s report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.  Nonetheless, the White House fully cooperated with the Special Counsel’s investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims.  And at the same time, the President took no act that in fact deprived the Special Counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation. Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the President had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation."

On Redactions.  "In addition to making the redacted report public, we are also committed to working with Congress to accommodate their legitimate oversight interests with respect to the Special Counsel’s investigation.  We have been consulting with Chairman Graham and Chairman Nadler throughout this process, and we will continue to do so. Given the limited nature of the redactions, I believe that the publicly released report will allow every American to understand the results of the Special Counsel’s investigation.  Nevertheless, in an effort to accommodate congressional requests, we will make available to a bipartisan group of leaders from several Congressional committees a version of the report with all redactions removed except those relating to grand-jury information.  Thus, these members of Congress will be able to see all of the redacted material for themselves – with the limited exception of that which, by law, cannot be shared. I believe that this accommodation, together with my upcoming testimony before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, will satisfy any need Congress has for information regarding the Special Counsel’s investigation.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-release-report-investigation-russian

2. No matter what Barr or the Mueller reports says, left wing Democrats continue their unhinged behavior since the report and Barr along with Rosenstein did not support their factually unsupportable preconceived position that Trump colluded with Russia and engaged in obstruction of justice.  Some examples.

At the briefing where he announced the release of Mueller's Report one reporter charged Barr with generous by protecting the president. Quote:  BARR: …So I’m not sure what your basis is for saying I am being ‘generous’ to the president. REPORTER: You face an unprecedented situation. It just seems that there is a lot of effort to go out of your way to acknowledge how this will…. BARR: Well is there another precedent for it?  REPORTER: No, but it’s unusual… BARR: Ok so unprecedented is an accurate description isn’t it?  REPORTER: Yes but…BARR: Ok. From The Right Scoop:  These reporters who hate Trump are be-clowning themselves this morning. One such reporter actually accused Barr in his press conference of protecting the president, also saying he was being ‘generous’ to Trump. It did not go well for her. … She still proceeded to ask Barr how he responds to criticism that he’s trying to protect the president, but he just ignored her and went to the next question."    https://explainlife.com/ag-bill-barr-embarrasses-reporter-who-asked-gotcha-question-about-trump-14013/?

Without benefit of thoroughly reading and considering the report's contents Democrats displayed their uninformed partisan opinions. Some are ignorant; others are disingenuous. All display partisanship rather than anything intelligent or factual.  See for yourself.   https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/nation-world/democrats-respond-to-ag-barrs-handling-of-mueller-report/71-b8eeb03a-a5cb-4b0c-96d6-4f67ec3ace85    No amount of evidence will convince partisans filled with hatred and who are unwilling to deal in the real world will ever consider Trump as being the legitimately elected president. He guilty of both charges, they just know it despite the absence of evidence.  They are convinced he is an illegitimate president solely because their seriously flawed candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost fair and square. Their efforts to destroy him and his administration will continue.

I watched a bit of ABC's team of crack analysts led by Democrat left wing partisan George Stephanopoulos. The entire crew were obvious left wingers as they breathlessly parsed words convincing themselves that Mueller was sending them and congress secret messages that will result in Trump's eventual demise. They seem convinced that Mueller has set the stage for Congress to finally give Trump what they think he deserves.  It was a repulsive orgy of disgustingly disingenuous and totally irresponsible partisanship. I finally had to turn off the TV.  Time will tell what the eventual fall-out will be.

Democrat politicians got exactly what they wanted but are still not happy. They got a partisan Special Prosecutor who filled his staff with partisan Democrats who supported Hillary Clinton for president and gave money to her campaign. Yet in their zeal to bring down Trump they could not do so.  So, now Mueller is their mortal enemy because he did not give them Trump's head on a platter. Their claim?  He did not tell the truth in his report.  This is their demented thinking after Mueller and his searched for evidence at a cost of $34 million of our tax payer dollars and still came up empty. They now demand Mueller come before Congress and finally tell the truth.  Such is the state of the Democrat party.  

George Burns