The 300 page Mueller Report has finally been released. So, what does this mean and what did we learn?
Mueller was investigating two things: What are the ties, if any, between the Trump campaign and Russia? Was there obstruction to justice?
Mueller found no evidence of collusion between the campaign and Russia. Although Trump associates met with Russians, Mueller decided that interest in information does not necessarily mean collusion. Basically, Trump walked the line of collusion, but never crossed the line.
There are pieces of collusion, but not enough to bring about a charge.
The second question is much more obscure and difficult to answer. Mueller never actually gave a conclusion to the obstruction question. He decided that he could not answer that question, but Trump is not fully exonerated like he claims.
In his four page long summary, Attorney General Bill Barr made the decision to say that there was insufficient evidence of obstruction to justice.
House Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have accused Barr of being biased. A letter was released that Barr wrote before his appointment that criticised the investigation. His short summary of the investigation is also seen as suspicious. Democrats have demanded that the attorney general release the full report to the public.
There are still some questions that need to asked.
Why did Mueller not interview Trump? It was in his power to subpoena him to give an interview, but Mueller never did. It is peculiar that the person under investigation was never questioned.
It was within Mueller’s right to not give a certain decision on whether there was obstruction to justice, but why did he leave it up to Barr? The special counsel is supposed to be neutral and without political bias. By giving Barr the opportunity to make a decision, it gives politics the power.
We know that Russia did infere, but the Trump campaign was not involved enough to commit a crime. So, why did Trump consider firing Mueller? Trump’s constant attacking of the investigation made it appear that he did something wrong.
Thirty-four people where charged by Mueller including six former Trump associates. None of these charges involved conspiracy between the Russians and the campaign. The six people, Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, Michael Flynn and Rick Gates where all charged with lying to the FBI, not collusion.
Although the case is over, we don’t know when the full report will be released. Back to the waiting game.