UPDATE: President Trump has responded:
No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019
***Original Post***
Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to four lawmakers on Capitol Hill Sunday afternoon summarizing the findings of Robert Mueller's two year long Special Counsel investigation. After 500 witnesses and 2800 subpoenas, it's over.
The letter is four pages long and repeatedly states nobody from the 2016 Trump campaign, or any individual associated with it, colluded with Russians to steal the presidential election.
"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. As the report states: "[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," the letter states.
"The Special Counsel's investigation determined that there were two main Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. The first involved attempts by a Russian organization, the Internet Research Agency (IRA), to conduct disinformation and social media operations in the United States designed to sow social discord, eventually with the aim of interfering with the election," the letter continues. "As noted above, the Special Counsel did not find that any U.S. person or Trump campaign official or associate conspired or knowingly coordinated with the IRA in its efforts, although the Special Counsel brought criminal charges against a number of Russian nationals and entities in connection with these activities."
On the issue of whether President Trump committed obstruction of justice, Attorney General Bill Barr writes there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that is the case.
"The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion -- one way or the other -- as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction," the letter states. "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 reiterated in the letter he will be as transparent as possible with a fuller release of the report within the Special Counsel guidelines and the law.
You can read the letter in full, here.
The White House has responded to the report as a full exoneration of President 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.”
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) March 24, 2019
This post has been updated with additional information.
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