Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction →
NY Times:
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 key 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, determined 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.
“While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” Mr. Barr quoted Mr. Mueller as writing.
It appears Mueller found insufficient evidence of intent to conspire with Russia to influence the election, despite Russia’s attempts to do just that. He also punted on the question of obstruction, possibly due to the question of whether or not a sitting president can be indicted on such a charge. Thus, the obstruction question is left to Congress, and thrust squarely into the political foil in the run-up to the 2020 elections.