Trump gets clean chit over Russian collusion, but in dock for obstruction

Washington, March 25 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion between US President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, but left unresolved the issue of whether Trump obstructed justice by undermining the investigations that have dogged his presidency.

Even though Mueller’s findings on obstruction of justice were inconclusive, US Attorney General William Barr said in a summary released on Sunday that Mueller’s team had not found enough proof to warrant bringing charges against Trump. It marked a political victory for Trump. He quickly claimed “complete and total exoneration”, while his Democratic opponents expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and vowed to continue congressional inquiries into his business and personal dealings. The Kremlin said following the release of Barr’s summary that President Vladimir Putin was ready to improve ties with the United States but was up to Washington to make the first move. “In this case, the ball is absolutely in their court. It was given to Trump in Helsinki,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters on Monday, referring to a summit between Putin and Trump in the Finnish capital in July 2018. Peskov repeated Moscow’s denial of any interference in the US elections and internal affairs or those of any other country.

“...It’s hard to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat,” Peskov said. Mueller’s 22-month investigation ended with a finding that no one in Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated with the Russian government”, according to Barr’s four-page summary of the confidential report. — Reuters /Agencies

Russia calls on US to formally recognise there was no conspiracy

The Russia’s foreign ministry called on the United States on Monday to formally recognise there was no collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s campaign at the 2016 elections following the conclusion of a months-long US investigation.

Kremlin: open to better US ties

Russia is ready to improve ties with the United States but it is up to Washington to make the first move, the Kremlin said. US Attorney General William Barr said Special Counsel Robert Mueller had found no evidence of collusion in his investigation, though had not determined whether Trump obstructed justice by undermining inquiries that have dogged his presidency.

Trump ‘ok’ with release of report 

Donald Trump will have no problem with the release of the Mueller report into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US election, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday. “I don’t think the president has any problem with it,” Sanders said on NBC’s Today show. “He’s more than happy for any of this stuff to come out because he knows exactly what did and what didn’t happen and now frankly the rest of America knows.

Blow to Democrats’ plans to probe Trump

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report is a serious blow to Democrats who had hoped that it would boost their own wide-ranging probes into Trump’s business dealings. Democrats promptly called for the release of full report and noted that he did not exonerate Trump on the question of whether the president obstructed justice in trying to undermine investigations into the election campaign.

Offers re-poll weapon for president

The report gives the President a powerful weapon to use against his Democratic opponents and a potential boost to what is shaping up to be a tough bid for re-election in 2020. Mueller’s conclusion takes away a central charge that the Democrats have flung at Trump for two years — that he did not win the presidency fairly or cleanly. The allegations have played out on an endless loop on cable TV news shows from day one.

Does not mark end of US Prez’s legal woes

• The closure of the special counsel’s probe gives DonaldTrump a boost but it does not mark the end of his legal woes. Other investigations are focused on his businesses and financial dealings, hush-money payments to two women who said they had affairs with him, and questions over the funding of his charitable foundation and presidential inaugural committee.
• Democrats are also preparing a series of their own inquiries. On the issue of obstruction, Barr said Mueller’s report flagged “‘difficult issues’ of law and fact concerning whether the president’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction.”