Mueller report does not have proof of Trump crimes: Justice Department
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Mueller also investigated whether Trump obstructed justice but did not come to a definitive answer, Attorney General William Barr said in a letter to Congress summarizing Mueller's report.
The special counsel "does not exonerate" Trump of obstructing justice, Barr said, and his report "sets out evidence on both sides of the question."
After consulting with other Justice Department officials, Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined the evidence "is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense."
Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller's report Sunday afternoon. Mueller wrapped up his investigation on Friday with no new indictments, bringing to a close a probe that has shadowed Trump for nearly two years.
Following the release Barr’s letter, President Trump tweeted: "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerold Nadler tweeted that he will call the attorney general in to testify before the committee in the “near future.”
“In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future,” Nadler, D-N.Y., wrote.
Rep. Jim Jordan, a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said it was time for the country to move on from the investigation.
“No collusion! No obstruction! It’s time to move on,” Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted on Sunday.
Democratic presidential candidates also weighed in on the release of Barr’s letter on Mueller’s findings, many calling for the full report to be made available to the American public.
“The Mueller report must be made public. Not just a letter from someone appointed by Trump to protect himself—all of it. The President works for the people, and he is not above the law,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., tweeted.
“Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report. Not a "summary" from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public. Immediately,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said on Twitter.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. wrote on Twitter: “The American public deserves the full report and findings from the Mueller investigation immediately—not just the in-house summary from a Trump Administration official.”
Barr's chief of staff called White House counsel Emmet Flood at 3 p.m. Sunday to brief him on the report to Congress. Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, about to return to Washington after spending the weekend there.
The letter from Attorney General William Barr to Congress on the conclusions reached by special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia probe photographed on Sunday, March 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) (AP)
Mueller's investigation ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.
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Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department, which appointed him.
Mueller was assigned to the job in May 2017 by Rosenstein, who oversaw much of his work. Barr and Rosenstein analyzed Mueller's report on Saturday, laboring to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report