New Delhi:
President Donald Trump on Monday said that Robert Mueller acted honourably in the into alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election campaign. Mueller headed the probe for two years. "Yes he did," Trump said after Mueller -- whom he often bitterly criticized during the investigation -- said there was no evidence of collusion by Trump or his campaign. Earlier, US Attorney General William Barr had said Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not find proof that Donald Trump and his campaign “conspired or coordinated” with the Russian government. On Friday, Mueller handed over his report to Attorney General William Barr, who has said he will write his own account of the special counsel's findings. The investigation had cast a shadow over the Trump presidency for nearly two years with the Democratic leadership alleging that Russian interference helped him in the 2016 polls.
“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 US presidential election,” the attorney general said.
Mueller, in his report, “did not draw a conclusion - one way or the other - as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction”, Barr told the lawmakers.
“For each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the special counsel views as ‘difficult issues’ of law and fact concerning whether the president’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction,” Barr said, adding Mueller “ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment”.
In the letter, he also said the Department of Justice has determined that there is not sufficient evidence to establish that Trump committed obstruction of justice.
“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,” the letter read.
“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 US presidential election,” it said, adding, “the report identifies no actions that, in our judgement, constitute obstructive conduct.”
The Democrats were banking heavily on the results of the Mueller investigation to defeat Trump in the 2020 elections. Many were also talking about impeaching the president if the report reveals collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
