Spotlight: Summary of Mueller report out, setting stage for new political fights

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Attorney General William Barr released his summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the just-ended Russia investigation on Sunday, evoking different reactions from Washington while setting the stage for new political fights.

NO COLLUSION BUT NO EXONERATION BY Mueller

In a four-page letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, Barr said Mueller did not find evidence that Donald Trump's campaign or anyone associated with it "conspired or coordinated with the Russian government" to allegedly interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired with the Russian government in its election interference activities," Barr wrote, citing a confidential report that Mueller submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, marking an end to his nearly two-year investigation.

According to the letter, the Mueller report did not reach a conclusion as to whether Trump had obstructed justice, a focus of the special counsel's inquiry, stating that it does not conclude the president "committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr said Mueller's "decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions" leaves it to him to determine whether Trump's examined conduct described in the special counsel's report constitutes a crime.

The attorney general added that he and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May, 2017, determined "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's letter was summary of what he called the "principal conclusions" of Mueller's high-anticipated report on his investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed justice, among other things.

WASHINGTON REACTS DIFFERENTLY

Trump, who has spent this weekend at his private club in the state of Florida, touted Barr's summary as a "complete exoneration," while again lashing out at Mueller's investigation that has shadowed his presidency for the past two years, which he has repeatedly called a "hoax" or a "witch hunt."

"This was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully somebody is going to be looking at their other side," he told reporters Sunday before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington D.C. "It's a shame that our country had to go through this. It's a shame that your President has had to go through this."

Jay Sekulow, an attorney for Trump, said the president's legal team is "very pleased" with Barr's synopsis, according to CNN.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that Mueller's findings confirm the president's account that "there was no effort by his campaign to conspire or coordinate with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Barr's letter "raises as many questions as it answers."

"The fact that Special Counsel Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay," the Democratic leaders said in a statement.

The statement also said Congress needs "the full report and the underlying documents so that the Committees can proceed with their independent work, including oversight and legislating to address any issues the Mueller report may raise. "

WHAT'S NEXT

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who first shared Barr's letter on Twitter, said Trump "may have acted to obstruct justice, but that for an obstruction conviction, 'the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct.'"

In a series of tweets, Nadler said his panel will call Barr in to testify in the near future "in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report."

Barr, 68, a DOJ veteran who was sworn in as Trump's second attorney general last month, had his nomination under scrutiny from Democrats for a memo he wrote to Rosenstein in June, 2018, criticizing Mueller's inquiry.

During his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Barr assured senators of his independence and said that he would not be bullied by anyone into doing something he believes is wrong if he becomes the attorney general, adding that he would release Mueller's report as much as he could under the law.

Pelosi and Schumer on Sunday accused Barr, who previously served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993, of neither being a "neutral observer" nor in a position "to make objective determinations about the report," citing Barr's "public record of bias" against the Russia investigation.

Barr signaled in his letter that more information of the Mueller report may be released in the future.

The process of determining what else can be released from Mueller's report "has begun," CNN reported, citing a Justice Department official. There's a small team working on it, and no firm timeline for release, according to CNN.

Mueller's findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don't entirely remove the legal threats that the president and associates are facing.

Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the 2016 campaign who claim they had sex with Trump. The president's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated him in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

MASSIVE INVESTIGATIVE EFFORT

Mueller's investigation, which began shortly after Trump's sudden decision to fire former FBI director James Comey, has led to felony charges against 34 people, including six Trump associates and advisers, and three entities, triggering firestorms of criticism from the president and his political allies.

Much of the charges against the Trump associates related to lying to Congress or federal investigators and none of them directly related to the question of collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Besides, 25 Russians were accused of election interference either through hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet. Russia has denied any meddling in the 2016 election.

Barr said Sunday that Mueller's report "does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the special counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public."

The attorney general also revealed in his letter a massive effort by Mueller through the nation's court system and in interviewing witnesses to reach his findings.

Mueller's team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, as the special counsel employed 19 lawyers and was assisted by a team of 40 federal agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and other professional staff.