Special Counsel Robert Mueller
Critics of Donald Trump are warning of a constitutional crisis unless the full text of Robert Mueller’s investigation into the US president’s alleged collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice.
In a four-page summary of the long-anticipated report, Attorney General William Barr said the “investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities”. He added his personal determination that “the evidence developed during the Special Counsel’s investigation is not sufficient to establish” obstruction of justice.
Mueller’s conclusions “represented a huge political win for the President”, says CNN.
But he may not yet be in the clear. According to the Justice Department, the full report runs to 300 pages, “a length that raises new questions about Attorney General William P. Barr’s four-page summary”, says The New York Times.
The US public also appears unconvinced: a CNN poll found that 56% of Americans think the Mueller reports does not exonerate Trump.
Democrats’ dilemma
House Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings warned this week of a looming “constitutional crisis” if the report is not released in full. He is one of several Democrats expressing “growing frustration at what they see as Republican efforts to prevent the full release of the FBI special counsel’s report”, says The Independent.
Others want to drop Russia altogether. One presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, who has made a surprisingly strong early showing in the primary race, suggested this week that the party should move in another direction. “I think this is further evidence that it would be a mistake for Democrats to think that the way for the Trump presidency to end is by way of investigation,” he said.
Continued focus on the investigation “may delight party activists but is likely to turn off swing voters”, says Gerard Baker in The Times. “Mueller, the man [Democrats] expected to give them the weapon with which they would destroy the Trump presidency, may in fact have given them an unusually torturous device for self-mutilation” he concludes.
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