The Mueller Investigation Part 2: The Release of the Full Report and What it Really Concluded
- The STEM Academy Paper
- May 1, 2019
- 3 min read
May 1, 2019
Ritti Bhogal
*This article may seem a little confusing if you haven’t read the article on the first part of the Mueller Investigation in our previous issue. Go check it out now!*
The question before was, “When can everyone view the report?” Now that the full report is in the hands of the public, the question reporters and politicians are currently asking is, “What happens to President Donald Trump now?”
Oh yeah, that’s right- the Department of Justice released the redacted report of the Mueller Investigation on April . All 448 pages, two volumes and appendixes cover all the details regarding Russian interference and possible obstruction of justice committed by Donald Trump. Click here to read the PDF version of the complete report.
First, people began scrutinizing Attorney General William Barr, who was responsible for writing to Congress a shortened yet encapsulating version of the report, but instead he broadcasted a summary rather contradictory to Mueller’s findings. William Barr states in his letter to Congress, “we noted that the special counsel recognized that ‘the evidence does not establish that the president was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference,’” He frequently claims no evidence of a collusion, as well as how Trump and the White House were tirelessly probed and worked just for the sake of the special counsel’s investigation.
Despite that, Barr’s assertions are only partially true. After disclosing the account of the investigation to the public eye, we can conclusively say that the Mueller report could not declare that President Trump committed illegal action during his campaign.
To support his detections, Mueller states that Trump and the Russian government both understood that a Trump presidency would benefit both parties, and he provides multiple instances of Trump attempting to act on that understanding. This includes accepting the scandal on his opponent Hillary Clinton given by Russian hackers because it would increase Trump’s chances of winning. This technically cannot be defined as a collusion due to Russia and Trump conspiring independently from one another. Trump never requested for libel information on Hillary from the Russians, they simply handed it to him. They also did not communicate to Trump that his potential presidency would benefit them, as this was assumed by Trump. While it can be said Trump took criminal action, lack of cooperation between Russia and Trump labels it as “not collusive.”
What creates more controversy is Trump’s involvement in the investigation itself, and the various examples of Trump attempting to alter its course. He tried to get Robert Mueller removed us special counsel in June 2017, claiming he supposedly had “conflicts of interest.” The President asked former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to limit the investigation to future election interference, but Lewandowski was not uncomfortable with the request and refused. Trump personally requested that a line be removed in Donald Trump Jr.’s statement to New York Times confessing there was a meeting held between the Russians and Trump to exchange information on Hillary. The emails to set-up the conference between Russia and Trump date back to June 2016, but Trump edited his son’s statement to merely examining U.S. adoption policies to avoid inquiry. In December 2017, when former national security advisor began working with the special counsel, Trump consistently tried to re-establish their lasting friendship through his personal attorney. When Flynn’s attorney claimed they were no longer working under the same case, Trump’s attorney said Flynn was displaying hostility towards the President. While there were numerous other points brought to attention in the Mueller report, these incidents suggest Trump was trying to conceal some sort of engagement between him and Russia. Nonetheless, Robert Mueller never had a fixed stance on whether Donald Trump committed the crime of obstruction.
Due to Mueller’s declaration of “no collusion” and uncertainty as to whether obstruction occurred in the Trump campaign for the 2016 election, he chose not to subpoena the President. He says along with the inability to determine no collusion or obstruction, he believed the majority of Trump’s actions were “within his presidential power.” President Trump’s advisors also did not heed to his requests for obstruction during his campaign, so even if the intention was present, no underlying crime was committed.
What happens to Trump now? The Mueller report has not necessarily made much of an impact in Trump’s presidency, but that may not be true for his political future. While the Democrat-ruled House has the right to press charges via impeachment against Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate will not let that happen. Furthermore, these efforts would be pointless since Trump’s presidential term is nearing an end. The decision will lie in the hands of the people. Trump plans to run for President in the 2020 election, and the people’s vote will best reflect the public reaction to the Mueller investigation, as well as whether it truly affected Trump at all.
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