William Barr: Mueller clears Trump in Russia probe

[redleghunter]

Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that anyone connected with President Trump or his 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to subvert the 2016 election, according to a summary of his findings released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr.


Yet Mr. Mueller did find actions by Mr. Trumpafter he was in office that suggested he may have been attempting to obstruct the probe into the election. Mr. Mueller did not recommend prosecution but left the decision up to Mr. Barr, who said he doesn’t see enough evidence of a crime to pursue charges.

“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,” Mr. Barr wrote in a letter summarizing his findings. It was sent to Congress Sunday afternoon and quickly became public.

More at link:
Robert Mueller clears Donald Trump in Russia probe, William Barr says

 

[Rion]

Ooo, I almost overlooked this. The Special Counsel even lowered the standard for what qualifies as collusion by throwing a net over "cooperation" as well, and they still didn't find anything.

 

[Gigimo]

Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that anyone connected with President Trump or his 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to subvert the 2016 election, according to a summary of his findings released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr.

That's going to annoy a lot of folks all around the globe, but unless I miss my guess the rhetoric won't change in the least.

 

[thecolorsblend]

Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that anyone connected with President Trump or his 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to subvert the 2016 election, according to a summary of his findings released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr.


Yet Mr. Mueller did find actions by Mr. Trumpafter he was in office that suggested he may have been attempting to obstruct the probe into the election. Mr. Mueller did not recommend prosecution but left the decision up to Mr. Barr, who said he doesn’t see enough evidence of a crime to pursue charges.

“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,” Mr. Barr wrote in a letter summarizing his findings. It was sent to Congress Sunday afternoon and quickly became public.

More at link:
Robert Mueller clears Donald Trump in Russia probe, William Barr says

If this goes as badly as it's starting to look, the Democrats may rue the day they ever brought this subject up in the first place. Being cleared after two years of investigation will strengthen Trump and give him a really persuasive issues to campaign on in 2020.

 

[mark kennedy]

Not only is it not surprising that Trump isn't being charged, I don't think Flynn would have been had he not lied about it. I'm still not sure why Cohen is going to jail except that he lied to Congress, some campaign finance issues and something related to his taxes. I'm not entirely sure why he would lie to Congress when Trump spoke openly of the deal, saying he knew there was a good chance he would lose. I don't think AG Sessions would have had to recuse himself had he not lied about two meetings with Ambassador Kislyak, that wasn't the only diplomat he met with and it was just people trying to figure out what Trump was going to do. I don't get this bunch, the are the architects of their own demise. Trump is less then candid a lot of the time but he never really seems to lie about the important things, I guess you just have to know when you can play with the truth and when you should come right out with it.

 

[mark kennedy]

If this goes as badly as it's starting to look, the Democrats may rue the day they ever brought this subject up in the first place. Being cleared after two years of investigation will strengthen Trump and give him a really persuasive issues to campaign on in 2020.

I don't think so, the investigation is going to be used politically to great effect. He will continue to call it a witch hunt but it wasn't, there are still questions about why he is so cozy with Russia. The SDNY isn't done with him yet and should he have to answer for some kind of crimes, they are going to be financial, that much I'm sure of.

 

[thecolorsblend]

I don't think so, the investigation is going to be used politically to great effect. He will continue to call it a witch hunt but it wasn't, there are still questions about why he is so cozy with Russia. The SDNY isn't done with him yet and should he have to answer for some kind of crimes, they are going to be financial, that much I'm sure of.

So apart from the fact that the Russian collusion conspiracy theory has totally fallen apart, some Democrats may yet console themselves with silly process issues which may not even be crimes.

Yes indeed, let's swing for the fences!

PS- Those things will be called a witch hunt by Trump too and since the Russia conspiracy theory has imploded, the public is likely to believe Trump.

 

[mark kennedy]

So apart from the fact that the Russian collusion conspiracy theory has totally fallen apart, some Democrats may yet console themselves with silly process issues which may not even be crimes.

Yes indeed, let's swing for the fences!

PS- Those things will be called a witch hunt by Trump too and since the Russia conspiracy theory has imploded, the public is likely to believe Trump.

It hasn't imploded, just never rose to the level of 'high crimes and misdemeanors'. He is still too cozy with Putin and his denial of their interference in the 2016 election speaks volumes for his ulterior motives and lack of candor. The DOJ was looking into some pretty sketchy relationships of the Trump camp and Russia, as it turns out there was no criminal intent, which btw, was why Clinton was never locked up. This is going to be used politically and Trump's problems are not going away, he certainly hasn't been exonerated. If he is smart he will just put this behind him and work to craft a more positive message.

 

[thecolorsblend]

It hasn't imploded,

It imploded.

He is still too cozy with Putin

According to whom? And in what way?

and his denial of their interference in the 2016 election speaks volumes for his ulterior motives and lack of candor.

Even if one assumes they did somehow do something with our elections... well, I shall put it delicately.

I can think of two other countries besides Russia who routinely meddle in our elections. I have no illusions that they'll ever face justice for it (though I can dream) but they meddle in our elections all the time.

For that matter, the US meddles in other countries' elections as well. If we have a real "tough guy" in office, we might even depose other governments for spurious reasons or no reason at all.

 

[mark kennedy]

It imploded.

Opinions vary

According to whom? And in what way?

According to me, 'I don't see any reason it would be Russia', is anyone buying that?

Even if one assumes they did somehow do something with our elections... well, I shall put it delicately.

I can think of two other countries besides Russia who routinely meddle in our elections. I have no illusions that they'll ever face justice for it (though I can dream) but they meddle in our elections all the time.

For that matter, the US meddles in other countries' elections as well. If we have a real "tough guy" in office, we might even depose other governments for spurious reasons or no reason at all.

Not like Russia did.

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that anyone connected with President Trump or his 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to subvert the 2016 election, according to a summary of his findings released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr.

Yet Mr. Mueller did find actions by Mr. Trump after he was in office that suggested he may have been attempting to obstruct the probe into the election. Mr. Mueller did not recommend prosecution but left the decision up to Mr. Barr, who said he doesn’t see enough evidence of a crime to pursue charges.

“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,” Mr. Barr wrote in a letter summarizing his findings. It was sent to Congress Sunday afternoon and quickly became public.

More at link:
Robert Mueller clears Donald Trump in Russia probe, William Barr says

Mr. Mueller summed it up much like Comey did in the Hilary investigation. Neither should have been made public based on the inconclusive nature of the conclusion (Adam Schiff should be sued for libel). All the public needs to know is either the person has been found guilty or not guilty period, end of story. Leaving things inconclusive only serves to reflect poorly on the justice system and taint the person(s) under investigation, and of course leave openings for eternal doubt conspiracies. Mr. Mueller dropped the ball in the court of Mr. Barr and Mr. Rosenstein, how brave of Mr. Mueller, after all this time and money and division over this issue. Next phase will be the Mr. Barr and Rosenstein conspiracy, how the fix was already in. If the whole report is released which legally is not supposed to happen (doesn't stop reporters from questioning the President on the matter though) any more than classified documents, I can only imagine the conspiracy theories over the legitimacy of the document...is it revised, is it edited? More spin than my washing machine. There's no real hope in politics, only in Christ, but I am enjoying a small boost of temporary and most likely short lived relief. Like maybe we can move on as a country, even if only for awhile, and maybe Congress can get more serious about other investigations which led to this one.

 

[Rion]

 

[mark kennedy]

Mr. Mueller summed it up much like Comey did in the Hilary investigation. Neither should have been made public based on the inconclusive nature of the conclusion (Adam Schiff should be sued for libel). All the public needs to know is either the person has been found guilty or not guilty period, end of story. Leaving things inconclusive only serves to reflect poorly on the justice system and taint the person(s) under investigation, and of course leave openings for eternal doubt conspiracies. Mr. Mueller dropped the ball in the court of Mr. Barr and Mr. Rosenstein, how brave of Mr. Mueller, after all this time and money and division over this issue. Next phase will be the Mr. Barr and Rosenstein conspiracy, how the fix was already in. If the whole report is released which legally is not supposed to happen (doesn't stop reporters from questioning the President on the matter though) any more than classified documents, I can only imagine the conspiracy theories over the legitimacy of the document...is it revised, is it edited? More spin than my washing machine. There's no real hope in politics, only in Christ, but I am enjoying a small boost of temporary and most likely short lived relief. Like maybe we can move on as a country, even if only for awhile, and maybe Congress can get more serious about other investigations which led to this one.

I thought theoutcome was predictable, the other investigation will proably turn out the same way. The one exception is SDNY, but those are canpaign finance and fraud, I think he is vulnerable on that front. I still don't know what was so all fired fascinating about the possibility of impeachment when there was no real indication of the need for one. I think after the Clinton impeachment they changed a lot of the rules for special investigators. Only two Presidents were impeached and both were acquited, Johnson was acquited by one vote and that was cast by the guy we was trying to impeach him in the first place.

There are ample issues to hammer Trump on, you don't have to make every investigation a life or death struggle.

 

[tulc]

Does this mean we need to conduct 5 or so more investigations to find out the same things all over again?
tulc(thought that was what the "Benghazi investigation rule" was)

 

[redleghunter]

Does this mean we need to conduct 5 or so more investigations to find out the same things all over again?
tulc(thought that was what the "Benghazi investigation rule" was)

Benghazi never had an independent probe.

Isn't comparing the Mueller investigation to Benghazi like the "so's your mom" deal?

 

[redleghunter]

The WT is a documented serial liar, stop posting this garbage, thou shalt not lie!

They do publish the facts...that is rare today.

 

[redleghunter]

The WT is a documented serial liar, stop posting this garbage, thou shalt not lie!

Required viewing at the NYTs, Wash Po and CNN today:

 

[tulc]

Benghazi never had an independent probe.

...so they made up for that by having 6+ instead?

Isn't comparing the Mueller investigation to Benghazi like the "so's your mom" deal?

Well, more along the lines of "What's good for the goose is good for the gander". Of course the analogy isn't totally equal, there where actual convictions from the Mueller investigations (and more to come). Which makes it a little more productive (which did have one conviction, thank you HannahT! ) then all of the Benghazi investigations.
tulc(will admit he does love a good "so's yer mom!" post)

 

[HannahT]

Well, more along the lines of "What's good for the goose is good for the gander". Of course the analogy isn't totally equal, there where actual convictions from the Mueller investigations (and more to come). Which makes it more productive then any of the Benghazi investigations.
tulc(will admit he does love a good "so's yer mom!" post)

lol Well as long they don't wish to take the moral high ground, but admit to the 'what is good for the goose is good for the gander'!

Yet, to me fair there was ONE conviction after Benghazi!

 

[tulc]

lol Well as long they don't wish to take the moral high ground, but admit to the 'what is good for the goose is good for the gander'!

I'm sort of surprised this was brought up. I thought the Republican Party had repudiated the very idea of there being any sort of "morals" in American politics. Otherwise they couldn't justify to themselves their voting for a serial adulterer and a liar.

Yet, to me fair there was ONE conviction after Benghazi!

ahhh! Thank you! I had indeed forgotten about that one!
tulc(will correct his post)