Special counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on Friday, delivering a report that signals the end of the long-running inquiry that loomed over the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Late on Friday afternoon, multiple news outlets broke the story that Mueller had recommended no further indictments in his report.
A senior Justice Department official has told CBS News that Mueller is not recommending any further indictments. The Justice Department also confirmed that the “principal conclusions” of the report will be made public.
Barr will now summarize Mueller’s report for lawmakers, also in accordance with the law. It is not clear whether the report or any part of it will be made public — that’s left to Barr’s discretion. In a letter to top lawmakers on the judiciary committees, Barr said he anticipated that he might be able to advise them of Mueller’s principal conclusions “as soon as this weekend.”
Barr also wrote that he would consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, and with Mueller himself, to determine what information from the report could be revealed to Congress and the public.
Many in the media continue to report, despite the lack of further indictments, that prosecutions that have already taken place somehow provide evidence of Trump-Russia collusion. This is flatly false.
None of the indictments already pursued concern collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government that implicates Trump or any high-ranking campaign officials.
With that said, it is possible that Mueller recommended no further indictments thanks to DOJ regulations that state a sitting president cannot be indicted. We won’t know the full extent of that possibility until we learn the details of the report.
Game Over Dems!!!
