Mueller Report in a Nutshell: Russia Interference Was 'Sweeping', but Trump Camp Wasn't Part of It
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ABOVE: President Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow talks to CBN News' Faith Nation about the release of the Mueller report.
The Justice Department released a partially redacted version of the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday. It says right off the top, "The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion," but the Trump campaign wasn't part of that effort.
"The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," the report clearly states.
The Mueller report is more than 400 pages and now it's in the hands of Congress and the public. Just ahead of the release, Attorney General William Barr held a press conference highlighting his conclusions and explaining why the president isn't facing criminal charges.
As the investigation dragged on and Trump objected, repeatedly blasting it as a "witch hunt" on Twitter, Democrats accused him obstructing justice. Barr said the report is clear that Mueller was concerned about that as well, examining 10 different episodes in which Trump was accused of possible obstruction. But none of those led to actionable charges against the president.
Trump followed Barr's announcement with a press conference of his own, stating what he's maintained all along: "No collusion, no obstruction."
"We do have to get to the bottom of these things, I will say," Trump said. "I say it in front of my friends, this should never happen to another president again, this hoax."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2019
Vice President Mike Pence said, "After two years of investigation, conducted with the full cooperation of this Administration, that involved hundreds of witness interviews and millions of pages of documents, the American people can see for themselves: no collusion, no obstruction."
President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he's read the full unredacted report and it doesn't contain a "single surprise." And the Trump team wants to know how the whole idea to wiretap Trump's campaign even began, Giuliani saying it "sounds like a counterintelligence trap."
Democrats are angry over how the release of the report was handled, objecting to the fact that the White House was given an early preview and to Barr's press conference ahead of the report going public.
But Barr says a second version of the report - with most of the redacted material revealed - would be given to the top-ranking House and Senate lawmakers from both parties since they're allowed to view sensitive classified information.
The House Judiciary Committee is now requesting Mueller speak for himself about his work, in a public congressional hearing by May 23.
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