No Evidence of Trump ‘Collusion’ with Russia in 2016 Elections: Mueller in Final Report

In a big legal and political win for U.S. President Donald Trump, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded in his final report that there was no evidence that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign or anyone associated with it colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the vote, according to a summary of the confidential report released on Sunday by Attorney General William Barr.

That finding was emphatic, and validated Trump's long-standing insistence that "there was no collusion" between his campaign and Russian hackers and meddlers who sought to change the outcome of Trump's presidential battle with Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state. Using Mueller's own words, the Barr letter stated that "[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

But on the question of whether Trump obstructed justice in the course of the investigation, Mueller reached no conclusion and punted the decision to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to a letter Barr wrote to top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate judiciary committees summarizing the report's "principal conclusions." Complicating Mueller's challenge in getting to the bottom of the question was Trump's refusal to answer questions under oath and instead provide written answers. Barr and Rosenstein – who appointed Mueller as Special Counsel and oversaw the investigation– concluded that the evidence developed during the investigation "is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."

That finding is certain to be a key bone of contention for congressional Democrats who are investigating Trump and his administration, especially given the Special Counsel's assertion that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, tweeted that "The fact that Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report & documentation be made public without any further delay."

Mueller submitted his report to Barr late Friday, nearly two years after he was appointed to investigate allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

After combing through the report over the weekend, Barr submitted a four-page letter to Congress absolving Trump of any collusion with the Russians or obstruction of justice in blocking the criminal investigation. Barr's letter was made public shortly after it was delivered to Congress.

"It was complete and total exoneration," Trump told reporters in Florida before returning to Washington Sunday afternoon. "This was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully somebody is going to be looking at their other side."

Here are five key take-aways from Barr's summary of the Mueller report:

Trump was right: There was no collusion

The central question before Mueller was whether members of the Trump campaign or any other Americans conspired with Russians to tip the 2016 campaign in favor of the real estate tycoon. On that score, the Mueller report delivers a categorical vindication of the president.

While Mueller's investigators uncovered evidence of Russian meddling in the U.S. election, "[the] investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," the summary quotes Mueller as writing.