The first summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report was published on Sunday, explaining that the Department of Justice will not prosecute President Donald Trump.
Attorney General William Barr received Mueller’s long-awaited report this week, though he did not immediately release it to the public. On Sunday, he sent a letter to congress, summarizing the report’s findings and explaining the next steps for the Department of Justice. He wrote that the evidence gathered by Mueller “is not sufficient to establish” that the president committed a crime.
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The letter was addressed to senators Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein, as well as Congressmen Jerrod Nadler and Doug Collins.
Barr says that the President may have acted to obstruct justice, but that for an obstruction conviction, โthe government would need to proved beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conductโ.
โ (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019
Congressman Nadler took to Twitter as soon as the letter was released, drawing his followers’ attention to the highlights.
“Special Counsel Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president, and we must hear from AG Barr about his decision making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts,” he tweeted.
“There must be full transparency in what Special Counsel Mueller uncovered to not exonerate the president from wrongdoing. DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work.”
Bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down.
โ Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 24, 2019
At the same time, Sen. Graham took to Twitter, calling it a “bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down.”
“Great job by Mr. Mueller and his team to thoroughly examine all things Russia,” he continued. “Now it is time to move on, govern the country, and get ready to combat Russia and other foreign actors ahead of 2020.“
In spite of Sen. Graham’s assurances, there could still be consequences ahead for the president. Congressman Nadler reasoned that, if the Barr’s Department of Justice did not plan on taking action, it was “putting matters squarely in Congress’ court.” A short while later, he tweeted that Barr himself would be asked to answer for that decision.
“In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future,” he wrote.
Barr was appointed the U.S. Attorney General in December after the president fired Jeff Sessions from the job. The president had previously tried to hire Barr as his chief defense lawyer against the Special Counsel investigation. Many lawmakers, including presidential hopeful Cory Booker, responded to Barr’s letter by simply asking for the full report.
“The American public deserves the full report and findings from the Mueller investigation immediately โ not just the in-house summary from a Trump Administration official,” he tweeted.
No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!
โ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019
The president responded on Twitter as well on Sunday night, tweeting: “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”