HARTFORD -- With the long awaited report now out, the President is hailing it as a victory, while some lawmakers are crying foul. We know the Russian government meddled in the election through social media and a hack of Clinton campaign emails, and according to the Attorney General, neither the President, his administration nor any American aided in that.
We also know there was no definitive finding if the President interfered in the investigation, only saying the evidence wasn’t sufficient enough to warrant obstruction.
“Game Over! No Obstruction. No collusion,” tweeted the President. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called it, “Nothing less than a national scandal.” “It is the beginning of another chapter,” he said. He’s one of countless politicians with grave concerns following the highly anticipated release of the Mueller report. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes said, “"I believe that change should come through an election rather than impeachment"
Attorney General William Barr said, “So that’s the bottom line. After nearly two years of investigation. Thousands of subpoenas, hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the special counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 Presidential election, but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those efforts.” Congressman Joe
Courtney called that an “unprecedented attempt to frame this report in the best possible light.” But then there’s the issue of obstruction. Did the President taint the investigation? That’s where no definitive legal finding was made. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro said the report, “details multiple instances in which President Trump attempted to obstruct justice.”
Trial Lawyer Jim Bergenn said, “There’s already plenty of evidence that if you stack it up, a jury, somewhere could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the President committed a crime. The nearly 450 page report is heavily redacted. “There a lot of blackout,” remarked Sen. Blumenthal as he held up the report.
Democrats want the full version. Senator Chris Murphy said, “The American people deserve the full report so they can decide for themselves on these findings.” “The politicians who are saying they want to see everything, I don’t know how they could do it,” said Attorney Bergenn. The redactions are due to grand jury material, confidential sources, innocent third party privacy and the integrity of pending cases.
Bergenn said, “Barr made his judgement. He’s entitled to make it and he coincidentally pleased his boss.” Attorney General Barr will testify before Congress. Democrats are also calling for Special Counsel Robert Mueller himself to testify.