Opinion

There was no collusion

April 22, 2019

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has effectively cleared President Donald Trump and his 2016 campaign of collusion with Russia. While the report states that Russians clearly worked to elect Trump and that the Trump campaign viewed the release of hacked Democratic material by the Russians as beneficial, the investigation “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities”. Indeed, no American was indicted in the special counsel investigation for collusion, coordination or conspiracy.

By and large, then, Americans should be relieved that their president is not some sort of Russian agent. Despite identifying 10 troubling episodes that could be defined as acts of obstruction, Mueller could not say with confidence that Trump acted with the requisite “corrupt intent”.

The final version of the report, albeit redacted, shows that Attorney General William Barr was telling the truth weeks ago when he said the investigation found no collusion and that Trump was not guilty - although not fully exonerated - of obstruction of justice. Democrats, however, spent the last two years insisting that both of those things were true. Still, the release of the Mueller report has started a fiery debate within the Democratic Party over whether to commence impeachment proceedings against Trump. House Democrats are not letting it go. They want to obtain the entire Mueller report and investigate any attendant national security issues along with separate probes into the president’s tax returns and business relations. But in so doing, Democrats are now undermining the results of the special counsel’s investigation and the findings of no collusion in the report by Mueller who not so long ago was their big hero and hopeful savior.

It’s true that Mueller painted a damning picture of the Trump administration, even as he awarded Trump a victory on the central issue of collusion with Russia. But initiating impeachment proceedings with no Republican support is a reach unless something new emerges.

Democrats should be wary of being accused of overkill. One new poll asked this question: “Now that the Mueller investigation is over, should Congress move on to other issues or are there still concerns related to that investigation that Congress should continue to look into?” By a margin of 54-39 percent, survey respondents answered that it was time for Congress to move on to other issues.

Also, for an issue of such grave importance — that the Russians interfered in and possibly affected the outcome of the 2016 US presidential elections — the more than a dozen Democratic presidential candidates see it as a minor issue. They are harshly critical of Trump and his character as well as his policies, including his deference toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. But, in the main, their focus is on economy and wages, education and, particularly, health care. While they all will address the Mueller findings and criticize Trump’s actions, their main focus will and should be elsewhere. Republicans warn that a flood of investigations will look like partisan excess. Some Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worry about this, too. The Mueller report will also probably not change any minds. Throughout two years of intense focus on the Trump presidency, public attitudes toward Trump have only hardened. His base remains solid, and so is the opposition. This status quo will most likely remain up until the 2020 elections.

Following an exhaustive two years and $30 million spent, what came out in Mueller’s report did not contain any hidden smoking gun or incriminating evidence against the president. Trump simply did not commit a crime. So it’s time that Democrats and the mainstream media move past the Russia collusion narrative. The cloud under which Trump has lived for almost two years should be lifted. And Congress should now focus full-time not on investigations but on issues such as health care, infrastructure and immigration.


April 22, 2019
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