Special counsel 'did not find that Trump campaign... conspired or coordinated' with Russia

Attorney General William Barr has presented to Congress the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Trump-Russia investigation.

Democrats have said for several days that they will not be satisfied with a classified summary, and that the full details must be released to the public. Some liberals, including on MSNBC, have already speculated that there would be an attempt by Barr to suppress or withold damning evidence, and there are rules in place within the Department of Justice regarding releasing negative information in the case of a public official who will not be indicted. So the outcome, the extent of Barr's reveal, was in doubt all weekend.

A short time ago, Barr presented his summary (in full, below.

The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election," reads Barr's summary.

He also quotes the report directly. "The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

On the issue of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election through disinformation and social media, the Special Counsel "did not find that any U.S. person or Trump campaign official or associate conspired or knowningly coordinated with the IRA in its efforts, although the Special Counsel brought criminal charges against a member of Russian nationals and entities in connection with these activities."

On the issue of computer hacking, the same conclusion. That the Special Counsel did not find the Trump campaign or anyone associated with that campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.

Here is the document.

"considered whether to evaluate the conduct under Department standards governing prosecution and declination decisions but ultimately determined not to make a traditionl prosecutorial judgment."

"The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion--one way or the other--as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstuction.

On obstruction, the Special Counsel is quoted by Barr as saying "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Nevertheless, this is rightly seen as a major win for the President and the GOP. The underlying premise, that of collusion, has been determined not to have happened. The only remaining question, obstruction, is something that resulted from the investigation itself.

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