US Attorney General William Barr says Mueller report found ‘no collusion’ between Trump and Russia

US Attorney General William Barr says President Donald Trump tried to impede the Special Counsel investigation into Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 US election but concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Trump’s election campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

Speaking on Thursday at a media conference at the US Justice Department, Barr said the two-year Special Counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller revealed a desperate attempt by Trump to derail the probe.

The press conference came before the release of a redacted version of the 400-page report to Congress and the public. The full findings are still emerging as journalists and congressmen scour the full document.

The Special Counsel investigation, also known as the Russia probe, was launched in May 2017 and concluded on March 22, 2019.  

“The deputy attorney general and I concluded that the evidence developed by the special counsel is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense,” Barr said.

"Although deputy attorney general and I disagreed with some of the special counsel's legal theories and felt that some of the episodes examined did not amount to obstruction as a matter of law, we did not rely solely on that in making our decision,” he added.

“Instead we accepted the special counsel's legal framework for purposes of our analysis and evaluated the evidence as presented by the special counsel in reaching our conclusions."

Both Trump and Russia have repeatedly denied the accusations of collusion. Trump has sought to discredit the investigation, calling it a “witch hunt.”

US intelligence agencies claim Moscow meddled in the election with a campaign of email hacking and online propaganda aimed at sowing discord in the United States, hurting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and helping Trump.

PressTV-WH, DOJ discussed Mueller report ahead of release: NYT

White House lawyers held talks with Justice Department officials in recent days about the conclusions in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report.

Democratic Party lawmakers had warned that Barr’s decision to hold a press conference before Congress or the press had seen the report amounted to a diversion tactic.

Barr acknowledged that officials at the Justice Department met with White House lawyers repeatedly in recent weeks to discuss the contents of the report, in a process that helped the president’s team prepare a rebuttal.

Former Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller called Barr’s performance “shameful”.

“Never thought I would hear an attorney general stand up and make excuses for a president’s repeated attacks on the department of justice and its lawful investigations,” Miller tweeted.

In his news conference, Barr repeatedly claimed that Trump and his election campaign staff had been cleared of suspected wrongdoing connected with Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“We now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign, or the knowing participation of any other American,” Barr said.

Mueller 'unable' to clear Trump of obstruction

Mueller's final report detailed multiple instances in 2017 and 2018 in which Trump desperately sought to derail the probe, including firing FBI director James Comey, demanding that Mueller himself be removed, and publicly dangling pardon offers to witnesses.

It cited a furious Trump, just months into his term, swearing over Mueller's appointment and saying his presidency was doomed.

Mueller's report said there was "substantial evidence" in many of the cases, including Comey's firing, showing Trump's intent was to stifle the investigation -- though the president was ultimately not successful.

That led Mueller to conclude that he could not exonerate the president from criminal allegations of obstruction of justice.

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