Trump news: President celebrates Mueller report ending as new probes ramp up against White House
At least 17 other entities are still probing the president
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has held a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a proclamation formally recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights as the fallout from the Mueller report continues.
Attorney-general William Barr, a Trump ally handpicked by the president, came to the conclusion Mr Trump had not colluded with Russia to win the 2016 president election after reading FBI special counsel Robert Mueller's report, submitted following the conclusion of a 22-month investigation into the allegation.
In a four-page letter to Congress, Mr Barr quoted Mr Mueller in conceding: “While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
“A number of actions” carried out by Mr Trump could raise obstruction of justice concerns, Mr Mueller thought, but Mr Barr and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, decided these actions did not reveal “corrupt intent”.
A jubilant Mr Trump was quick to hail the verdict as a “complete and total exoneration”, repeating his long-running attack on the “witch hunt” as “an illegal takedown that failed” - to the delight of Trump loyalists - while Democrats called for the Mueller report’s full release.
The summary by Mr Barr notes the special counsel's office did not “draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction,” but rather set out evidence for both sides, leaving the question unanswered.
The attorney general wrote in the summary that ultimately he decided that the evidence developed by Mr Mueller was “not sufficient” to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Mr Trump committed obstruction of justice
Mr Barr’s summary also notes that Mr Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia. To prove a crime, the special counsel's office must generally meet a standard of proving an offence beyond a reasonable doubt.
The summary did not clear the president of improper behaviour regarding Russia but did not establish that “he was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference,” Mr Mueller said in a passage from the report quoted by the attorney general.
The four-page summary signed by Mr Barr gave the bottom line only as he and Mr Rosenstein saw it. Mr Mueller’s detailed findings remain confidential at least for now.
Additional reporting by AP. Read The Independent's live coverage on the White House from Monday below.
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Oliver Carroll in Moscow here on the Kremlin's reaction to William Barr's letter to Congress on the Mueller report.
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham is addressing journalists and says he'll speak to William Barr by phone at 4pm GMT (12pm EST) regarding the special counsel's report into Russian election hacking.
He expects Mr Barr to appear before his committee to testify publicly on the Mueller report.
Senator Graham says he disagrees with the president that the investigation was a "witch hunt" and that Robert Mueller was the "right guy for a difficult job".
Senator Graham says he's convinced of Russian involvement in hacking the Democratic National Committee emails in 2016 and that the Trump camp were not involved, his having read through the William Barr overview.
He's now attacking the media's "disappointing double standard" in reporting on the Steele Dossier, says it would have been dismissed out of hand if it concerned Hillary Clinton.
"Lawyers are not in the exoneration business", he says of Barr and Rosenstein not pursuing an obstruction of justice charge against Donald Trump.
Senator Graham insists Robert Mueller's decision to pass judgement on to the attorney-general and Justice Department regarding obstruction, "after exploring both sides of the issue", was his own decision.
Lindsey Graham asked if making a "rousing speech" to administration staff at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend is a conflict of interest given his role as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"You've got be kidding."
Apparently his golf game was "terrible".
Senator Graham advises the president to focus on what's next for the country.
As for the Democrats...
"We're not prosecutors," he says of his own committee, asked if his expression of satisfaction with William Barr's verdict means his team don't need to review the Mueller report for themselves.
This was his big gambit, turning the tables on the Clinton campaign by way of revenge and digging up Obama-era intrigues.
Phew. Meanwhile, while Senator Graham was speaking, Donald Trump posted this Fox clip - joining Don Jr and Kellyanne Conway in attacking House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff.
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