Only Donald Trump could describe as “Total EXONERATION” the findings of a two-year investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller that says it “does not exonerate” the US president. Facts matter little to Mr Trump. He prefers to trade in conspiracy theories where evidence does not drive the wider public’s beliefs. We would have expected him to continue in this manner, and demean the presidency, irrespective of the outcome of the Mueller inquiry.
What is now certain is that too much hope was invested in Mr Mueller. He has produced a lengthy and complicated document. Its four-page summary includes some good news for Mr Trump about a scandal that has lapped at his door since he became president. Whether it is all good news for Mr Trump can only be assessed when Mr Mueller’s full report is made public, and it is urgent that it is. The key determinations once all the facts are out in the open are: whether the charge of Russian collusion can be further prosecuted in the court of public opinion; and whether another body is needed to decide whether the charge of “obstruction of justice” is warranted. Mr Mueller, according to the US attorney general, William Barr, found no smoking gun on the charge of Russian conspiracy. This may surprise many: after all, the former FBI director has indicted, convicted or elicited guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies, including top advisers to Mr Trump and Kremlin acolytes. Yet the special counsel did not think he could prove to the standard required that the Trump campaign committed a crime in aiding Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 election. It’s hard to see how, if Mr Mueller could not make the charge stick, Congress can.
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