Mueller Report Summary: No Trump-Russia Conspiracy, Not Sufficient Evidence to Prosecute Obstruction of Justice

What's the story?

Attorney General William Barr has provided Congress and the public with his summary of the "principal conclusions" from Robert Mueller's report into his investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Its findings:

“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 US Presidential Election. As the report states: '[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.'"

• “The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”
•  "The Special Counsel's investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia in its election interference activities."
• Barr: the evidence gathered in the special counsel’s investigation was “not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."
• “The report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the special counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public.”

"The Special Counsel's decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime... After reviewing the Special Counsel's final report on these issues; consulting with Department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. Our determination was made without regard to, and is not based on, the constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and prosecution of a sitting president."

This story is being updated.

-Josh Herman