Cleared for now, but what happens next?

PUBLICATION of the full report by the special counsel still leaves the door open for Congress to impeach Donald Trump.

Attorney General William Barr, pictured, has tried to bring the curtain down on the inquiry, but although Robert Mueller did not make a determination about obstruction of justice he said that ‘nobody is above the law’ and Congress could yet act against Mr Trump.

In order to do so the Democrat controlled House of Representatives would have to pass articles of impeachment. The President would then be put on ‘trial’ by the Senate, which is unlikely to convict him as it is controlled by Republicans.

Senior Democrats have to balance the fact that impeachment would fail in the Senate against demands from the activist wing of their party, which desperately wants Mr Trump out.

In the short term Democrats will keep up their demands to see all the material that Mr Mueller obtained as well as a fully unredacted report. Senator Kamala Harris, a Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted: ‘Congress needs to see the full, unredacted Mueller report and all of the investigation’s underlying evidence’.

The two top Democrats in Congress – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer – said the report undermined Mr Barr’s claims that Mr Trump didn’t obstruct justice. They want Mr Mueller to appear before Congress as it is ‘the only way to begin restoring public trust’. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler posted on Twitter a letter to Mr Mueller requesting testimony in front of the committee by May 23. But Mr Barr refused to budge yesterday, insisting the weight of evidence in the report showed Mr Trump did not obstruct justice and that he was ‘understandably frustrated’.