‘An illegal takedown that failed’
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump claimed vindication from a summary made public Sunday of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“It was a complete and total exoneration,” the president said as he boarded Air Force One in Palm Beach, Florida, en route to Washington.
“It’s a shame that our country had to go through this,” Trump said. “To be honest, it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this.”
Trump called the investigation an “illegal takedown that failed.”
Mueller’s inquiry did not find evidence that Trump or members of his campaign conspired with Russia’s efforts to sway the 2016 election, but it left unresolved whether Trump’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction of justice, Attorney General William Barr said in a letter to Congress.
“While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him” on whether he obstructed justice, Mueller said in
the report, according to Barr’s fourpage summary.
Mueller’s report opened the door to a politically fraught examination by Congress over whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice.
Trump’s campaign issued a statement accusing Democrats of being “distraught and blindsided” by the 2016 election. White House officials framed the news as vindication. “The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the president of the United States,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s attorneys, described Mueller’s findings as “better than I expected.”
Mueller completed his investigation on Friday, delivering a report to Barr that signals the end of the longrunning inquiry that loomed over Trump’s presidency.
The president, who spent the weekend at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago,
“It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest, it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this.” President Donald Trump
remained unusually muted as he awaited the findings of the report. He relaxed Saturday by golfing with Kid Rock. On Sunday, he golfed again – this time with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; former Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.; and White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
Trump stayed off his favorite communication medium, Twitter, for most of the weekend. In an unusually lengthy silence, he did not post any tweets for nearly 40 hours. He broke his silence Sunday, shortly after 8 a.m., with a series of benign tweets.
“Good morning,” he wrote. “Have A Great Day!”