The investigation conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller is complete, U.S. Attorney General William Barr has issued a summary of the report to Congressional leaders, and the political fallout is just beginning.
President Donald Trump was cleared on collusion charges by Mueller.
But, Mueller neither cleared nor tied obstruction of justice violations to Trump.
The 22-month investigation led to numerous indictments and guilty pleas. One of those charged as a result of the Mueller investigation is Rhode Island’s once-favorite son, General Michael Flynn.
Flynn, the Middletown native and URI grad, pled guilty in 2017 to a felony false-statement charge brought by Mueller's office and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.
Flynn, who served as National Security Advisor to Trump, had a storied military career before a fallout with the administration of Barack Obama.
“A high-profile counterterrorism prosecutor who handled the guilty plea of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has departed Robert Mueller’s team, according to a spokesman for the special counsel’s office,” reported Yahoo.
“‘Zainab Ahmad has concluded her detail with the Special Counsel’s Office but will continue to represent the office on specific pending matters that were assigned to her during her detail,” said Mueller’s office in a statement. The departure in March was an indication that Flynn faced no additional charges.
Both locally and across the country politicos are speaking out about Barr’s letter to Congressional leaders and Mueller’s findings.
READ THE REACTION TO THE REPORT AND BARR’S LETTER BELOW
Reaction to Barr’s letter of his summary of the Mueller investigation was emphatic and partisan from leaders across the country. Three of the four members (SEE BELOW) of the Rhode Island delegation made statements within minutes of Barr’s letter being released, but Congressman James Langevin issued no statement or comment.
In contrast, fellow Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline was a Tweet machine on Sunday. One Tweet in defense of the investigation read, "37 indictments or guilty pleas, Trump Tower meeting for “dirt” on Hillary, your pal Roger Stone DM’ing Russian intelligence officers. I could go on."
Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Cory Booker
Implications for Congress and 2020 Presidential Race
For nearly two years, Democrats have rallied around the Mueller investigation and expected the final report would tie Trump to efforts of colluding with the Russians in order to capture the White House in 2016.
The new narrative for the Democrats is that the full report Mueller report needs to be released.
SEE WHAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE SAYING BELOW
One presidential hopeful who did not issue a statement of Tweet was independent candidate Howard Schultz — he stood in stark contrast to the Democratic candidates.
Related Slideshow: Reactions to Mueller Report and Barr’s Letter to Congressional Leaders
“The Special Counsel has filed his report. Now the American people need to see the entire report and I urge the Attorney General to release the entire document and supporting evidence without delay. If any part needs to be held back for national security reasons, that information and underlying evidence should be made available in a classified setting.
“President Trump’s Attorney General claims the evidence is not clear enough to charge the President, but notes “it also does not exonerate him.” Let the American people see the report and decide.
“Filing this report does not end this process, as we know from every prior Special Counsel investigation. The crucial next step is Congress fulfilling its constitutional oversight duty. Mr. Mueller and others involved in the report should testify before Congress in open setting.
“This report is just one of several investigations of serious misconduct by the President and his inner-circle.
“Nobody in this country is above the law, and, if the President broke the law, he like any other American can and should be held accountable.”
“The Special Counsel did not exonerate the President. In fact, according to the Attorney General’s letter, he described a pattern of evidence suggesting the President engaged in obstruction of justice. The Attorney General needs to make this evidence available to Congress immediately, along with the entirety of the Mueller report, so we can decide what steps to take next.”
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, issued the following statement on Attorney General Barr’s letter to Congress regarding the Special Counsel’s report:
“We knew from his confirmation hearing that Attorney General Barr would never conclude the president obstructed justice, which is why it is critical for Congress to see the full Mueller report and the evidence behind it. As the attorney general writes, Special Counsel Mueller issued thousands of subpoenas, interviewed scores of witnesses, executed hundreds of search warrants, and collected massive quantities of documentation. As to obstruction, the Special Counsel did not exonerate the President, and left the decision whether to charge an offense to the Attorney General, a decision which he appears to have made with astonishing speed. The American people and their elected representatives need to review that information so they can decide whether the President acted appropriately, and how best to protect our democracy from the sweeping assault on our elections the Kremlin executed in 2016. This is not the time for a cover-up.”
Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA) released this statement in response to Attorney General Barr's summary of Special Counsel Mueller’s report:
“Special Counsel Mueller has not exonerated the president. In fact, he says he found evidence on both sides about whether or not the president committed a serious crime. On top of that, we already know that President Trump’s closest advisors have lied over and over again to investigators, and that a pervasive culture of corruption continues to exist at the highest levels of this administration. Let’s not forget the dozens of indictments and hundreds of criminal charges that have been filed against the president’s top advisors, including his former campaign manager who is now in jail.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the president’s own, hand-picked Attorney General doesn’t think he obstructed justice. He’s entitled to his opinion, but Congress must see the full, unedited report to decide whether or not the president abused his power. That is our constitutional duty, and that is what we will do.”
U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Tweeted:
"Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report. Not a "summary" from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public. Immediately."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released the following statement regarding Attorney General Barr’s summary of the Mueller report:
“Attorney General Barr’s letter raises as many questions as it answers. The fact that Special Counsel Mueller’s report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay. Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.
“And most obviously, for the president to say he is completely exonerated directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility.
“Congress requires the full report and the underlying documents so that the Committees can proceed with their independent work, including oversight and legislating to address any issues the Mueller report may raise. The American people have a right to know.”
U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tweeted:
"The Mueller report needs to be made public, the underlying investigative materials should be handed over to Congress, and Barr must testify. That is what transparency looks like. A short letter from Trump's hand-picked Attorney General is not sufficient."
Sarah Sanders, Press Secretary to President Donald Trump, Tweeted:
"The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.”
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich Tweeted:
"Attorney General Barr's announcement that #Mueller and his team found no collusion is of shock to no one but the liberal media and the left-wing establishment."
"Today is a great day for America, President Trump and our entire administration. After two years of investigation, and reckless accusations by many Democrats and members of the media, the Special Counsel has confirmed what President Trump said along; there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. The Attorney General also confirmed that there was no obstruction of justice. This total vindication of the President of the United States and our campaign should be welcomed by every American who cherishes the truth and the integrity of our elections. In the days ahead, the American people can be confident that the President and our entire administration will continue to focus where we always have, on the issues most important to our country. We can only hope that Democrats, who have spent so much time on these discredited allegations, will join us to advance an agenda that will make our nation even more prosperous and more secure for every American."
