U.S. Attorney General William Barr released his statement today regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Trump allegedly conspiring with the Russian government in order to influence the 2016 election.
Attorney General William Barr, who before being appointed wrote a 19-page memo criticizing the Mueller investigation, wrote a summary favorable to the Trump administration. There was one point Barr could not avoid—"The Special Counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
After Barr's report was released, Trump took to Twitter—and proceeded to fully contradict the attorney general. Keep in mind that Barr is a person who is on Trump's side—and Trump still threw him under the bus. He tweeted, "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!" It is unclear if Trump does not truly understand the nature of the judiciary system, or if he is again using the gaslighting techniques of distraction and falsehoods. His tweet is the equivalent of knocking over one domino while the others still stand, and calling yourself a master of domino construction.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, "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." The statement continues, “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."
To repeat, this report is not an exoneration of Trump. As a result of Mueller's work, there are currently a dozen federal and state investigations being pursued by prosecutors regarding Trump, his associates, and his business dealings. While Mueller was limited in his report to Trump's possible conspiration with Russia in the 2016 election, federal and state prosecutors have a wider range they can pursue.
Until the full special counsel report is released to the public, the public cannot be fully sure of what the report does or does not contain. If Trump truly feels he did not engage in wrongdoing, he should have no issue with a public release of the Mueller report. However, expect Trump to fight a release of the report, saying it is a "witch hunt," and to create more colorful names for his perceived enemies. There is no reason to assume that Trump will stop his gaslighting now.
