Trump's campaign did not conspire with Russia during 2016 presidential election, says Mueller Report

US President Donald Trump was on Sunday declared that he had been completely exonerated after his campaign was cleared of colluding with Russia in the 2016 election. US Attorney General William Barr has said Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not find proof that Donald Trump and his campaign “conspired or coordinated” with the Russian government. On Friday, Mueller handed over his report to Attorney General William Barr, who has said he will write his own account of the special counsel's findings.  The investigation had cast a shadow over the Trump presidency for nearly two years with the Democratic leadership alleging that Russian interference helped him in the 2016 polls.

“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,” the attorney general said.

Mueller, in his report, “did not draw a conclusion - one way or the other - as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction”, Barr told the lawmakers.

“For each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the special counsel views as ‘difficult issues’ of law and fact concerning whether the president’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction,” Barr said, adding Mueller “ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment”.

In the letter, he also said the Department of Justice has determined that there is not sufficient evidence to establish that Trump committed obstruction of justice.

“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,” the letter read.

“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,” it said, adding, “the report identifies no actions that, in our judgement, constitute obstructive conduct.”

The Democrats were banking heavily on the results of the Mueller investigation to defeat Trump in the 2020 elections. Many were also talking about impeaching the president if the report reveals collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

“It was complete and total exoneration,” the president told reporters in Florida as he was returning from Mar-a-Lago to Washington DC.

Terming the allegation of collusion “the most ridiculous thing ever”, Trump said, “It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest it’s a shame that your president had to go through this.”

He had been repeatedly claiming that he was a victim of “witch hunt”, while asserting that there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russians.

“This was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully somebody is going to be looking at their other side,” Trump said.

“After a long look, after a long investigation, after so many people have been so badly hurt, after not looking at the other side where a lot of bad things happened... it was just announced there was no collusion with Russia,” he said, adding “It’s a complete exoneration.”