GateHouse Media
March 29, 2019
The report is in - neither the president nor anyone involved
in his 2016 campaign for president “colluded” with the Russian government or
any Russian organization to interfere in the election. We know this because
recently appointed Attorney General William P. Barr released a four-page
summary of Robert Mueller’s 300-page report.
Mueller and his team issued 2,800 subpoenas, executed 500
search warrants, obtained 230 orders of court for communication records and
interviewed approximately 500 witnesses. Yet, we know little more now than we
did 675 days ago when the investigation began.
While President Donald Trump and his supporters celebrate -
the report summary gives America a glimpse into a sinister - and maybe
successful - effort by a foreign government to influence the outcome of a
national election in this country.
There is no time for gloating. The president and his
campaign may not have conspired with Russia, but they may have been duped and
benefited by the influence of a foreign government.
Barr disclosed in his March 24, letter to Congress that the
Special Counsel outlined the “Russian effort to influence the election and
documents crimes committed by persons associated with the Russian government in
connection with those efforts.”
The alarm bells should be ringing on both sides of the
aisle. If we earnestly and enthusiastically accept the four-page summary of
this report as they relate to the president, we should equally accept with
utter mortification that the Russians - without the help of any American - may
have swayed the election.
The Attorney General’s summary suggests that there were two
elements to Mueller’s investigation regarding Russian influence. First, an
internet disinformation operation - fake news - by a Russian organization to
“sow social discord, (and) eventually ... interfering with the election.”
Second, the Russian government hacked into the Clinton Campaign and the
Democratic Party and disseminated information through WikiLeaks to influence
the election.
Senator Lindsey Graham wants to investigate the Obama
justice department’s handling of the Clinton email investigation while the
Russians hacked Clinton’s emails in order to influence the outcome of the
election. Shouldn’t we expect more from our leaders than just settling an old
political score? How about looking into whether the Russian government helped
elect our current president?
While the president takes a “victory lap,” remember that his
Attorney General thought it important to include the following quote from the
Mueller Report, ”(W)hile this report does not conclude that the president
committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
However, Mueller deferred on the issue of obstruction of
justice and the attorney general and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
”(C)oncluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel’s
investigation is not sufficient to establish the president committed an
obstruction-of-justice offense.”
The Special Counsel’s investigation is closed. Barr
acknowledged that Mueller did refer some aspects of the investigation to other
offices, but there will be no more indictments from the special counsel.
The Mueller Investigation resulted in the indictment of 34
people - seven of whom have been convicted so far - including some senior
members of the Trump campaign.
So what is left? A lot, there are roughly 16 separate
ongoing investigations involving Trump, his associates and his businesses. Some
of those investigations are headed by Trump appointees.
For instance, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern
District of New York is investigating the Trump inauguration committee
regarding illegal foreign contribution to the committee. The U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the District of Columbia is investigating the WikiLeaks’ release of
hacked Clinton campaign emails.
There are also investigations by the Attorneys General of
New York, New Jersey and Maryland as well as at least seven ongoing Senate and
House committee investigations including the Senate Intelligence Committee and
the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Trump’s victory tour may be a bit premature, but, as with
everything else - facts are seemingly unimportant in modern politics.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010 was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010 was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
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