After nearly two years on the job, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has completed his long-awaited Trump-Russia investigation and turned in his report to Attorney General William Barr. Mueller, a former FBI director who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, was appointed to the probe in the spring of 2017 after Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
The FBI opened the investigation into whether anyone involved on Donald Trump's presidential campaign worked with Russians as part of their campaign to interfere with the 2016 election.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Attorney General Barr announced the conclusion of the investigation in a letter to a congressional committee leaders Friday. "Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters,” Barr said.
"The Special Counsel has submitted to me today a ‘confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decision’ he has reached," he continued. "I am reviewing that report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend."
Mueller is not recommending any further indictments and the findings are currently confidential, the AP reports, though many are speculating that the recommendation means that Mueller is not recommending any indictments against President Trump on charges of collusion or obstruction of justice. However, only if and when the contents of the report are made public will anyone know for sure.
Over the course of the nearly three-year investigation, Mueller brought criminal charges against 34 people and three companies, reports CNN. Five Trump associates, including Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone and George Papadopoulos, are among those charged.
Per the AP, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Charles 'Chuck' Schumer sent out a joint statement. “The White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public,” they said.
Several Democrats who have announced their plans to run against Trump for the presidency in the 2020 election took to social media, demanding Mueller's findings be released publicly.
I am demanding the Mueller report be made immediately available for members of Congress and for the public. Anything short of full transparency will be detrimental to our country moving forward.
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) March 22, 2019
The American people deserve the truth. https://t.co/gyNDlHgZNY
Americans deserve to know the truth now that the Mueller report is complete. The report must be released immediately and AG Barr must publicly testify under oath about the investigation's findings. We need total transparency here.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) March 22, 2019
The American people deserve to know the full truth about Russia’s interference in our democracy. The Special Counsel report must be publicly released in its entirety. https://t.co/Q5OT6zPpOg
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) March 22, 2019
Attorney General Barr—release the Mueller report to the American public. Now. https://t.co/sqz8eoTjLD
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 22, 2019
As Donald Trump said, “Let it come out." I call on the Trump administration to make Special Counsel Mueller's full report public as soon as possible. No one, including the president, is above the law.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 22, 2019
BREAKING: The Mueller report is complete. Attorney General Barr must release the full report to the public. The American people deserve to know the facts. https://t.co/XdUaSw31Xu
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) March 22, 2019
Release the Mueller report to the American people.
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 22, 2019
According to the AP, "There is no smoking gun when it comes to the question of Russia collusion. But the evidence so far shows that a broad range of Trump associates had Russia-related contacts" during his campaign and "several lied about the communications."
Trump has repeatedly referred to Mueller's probe as a "witch hunt" and claimed there was "no collusion" with Russia.
(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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