The news is out: Robert Mueller did not find any evidence that President Trump, nor any in his team, colluded with Russian officials to interfere in the 2016 elections. Mueller handed over his report to Attorney General William P. Barr, who in turn released a letter that echoed some of Mueller’s declaration. Trump and his followers naturally took this as an enormous victory, not least because the report seemed to head towards some form of indictment that would itself lead to an impeachment, specially after so many of Trump’s longtime collaborators like Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and Michael Cohen were themselves indicted. This is a significant victory for Trump and a equally significant loss for Democrats, but still it’s too soon to call it quits on the resistance. Here are five takeaways from the report.
Trump will not be impeached any time soon
Even though Democrats hoped the report would provide enough grounds for impeachment, its anticlimactic findings are insufficient for any of this to go through. Trump is highly unpopular, but now he’s stronger and as Nancy Pelosi stated weeks ago, an impeachment is simply not worth it.
It’s not over till it’s over
The House of Representatives is running an investigation of its own, and let’s not forget Trump is still under investigation by the South District New York Attorney. Democrats are likely to start a legal battle against the Justice Department to make all of the findings public. And until the entire port is public, we still cannot know how much of it was left to Barr’s interpretation (incidentally, he was hired by Trump himself. Conflict of interest much?), and how much will leave be open for the public opinion to decide. The question of whether Trump obstructed justice remains unanswered.
@logically.hq
Attorney General William P. Barr. warned, though that while the report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him”.
In spite of what Trump’s takeaway is regarding the report (“It was a complete and total exoneration,” he said), neither Mueller nor Barr exonerated him from any crimes. It just meant they didn’t find enough evidence for either collusion nor obstruction of justice. But there’s much inappropriate behavior to go around. Will this be enough to change public opinion?
Further reading: America Gasps As Mueller Officially Submits His Trump-Russia Report
The Trump is as corrupt as the swamp
One thing this whole investigation did uncover was the nature of the Trump family business Trump’s seeking to build a tower in Moscow would have made millions of dollars for the clan, and he explicitly request help from the Russian government to get it. After the election, Trump lied to the American people about the deal. Then there’s the hush money to a porn start, statements about fraud regarding his real estate business, the fact that the family foundation is a sham and corruption regarding foreign donations to the inaugural committee. So much for being an outsider…
The battle for the Mueller report has ended. The battle for the 2020 elections is about to begin.
It’s time for Democrats to face this; if they wish to beat Trump, it’ll have to be at the ballots. The impact of this whole drama developing before us might actually take a toll on Trump’s popularity, and even though that may not be enough, going through the process of impeachment might have actually fed into the narrative of an evil Washington conspiracy against an outsider who actually wanted to help the people. Instead what lays before us is a fight in the battleground that brought Trump in the first place: elections. If an impeachment might have polarized public opinion, the 2020 decision might be the biggest blow to Trump, so Democrats can now forget about a desperate attempt to indict him and focus on getting him out the democratic, albeit complicated, way.
On a related note: From “Mexico Will Pay” To Steel Slats To National Emergency: How Trump Got Us Here
@berniesandersTrump may think he grew stronger out of the Mueller report ordeal, but really, Democrats now have a clear path towards 2020. Forget how we won in the first place. Focus on how unfit he has governed.
Don’t miss this: Both Parties Set The Stage For A Fight Against Trump. What’s Next?
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