Mueller Finds No Russian Collusion, But Trump Not Exonerated Yet [EDITORIAL]

“No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION.” These are the tweets and attitude of President Donald Trump after the Robert Mueller investigation concluded that it “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”

The Barr letter saying the Mueller report didn’t find collusion is obviously good news for Trump, but the report is not a complete vindication of the president as he says because the full report has yet to be released to the White House or the public, the decision on obstruction was made by Trump nominees (Barr and Rosenstein), and there are other angles still under investigation in the southern District of New York, like those relating to his foundation and inaugural committee.

While The White House nor the public has seen the Mueller report, Trump’s hand-picked attorney general (Barr) wrote a summary on it, and one of the quote’s directly from the report contradicts his self-proclaimed “total exoneration,” as it clearly says “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

This has not stopped Trump from claiming it as total vindication and using it to attack the media and Democrats about their “delusion” about the Russia probe. While previous reports said that the report would be released in the weeks to come, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has “blocked a non-binding resolution to make special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report public.”  While the resolution was passed unanimously in the House and President Trump himself said, “it wouldn’t bother him at all” if the full report was public, McConnell said he is concerned with national security and a review is needed of what should be released. If Trump’s camp is truly innocent, then transparency should not be a problem with the release of the report’s findings.

To be sure, the report exonerates Trump on criminal activities with Russia, but the phrasing does not rule out collusion with Russian agents who are not a part of the government or that the collusion pertained to activities outside the realm of “election interference activities.” Mueller’s report “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” but there are still other organizations owned by him that have not been exonerated, so that’s why Trump’s celebration is premature.

The bread crumb trail to Russia can be traced back to a real estate deal Trump had in the works during his presidential campaign, which Trump originally denied, but his lawyer admitted to him having signed a letter to do so in 2015. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to prison in part for lying under oath about the deal. It has also been proven that Russia did in fact try to interfere with the 2016 Presidential election by hacking and leaking emails and through a social media campaign. Several of Trump’s lawyers and advisors also allegedly lied to Congress and the FBI about their knowledge of their ties with Russia.

So, for Trump to categorize the Mueller investigation as a Democratic or media witch hunt is hyperbole to divert the several links that he and his administration have with Russia. Mueller’s Russia probe might be over but there are still many open investigations at the state and federal level that could go beyond the Mueller charges. Nobody was executed from the “witch hunt,” but an investigation was warranted, and while he is exonerated on the one count, Mueller’s report is merely the tip of the melting iceberg that is Trump’s several criminal investigations. We hope he can swim.