"It does not exonerate him": Mueller report blows hole in Donald Trump's claims
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's much-anticipated report is out and it does not exonerate President Donald Trump, as he has so emphatically claimed on many previous occasions.
The redacted 180-page of some 400-page report was released on Thursday after Attorney General William Barr held a press conference repeatedly iterating that no collusion was found between the president's campaign and Russia.
However, it appears that the document has much more damning content against the Republican than was let on by Barr.
In the second page of the redacted document released, the Mueller team states that if they had confidence that the president did not commit obstruction of justice, they would have clearly stated it, however, that is not the case.
"If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state," the report states.
The document goes on to state that that "based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach the judgment."
The report also states that the Mueller team obtained substantial evidence about the president's actions and intent, which prevented the officials from determining that no criminal conduct occurred.
"The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred," the report adds.
It eventually concludes that the Mueller team's investigation has not exonerated President Trump based on the facts they found:
"Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it does not exonerate him."
Shortly before the release of the report, AG Barr in a press conference said: "The president was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation is undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fuelled by illegal leaks. Nonetheless, the White House provided unfettered access to the Trump campaign and White House documents to complete the investigation."