Kellyanne Conway said that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff “ought to resign today” over his insistence during the Russia investigation that there was “plenty of evidence” pointing to collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin, Politico reports.
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
The Epic Gaslighting of America
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Trump Still Isn’t Condemning Russian Interference
First Read: “Given all of President Trump’s tweets yesterday and this morning on Barr’s summary of the Mueller report – ‘No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION,’ he said — it’s notable the president hasn’t condemned Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.”
Trump Eyes Vengeance
Washington Post: “Within an hour of learning the findings, Trump called for an investigation of his critics and cast himself as a victim. Aides say Trump plans to highlight the cost of the probe and call for organizations to fire members of the media and former government officials who he believes made false accusations about him, while aggressively mocking his critics and one of his favored enemies, the news media.”
Donald Trump Jr. tweets: “How this farce started and snowballed… into one the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the America should be discovered. Those responsible should be held accountable.”
Mueller Report Offers Clarity for 2020 Candidates
New York Times: “The conclusion of the special counsel’s report that President Trump did not conspire with Russia all but assures that Mr. Trump’s political fate will be determined at the ballot box next year — and that Democratic voters already consumed by electability will become even more singularly focused on finding a candidate who can defeat the president.”
“With House Democrats now far less likely to impeach Mr. Trump, and Senate Republicans certain to resist removing him if they did, the president will be judged in a 2020 race sure to revolve more around his performance in office than how he won in the first place.”
“The 2020 hopefuls may not need much convincing. On the campaign trail, few of the top-tier Democratic candidates spend much time inveighing about Mr. Trump’s links to Russia.”
The Politics Going Forward for Democrats
Dan Balz: “For Democrats, the Mueller report turns upside down the politics of what lies ahead. From what seemed a position of strength, or at least the ability to stay on offense, they are now looking at the road ahead in a far more problematic position. The issue of impeachment was always in question, given House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s cautionary view. At this point, it is off the table. Beyond that are difficult questions about what investigations House Democrats should pursue and to what end.”
“For nearly two years, Democrats have eagerly awaited the Mueller report, having already connected many of the dots of contacts between Trump associates and the Russians. Now that Mueller has finished his work with no additional indictments, with a finding of no collusion and a decision of no judgment on whether Trump obstructed justice, things have changed significantly. Democrats must now reckon with a far different set of political realities.”
NPR: “One potential consequence of all this is that it could wind up firing up Democrats even more for 2020. With impeachment looking less likely, Democrats will likely feel even more of a sense of urgency to get out every single vote to defeat Trump next year.”
The Politics Going Forward for Trump
Playbook: “This whole episode — costly and cumbersome as it was for Trump world — fits neatly into the contours of his political strategy. He can now say that the government — the swamp, the deep state, take your pick — spent two years trying to overturn the results of the 2016 election and couldn’t. Mueller and his gang of Democrats, Trump can say, even had to come to the conclusion that he did nothing wrong. When Democrats continue to investigate him as the election draws near, Trump can try to paint them as out of control.”
Dan Balz: “For President Trump, the finding by special counsel Robert Mueller that there was no coordination or conspiracy involving Trump campaign officials or associates and the Russians, despite myriad contacts that have been documented, was a sweet moment. He will not only savor the moment; he will stuff it down the throats of all those who claimed otherwise. The tweets in all caps began Sunday and will continue for months.”
Russia Says It Wants to Improve Ties with U.S.
“The Kremlin said on Monday that it was ready to improve ties with the United States but that it was up to Washington to make the first move, after the conclusion of a U.S. investigation into collusion between Donald Trump and Russia in the 2016 election,” Reuters reports.
A Cloud Over Trump’s Presidency Is Lifted
New York Times: “For President Trump, it may have been the best day of his tenure so far. The darkest, most ominous cloud hanging over his presidency was all but lifted on Sunday with the release of the special counsel’s conclusions, which undercut the threat of impeachment and provided him with a powerful boost for the final 22 months of his term. There are still other clouds overhead and no one outside the Justice Department has actually read the report by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, which may yet disclose damning information if made public.”
“Emboldened and angry, the president can now proceed with his administration without the distraction of new search warrants and indictments by Mr. Mueller’s team or the worry that the special counsel might charge Mr. Trump’s family members or even uncover a smoking gun that would prove that his campaign collaborated with the Russian government to elect him in 2016.”
Washington Post: “A feeling of euphoria swept over the White House staff Sunday as aides celebrated the end of the Mueller investigation, according to a senior White House official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.”
Battle Over Mueller’s Probe Moves to Capitol Hill
Politico: “Two things were quickly clear: first, the end of Mueller’s exhaustive two-year probe means the political war over whether to impeach President Donald Trump — a battle that has already begun to consume Congress since Democrats took control of the House in November — is only just beginning; and secondly, Mueller gave both sides enough to keep pounding their own message for weeks and months to come.”
“Trump may have escaped any criminal charges from Mueller’s probe, yet impeachment is clearly still on the table as far as many Democrats and progressive outside groups are concerned. For Republicans, the message from the Mueller report was clear and insistent – ‘The country needs to move on.’ Meanwhile, Democrats immediately countered with ‘Release the whole Mueller report.’ The struggle is now over which side wins that messaging war with the American public.”
Socialist or Capitalist: Where the 2020 Democrats Stand
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Further Thoughts on the Mueller Report
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Trump Is Still Guilty of Treachery
David Corn: “Barr’s note is clear that Mueller did not uncover evidence Trump and his gang were in direct cahoots with Russia’s covert operation to interfere with the US election and boost Trump’s odds. But the hyper-focus on this sort of collusion—as if Trump instructed Russian hackers on how to penetrate the computer network of the Democratic National Committee—has always diverted attention from a basic and important element of the scandal that was proven long before Mueller drafted his final report: Trump and his lieutenants interacted with Russia while Putin was attacking the 2016 election and provided encouraging signals to the Kremlin as it sought to subvert American democracy. They aided and abetted Moscow’s attempt to cover up its assault on the United States (which aimed to help Trump win the White House). And they lied about all this.”
“And, yes, there were instances of collusion—not on the specifics of the attack, but secret scheming between Trumpworld and Russia.”
“None of the evidence underlying this is in dispute. No matter what Mueller report contains, a harsh verdict remains: Trump and his gang betrayed the United States in the greatest scandal in American history.”
Why Does Trump Love Putin So Much?
Politico: “Barr’s summary makes clear that there was no coordinated high-level conspiracy between Russia and Trump to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor…”
“But there are also many aspects of Trump’s behavior toward Russia, both as a candidate and as president, that remain baffling. His obsession with that Kremlin bogeyman, NATO. His failure to disclose his pursuit of a hotel project in Moscow even as he ran for the White House, and his subsequent lying about it. His real estate business’ many years of heavy reliance on Russian money.”
“Strangest of all is Trump’s relationship with Putin, whom he never criticizes directly. Flash back to that fawning July 2018 news conference in Helsinki, at which Trump stood next to his Russian counterpart and said, ‘I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.’ It remains one of the more bizarre performances by an American president abroad.”
We Need to Know Mueller’s Unknown Reasoning
Rick Hasen: “Attorney General William Barr’s decision to release a summary of the twin Robert Mueller conclusions in the special prosecutor’s still-secret report—no collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign and Mueller’s punt on whether Trump obstructed justice—leaves open many questions that cannot be answered until the Department of Justice releases the report itself.”
“At the top of my list of unanswered questions is why Mueller declined to prosecute former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort or Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. for violating laws prohibiting the solicitation of foreign contributions to American campaigns, based on those campaign surrogates’ June 2016 meeting with Russian agents at Trump Tower. How Mueller answered this question could have profound ramifications for what federal law enforcement will do to stop foreign involvement in the upcoming 2020 elections.”
Mueller Leaves a Big Unanswered Question
David Frum: “Good news, America. Russia helped install your president. But although he owes his job in large part to that help, the president did not conspire or collude with his helpers. He was the beneficiary of a foreign intelligence operation, but not an active participant in that operation. He received the stolen goods, but he did not conspire with the thieves in advance.”
“This is what Donald Trump’s administration and its enablers in Congress and the media are already calling exoneration. But it offers no reassurance to Americans who cherish the independence and integrity of their political process.”
“The question unanswered by the attorney general’s summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report is: Why? Russian President Vladimir Putin took an extreme risk by interfering in the 2016 election as he did. Had Hillary Clinton won the presidency, the most likely outcome, Russia would have been exposed to fierce retaliation by a powerful adversary. The prize of a Trump presidency must have glittered alluringly indeed to Putin and his associates. Why?”
My Takeaways from the Mueller Report
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Summary of Mueller Report Released
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill received a brief letter from Attorney General William Barr summarizing the key findings from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
The investigation found that neither President Trump nor any of his aides conspired with the Russian government.
On the obstruction of justice investigation, Mueller states that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” However, the determination not to file charges was made by the Attorney General and not Mueller.
Read the letter here.
