Special counsel Robert Mueller had everything he needed to charge President Donald J Trump for obstruction of justice but did not do so. The redacted version of the report was released to the public on Thursday which contained shocking details of the President’s actions that pass the threshold for obstruction.
Earlier, Attorney General William Barr had released a summary of the report, which downplayed the actual findings by the counsel on Trump’s wrongdoings and presented him as completely innocent. This came as a shock to many Democrats who were expecting something big enough to charge the President after various Trump campaign officials were arrested and charged by the counsel.
The report detailed the instances where Trump crossed the line including the firing of the then FBI Director James Comey, directing former White House counsel Don McGahn to shut down Mueller, tweeting about his former campaign manager Paul Manafort’s charges as he headed to the trial and so on and so forth.
The reason why Mueller let Trump go, according to the report, is because of a Department Of Justice Policy that forbids a sitting President from being indicted as it might affect the President’s ability to properly carry out his duties in office. Although the Republicans view this as a complete victory, there is no denying that it has tarnished Trump’s reputation to some extend.
(Title image courtesy: Bloomberg/Fortune)