The 2016 US Presidential Election will go down in history as one of the strangest elections to have ever taken place. The incumbent President Donald J Trump was at the heart of an earth shattering conspiracy which accused him of working with the Russian government to win the election and undermine the legitimacy of American democracy in the process.
The United States Intelligence Community and the Director of National Intelligence had solid proofs of Russian interference authorized directly by Vladimir Putin himself to harm the Clinton campaign and boost the candidacy of Trump. In a bipartisan effort, a special counsel investigation headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller was ordered to look into the Trump campaign and investigate any misconduct that could eventually lead to an impeachment. Trump and his party wasted no time and did their best to tarnish its reputation which was a big signal that something was not right. 34 people were found guilty of criminal charges and eight pleaded guilty including Trump’s Campaign Manager Paul Manafort for conspiracy against the United States and General Michael Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor who was found guilty of colluding with Russian officials and accepting bribes from foreign governments. Trump even discussed the idea of pardoning himself and even thought of firing the special counsel as reports of his family members meeting with high ranking Russian officials surfaced. The Mueller investigation was inching closer and closer to Trump as the news media, along with late night talk show hosts and comedians, celebrated these developments while they patiently waited for the grand finale- a report that would end the Trump presidency.
The time finally arrived and- nothing! There was no evidence of any collusion by the President. Mueller submitted his report to the Department of Justice which detailed that the counsel “did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its effort to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election”. If this were a movie, it would have been a nail-biting thriller with an unexpected, yet disappointing climax. If the report were to be released only a few days later, people would have genuinely believed that it was an elaborate April Fools’ prank by Robert Mueller. However, the report concluded by saying that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
(Title Pic Courtesy: Knoe.com)
