White House claims ‘total and complete exoneration’ after Mueller report

The White House on Sunday declared victory after the Justice Department released special counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusions in the Russia investigation, calling them “a total and complete exoneration” for President Trump.

{mosads}White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that Mueller “did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction” and that Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “further determined there was no obstruction.”

“The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the president of the United States,” Sanders said.

“No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” Trump tweeted shortly after.

No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019

The White House’s victory lap came shortly after Barr released a letter summarizing Mueller’s findings in his 22-month investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, which has clouded Trump’s presidency. The conclusion largely left the president unscathed.

But while the attorney general said Mueller did not find that the “Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated” with Moscow’s efforts, Mueller did not conclude whether the president obstructed justice.

“While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” Mueller wrote in his report, according to Barr.

Barr said that he and Rosenstein determined not to bring obstruction charges against Trump, saying the evidence did not prove the president committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated at 4:45 p.m.