Mueller did not find enough evidence that Trump obstructed justice or conspired with Russia: Barr

Attorney General William Barr said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation did not find sufficient evidence that President Donald Trump obstructed justice, or that the president’s campaign coordinated with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. 

In a four-page letter to top lawmakers on Sunday, the top Justice Department official summarized key findings from Mueller’s historic investigation. The probe, which ended as Mueller submitted his final report to Barr on Friday, has dogged the Trump administration and gripped the nation for nearly two years. Barr had the authority to decide what information to share with both Congress and the public. 

Read the full letter here.

In his letter, Barr breaks down two sections of Mueller’s report: Russia’s efforts to affect the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed justice. Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey and other actions throughout the probe raised concerns about the president trying to end it. 

The attorney general says that Mueller did not conclude whether Trump obstructed justice. He quotes the special counsel as stating, “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Barr concluded that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel’s investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.” 

The top Justice Department official also writes that the probe “did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated” with Russia. Barr quotes Mueller as writing: ”[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” 

Mueller submitted his probe on Friday without further indictments. A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that are also no sealed indictments pending release.

The special counsel was tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government as well as any other matters arising from the investigation.

Members of Congress have called on Barr to provide full transparency. In a rare bipartisan vote in an era of deep partisanship, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted 420-0 in favor of a non-binding resolution demanding the public release of Mueller’s full report. The GOP-held Senate blocked the measure. 

In a letter to Congress Friday, Barr said he is “committed to as much transparency as possible.”

Barr was appointed attorney general after Trump forced Jeff Sessions out of the job.

Trump had repeatedly criticized Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation after the former Alabama senator failed to disclose during testimony to Congress contacts he had with the Russian ambassador in the runup to the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has repeatedly called the special counsel’s investigation a “witch hunt.” But Barr, a Trump appointee, said in his Friday letter that there were no instances in which the special counsel’s actions were “inappropriate or unwarranted.”

Trump has said it is Barr’s decision whether the full report will be released.

Jacob Pramuk@JACOBPRAMUK