President Trump gloated Sunday after special counsel Robert Mueller concluded there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia in 2016, saying it was a “shame” the country went through it.
He also went into attack mode, saying someone needs to take a look at the people who put him through the ordeal.
“This was an illegal takedown that failed, and hopefully somebody’s going to look at the other side,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Florida. “It’s complete exoneration, no collusion, no obstruction.”
Mr. Trump made the brief statement before he boarded Air Force One for the trip back to Washington.
He was reacting to Attorney General William Barr’s summary of Mr. Mueller’s findings, which found no collusion with Russia but left the decision on obstruction of justice to Mr. Barr, who said he doesn’t see enough evidence of a crime to pursue charges.
Mr. Trump disregarded the part of the summary that said Mr. Mueller couldn’t exonerate him on obstruction.
SEE ALSO: Robert Mueller clears Donald Trump in Russia probe, William Barr says
“It was a complete and total exoneration,” Mr. Trump said.
The president rued the length and extent of the probe, which dominated the airwaves during the first two years of his presidency.
“After a long look, after a long investigation, after so many people have been so badly hurt, after not looking at the other side, where a lot of bad things happened, a lot of horrible things happened … it was just announced there was no collusion with Russia,” he said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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