WASHINGTON (AP) - Reaction to Attorney General William Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the investigation of Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” Special counsel Robert Mueller, quoted by Attorney General William Barr in a summary of the Russia investigation report.
___
“No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” President Donald Trump, in a tweet.
___
“It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest, it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this for — before I even got elected, it began. And it began illegally. And hopefully, somebody is going to look at the other side. This was an illegal takedown that failed. And hopefully, somebody is going to be looking at the other side,” Trump, just before boarding Air Force One in Palm Beach, Florida, to return to Washington.
___
“The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG 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,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, in a tweet.
___
“Attorney General Barr’s letter raises as many questions as it answers. The fact that Special Counsel Mueller’s report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay. Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Democratic Leader, in a joint statement.
___
“Russia’s ongoing efforts to interfere with our democracy are dangerous and disturbing, and I welcome the special counsel’s contributions to our efforts to understand better Russia’s activities in this regard. And I look forward to the continuing work of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the threats posed to our democratic institutions by foreign interference. I appreciate the Attorney General’s commitment to continue to review the record in this matter over the coming days, in conjunction with Special Counsel Mueller, with the goal of producing as much information as possible, consistent with the law. I look forward to reviewing that information,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a statement.
___
“In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision-making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in a tweet.
___
“Good day for the rule of law. Great day for President Trump and his team. No collusion and no obstruction. The cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report. Bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down. Great job by Mr. Mueller and his team to thoroughly examine all things Russia. Now it is time to move on, govern the country, and get ready to combat Russia and other foreign actors ahead of 2020,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in a statement.
___
“AG Barr’s summary further confirms the need for Congress to see Mueller’s underlying documents, so we can continue our investigations & uncover the truth for the American public,” Rep. Sean Maloney, D-N.Y., in a tweet.
___
“Our country welcomes this long-overdue conclusion. After two years, two congressional investigations, and now the closure of a special counsel investigation with unfettered authority to investigate ’any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,’ it is abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, there was no collusion,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a statement.
___
“This letter leaves more questions than answers. A sanitized summary from Trump’s hand-picked bodyguard is not acceptable. Barr has his finger on the scale to protect Trump. The full report should be released immediately,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., in a tweet.
___
“The special counsel’s investigation was long, thorough & conclusive: There was no collusion. There is no constitutional crisis. As the report states, “the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference’,” Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., ranking Republican, House Judiciary Committee, in a tweet.
___
“Sad to see that you are upset by the fact that #POTUS and the Trump Campaign did NOT collude with Russia, despite the hoax @CNN has exploited for two years. What part of ’No American conspired or worked with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign’ is unclear? #CNNSucks,” Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, in a tweet.
___
“The Mueller report must be made public. Not just a letter from someone appointed by Trump to protect himself_all of it. The President works for the people, and he is not above the law,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., presidential candidate, in a tweet.
___
“Sadly, instead of apologizing for needlessly destabilizing the country in a transparent attempt to delegitimize the 2016 election, it’s clear that the Collusion Truthers in the media and the Democratic Party are only going to double down on their sick and twisted conspiracy theories moving forward. It’s my hope that honest journalists within the media, have the courage to hold these now fully debunked truthers accountable and treat them with the scorn and ridicule that they so deserve,” Donald Trump Jr., in a statement.
___
“I am demanding the Mueller report be made immediately available for members of Congress and for the public. Anything short of full transparency will be detrimental to our country moving forward. The American people deserve the truth,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., presidential candidate, in a tweet.
___
“We are not familiar with the report,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies.
___
“The Mueller report needs to be made public, the underlying investigative materials should be handed over to Congress, and Barr must testify. That is what transparency looks like. A short letter from Trump’s hand-picked Attorney General is not sufficient,” Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, presidential candidate, in a tweet.
___
“Today marks the day that President Trump has been completely and fully vindicated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, exposing the Russia collusion conspiracy theory for the sham that it always was and catching Democrats in an elaborate web of lies and deceit,” Brad Parscale, campaign manager, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., in a statement.
___
“Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report. Not a “summary” from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public. Immediately,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., presidential candidate, in a tweet.
___
Follow all of AP’s Trump Investigations coverage at https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations
Please read our comment policy before commenting.