No, Donald, there is No Total Exoneration
Well, it's out. After long last, the Mueller Report (heavily redacted) made it to the public arena yesterday, April 18th. Since that time, scarcely 24 hours ago, we have all been arguing about it. I am slowly working my way through the report. I even ordered my print version. I plan to read the entire thing.
As expected, President Trump's enablers are defending the report as an exoneration of Trump. Of course, the president, who has a hard time just shutting up, is all over the map. He continues to insist the entire investigation was a "hoax," and in nearly the same 280-character Tweetbreath, says that the report show there was "no collusion." Not to be a logical stick-in-the-mud here, but if the investigation is a hoax, and its facts are simply a series of lies, then how can that same report exonerate him, or anyone else? And if the same investigators who indicted 35 individuals, and got seven convictions wrote the report, what's that say about the judges in the cases where said convictions resulted?
Well, it says this, according to Lou Dobbs--it was an attempted coup! It was war! Again, the logic train jumps off the track. I suppose if you're the kind of person who watches Lou Dobbs, logic is the least of your concerns, but here we go. This "coup" was an attempt by the "Deep State" to unseat the sitting president. Apparently, a bunch of guys in blue FBI windbreakers were going to take down the president only so he could be replaced by ...... Vice President Mike Pence! Just what every plotter wants. And don't you think that if a dozen or so experienced lawyers, prosecutors, and investigators would be able to do a better job planting evidence if they really wanted to execute a coup? I mean really, plant fingerprints of Vladimir Putin all over the Lincoln Bedroom or something? If this was a coup, it wasn't well planned. However, as I say, a person who watches Lou Dobbs for anything other than the humor is simply not that concerned about logic.
The report, oddly, clears the president of deliberate and knowing conspiracy with Russia. However, it seems to indicate that Trump knew the Russians were up to no good vis-a-vis his opponent in the 2016 election. And conveniently, when the Mueller team sent Mr. Trump a list of questions, the president and his handlers were quick to point out the president just didn't remember things. The same guy that remembers every single time some painting contractor charged him what he thought was too much doesn't remember what happened less than two years ago. And the report also strongly indicates the the firing of James Comey was motivated by knowledge that the FBI was hot on the trail of Michael Flynn, and the frustration of the president by the entire Mueller probe.
But my favorite part of the Mueller report is this from the conclusion:
"Because we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial
judgment, we did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President's conduct.
The evidence we obtained about the President's actions and intent presents
difficult issues that would need to be resolved if we were making a traditional
prosecutorial judgment. At the same time, if we had confidence after a thorough
investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit
obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the
applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly,
while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it
also does not exonerate him" (p. 182).
In other words, the president is not guilty of obstruction of justice because of a narrow view, imposed by the Department of Justice, on what constitutes obstruction. However, far from the "total exoneration" claimed by President Trump, the heavily redacted report, even in its present form, shows that Congress should take actions to begin impeachment proceedings. This will not happen because the Democratic leadership in the House knows that such proceedings would be a distraction leading up to the 2020 elections, and the Republicans in Congress have already made up their minds to show obsequious loyalty to Mr. Trump, even prior to reading the report.
The report shows that Trump himself attempted to order his subordinates to fire Robert Mueller on several occasions, but these persons simply ignored his orders. When asked direct questions by investigators about particular events (by e-mail), the President claimed he could not remember what happened. Convenient. Then again, through his barrage of Tweets, we saw this man obstruct justice in the public arena. We heard him call the investigation a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."
What this report reveals is what we already knew about the man: he is petty, self-serving, and interested only in his own preservation. He has used the presidency to further his own business interests, and won't be bothered by quaint notions like honesty and integrity. As an active duty Air Force officer, I served under four presidents, none of whom I completely agreed with, and all of whom made significant policy mistakes. However, the current president has sullied the Oval Office to such an extent that it will be hard to see how we overcome the damage for a long time to come.
I would encourage all Americans to sit down and start reading the Mueller report. It is a tough slog, but it might convince you that our Nation is far more important than one small-minded man. Our Nation is worth saving from Donald Trump.
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