The White House and U.S. President Donald Trump have hailed the key findings from a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, labelling them an “exoneration” of the president.
A summary of Mueller’s final report, released by Attorney General William Barr, said Mueller found no evidence that the Trump campaign co-ordinated with Russia, despite multiple offers from Russian-linked individuals.
“No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.
READ MORE: Mueller report does not conclude Trump committed crime but ‘does not exonerate him’
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders also described Mueller’s findings as a “total and complete exoneration” despite a summary of the report stating that “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
“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,” Sanders tweeted Sunday afternoon.
“The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.”
WATCH: Mueller report finds Trump campaign did not conspire with Russia
Vice President Mike Pence said the report vindicated the president and should be welcomed by all Americans.
“The special counsel has confirmed what President Trump said along; there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election,” Pence said in a statement
READ MORE: What you need to know about the Robert Mueller investigation
Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the report turned out “better than I expected,” adding that he would have a statement on the matter soon.
The president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. — who escaped indictments in Mueller’s probe — took aim at Democrats and “collusion truthers” in the news media.
“After more than two years of non-stop conspiracy theories from CNN, MSNBC, Buzzfeed and the rest of the mainstream media, as well as daily lies and smears coming from Democrats in Washington, the Mueller report proves that those of us with sane minds have known all along — there was zero collusion with Russia,” Trump Jr. said in a statement.
WATCH: Jerrold Nadler refutes Trump’s claims of Mueller report findings
The release of the summary is likely to ignite a new political fight in Washington as Democrats push for Barr to release the full report and Trump seizes on the findings as vindication of his near daily assertion that he was a victim of a “witch hunt” that has cast a long shadow over his presidency.
Trump has always denied collaborating with Moscow or obstructing justice.
— With files from Reuters
Comments