Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, has delivered his long-awaited report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election to the United States (US) Attorney General, bringing a close to the two-year probe into whether there was collusion between Russia and the campaign of President Donald Trump.
Under Justice Department rules, Attorney General William Barr has broad discretion on how much of the report to make public, prompting Democratic Congressional leaders, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, to immediately call for the report’s finding to be made public.
Barr wrote to Congressional leaders that he remained committed to as much transparency as possible and that he may be in a position to advise on the special counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.
Mueller has been investigating how Russian operatives sought to sway the 2016 election and whether they colluded in doing so with anyone from the Trump campaign.
While several Trump aides and associates have been either indicted or convicted of crimes caught up in the dragnet of the probe, local media quote senior justice department officials with knowledge of the findings that no further indictments will be issued by the Special Counsel.
More than two dozen Russian individuals and entities have been indicted while Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his deputy, a foreign policy advisor and Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen have been convicted of crimes but not always related to the specific question of collusion.
The President’s long-time associate Roger Stone is also indicted. Democrat leaders have urged Barr not to allow the White House to influence decisions on the extent to which the report should be made public.
Trump has long called the investigation a witch-hunt and denied any collusion with Moscow.
