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Mueller says charging Trump was ‘not an option,’ resigns as special counsel with final statement
Special counsel Robert Mueller announced Wednesday he is officially closing the special investigation into Russian interference.
“We are formally closing the special counsel’s office,” Mueller said. “As well, I’m resigning to return to private practice.”
Mueller’s report was completed in March, capping a 22-month investigation into ties between Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign team.
Mueller detailed the two sections of the report; in the first section he said there was evidence that there were numerous instances of Russia trying to meddle in the election. The second section focused on obstruction of justice.
“After [the obstruction of justice] investigation, if we had had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”
He also explained that because of long-standing policy, the president can not be charged with a crime while in office.
Therefore, “charging the president with a crime is not an option we could consider,” Mueller said.
“It would be unfair to accuse someone of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge.”
His statement came amid demands for Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with Attorney General William Barr over the handling of his report.
Mueller said Wednesday he would not testify before Congress, saying, “The report is my testimony.”
Barr released a summary saying there was no collusion between Trump and Russia.
Barr also said there was not sufficient evidence that Trump committed obstruction of justice.
But Mueller took exception to Barr’s summary, saying in a private letter that the summary didn’t “fully capture the context, nature and substance” of the special counsel’s investigation, The Washington Post reported.
A redacted version of the report was released in April, and the report did not make a conclusion on whether Trump had committed obstruction of justice but did not exonerate him, either.
After the report was released, Barr appointed an attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, after numerous accusations from Trump that the investigation was a hoax.
A senior White House official told the Associated Press, “the White House was notified” on Tuesday night that Mueller might make a statement on Wednesday.
*with files from the Associated Press and Katie Dangerfield
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