Donald Trump declares ‘complete exoneration’ after Robert Mueller finds no evidence of Russia conspiracy
- Summary of two-year investigation into possible collusion with Russia was released on Sunday
- It was a major political victory for Trump, who quickly hailed the announcement
US President Donald Trump declared that he had been completely exonerated after his campaign was cleared of colluding with Russia in the 2016 election, in a major boost for his re-election hopes.
The long-awaited final report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Moscow’s election meddling concluded that no member or associate of the campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia in its plot to boost Trump in the vote more than two years ago.
While not completely absolving the president, Attorney General Bill Barr’s letter to Congress summarising the still-secret Mueller report cleared a dark cloud that had hung over the Trump’s legitimacy since he took office in January 2017.
On the question of whether the president might have sought to obstruct the high-profile investigation,
“There was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction. It was a complete and total exoneration,” Trump said of Mueller’s conclusions.
“It’s a shame that the country had to go through this,” he added.
“This was an illegal takedown that failed.”
Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Trump was “in a really good mood” and “very happy with how it all turned out.”