Special counsel Robert Mueller made his first public statement on the Russia investigation at the Justice Department on Wednesday, 29 May, where he explicitly made it clear that if he was confident that their investigation found US President Donald Trump guilty, they would’ve made it known to the public.
Trump reacted to Mueller’s statement and said, ‘The case is closed.’
He started his statement saying, “I will resign now and will return to my private life,” and added that he will not take any questions.
Speaking on the allegations against US President Donald Trump, he said, “if we were confident that the President committed the crime, we would’ve said so.”
The statement comes 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.
He went on to say, “A President cannot be charged with a federal crime when in office. It’s unconstitutional. Hence, charging him of a crime was something we could not consider.”
He spoke about the policies of the criminal justice department of US, saying that the constitution requires other measures other than criminal justice system to charge the President of a crime.
"The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrongdoing," Mueller added, in what appeared to be a suggestion that any further action would lie with Congress.
He concluded by saying that he was testifying on his own discretion and emphasised on the fact that these allegations of collusion and interference are something that deserve the attention of every American.
Mueller’s report into Russia meddling in the 2016 election did not find that Russia and the Trump campaign coordinated to sway the presidential election. It did not reach a conclusion on whether the president had obstructed justice.
Barr is currently in Alaska for work.
(With inputs from AP, AFP & CNN News)
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