Trump admits he hasn't read the Mueller report, despite claiming it totally exonerates him
- President Donald Trump said Saturday he had still not read special counsel Robert Mueller's report, but doubled down that it concluded he wasn't guilty of collusion or obstruction.
- Mueller handed in the 400-page report on March 22, and Attorney General William Barr said in a summary released days later that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
- Trump has stated several times that he hasn't read the report, a version of which is expected to be released publicly this month.
President Donald Trump said Saturday he had still not read Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, but insisted that it found "No Collusion, No Obstruction."
In a series of two tweets, Trump said Mueller's 400-page conclusion to the two-year investigation found no wrongdoing by the president as described by Attorney General William Barr's summary of the findings.
"I have not read the Mueller Report yet, even though I have every right to do so," Trump said. "Only know the conclusions, and on the big one, No Collusion. Likewise, recommendations made to our great A.G. who found No Obstruction."
Using one of his preferred terms to refer to the 13 lawyers on Mueller's team, Trump issued his latest hit against the investigation as a political battle that is a "total waste of time."
"13 Angry Trump hating Dems (later brought to 18) given two years and $30 million, and they found No Collusion, No Obstruction," Trump continued. "But the Democrats, no matter what we give them, will NEVER be satisfied. A total waste of time."
Trump added: "As [political consultant Frank Lutz] has just stated, "Enough, America has had enough. What have you accomplished. Public is fed up."
Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign collaborated with Moscow to tilt the race in Trump's favor has charged eight Americans once affiliated with Trump's campaign or administration, 13 Russian nationals, 12 Russian intelligence officers, three Russian companies, and two other people.
Trump's assessment is a generous interpretation of a four-page review of Mueller's findings, in which Barr specified that "the Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'"
Days after the summary's release, the president told reporters that Mueller's report "said 'no obstruction, no collusion," and "could not have been better."
This is the president's latest statement since the report's release that he did not read the conclusions and his open celebration the summary that does not conclude his involvement in obstruction of justice or his campaign's contact with Russian intelligence.