US Attorney General to release redacted Mueller report into Russian interference
Today, US Attorney General William Barr will publicly release a redacted version of Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The AG will testify publicly about the report’s conclusions before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on May 1 and 2 respectively.
The Mueller report was submitted to the Justice Department on March 22. Mr Barr subsequently submitted a four-page letter to Congress, outlining that the report found no collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia and insufficient evidence to bring obstruction of justice charges.
The biggest risk to Mr Trump is the supporting evidence included in the Mueller report that does not exonerate him of obstruction of justice. While the prospect of impeachment proceedings against Trump has receded, the report will fuel ongoing House Judiciary Committee probes into obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power by the president.
Most importantly, the release of the report will add strain to the President’s political capital ahead of his 2020 re-election campaign. In particular, the detailed indictments of two Kremlin-backed operations to influence the 2016 election will continue to undermine the President’s legitimacy and detract from discussion of his policy goals.
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