Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

The much-anticipated report by special counsel Robert Mueller on the 2016 presidential race has found no evidence that President Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to alter the outcome of the election, a letter summing up the report says.

According to a summary of Mueller’s report drawn up by Attorney General William P. Barr, the investigation into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government found no signs that Trump, his aides, or campaign members conspired with Russia.

“The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” Barr wrote.

In the four-page letter summarizing the report Barr had delivered to congressional leaders on Sunday, Barr wrote that the Mueller report “thoroughly investigated allegations that members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, and others associated with it, conspired with the Russian government in its efforts to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election.”

The investigation, the letter noted, employed 19 attorneys and was aided by a team of some 40 FBI agents. The investigation issued over 2,800 subpoenas, executed roughly 500 search warrants, and interviewed about 500 witnesses.

The report did not fully exonerate Trump, however, of accusations of obstruction of justice.

“The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him’,” Barr wrote, quoting the Mueller report.

Barr also noted in his letter that Robert Mueller has not recommended further indictments.

“The report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the special counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public.”

The White House pointed to the report’s conclusions exonerating the president of allegations of collusion, even though the report fellow short of clearing him of any possible obstruction of justice.

“The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States,” the White House said in a statement Sunday.

President Trump’s attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also expressed satisfaction with the report, saying it was “better than I expected.”

But senior Democratic lawmaker Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who chairs the House of Representatives’ powerful Judiciary Committee, called for more information from the Mueller report, citing Mueller’s decision not to explicitly exonerate Trump from allegations of obstruction of justice.

“There must be full transparency in what Special Counsel Mueller uncovered to not exonerate the President from wrongdoing. DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work,” Rep. Nadler tweeted.