Review of The Mueller Report

“Lies, and dumb lies at that,” James Comey. That about sums up what I have learned from reading the Mueller report. The overarching theme that emerges after a two-year investigation is that Donald Trump was obsessed with three things: the Russia investigation and doing everything in his power to stop it; Hillary Clinton’s missing emails: and winning the election through whatever means available to him, including actively seeking help from a foreign government. It is also apparent from the report that everyone surrounding Trump was trying to gain some personal advantage through their connections to the campaign.

When it comes to collusion or conspiracy, Mueller was unable to connect the dots to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. There were plenty of connections between members of Trump’s campaign and Russians or people with links to Russia. The strongest case for collusion was the polling data that Paul Manafort shared with Konstantin Kilimnik. Trump lost the popular vote by more than three million votes. He won the electoral vote by less than 100,000 votes in three key battleground states: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Manafort provided polling data that included the battleground states. But to prove a conspiracy Mueller would have to trace the polling data to Russian’s interference in the election. And how can he do that if he is unable to interview any of the Russians involved?

Next comes the obstruction of justice investigation. There is plenty of evidence to impeach Trump on obstruction of justice. Rather than go through each instance, I’ll zero in on the most egregious example. Trump wanted to end the Mueller investigation for several reasons. He hated the insinuation that Russia helped him win the election. He also knew that there were Russian connections to him and members of his campaign, something he denied countless times. While he was campaigning to be President, he was also involved in negotiations for a Trump Tower Moscow. Trump didn’t want any of this to come out. So, first he fired James Comey. Then, he tried, unsuccessfully, to fire Mueller. You can’t get any more of an obstructive act than that. Now his supporters will argue that Trump had the right to fire both men and firing either man wouldn’t end the investigations. There is, however, enough evidence to show that in both cases, Trump’s intent was to end the investigations.

The Mueller report spells out what anyone can see is happening on a daily basis. There is a hint of some controversy surrounding Trump. Trump first denies the embarrassing story. He lies about it. Then, he tries to get others to lie for him. If that doesn’t work, he lies some more to cover up the first lie.