By TEMPLE LI
Collusion. Conspiracy. Obstruction. It is all very confusing! If you google these terms in relation to the Mueller Report, you will get various interpretations. What to believe and does it even matter?
According to “PRI: The World” (Public Radio International) collusion is not a legal concept and that Mueller was investigating conspiracy, defined in federal criminal law as “an agreement between two or more people to commit an offense and then act upon it.” In the Burlington Press, they used PRI’s definition of conspiracy to define collusion. Regardless of whether it is defined as collusion or conspiracy, Mueller, Special Counsel appointed by the Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, was looking for a criminal relationship between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. In Mueller’s Report, as noted in the New York Times, “Mr. Trump did not knowingly conspire with Russia” and the findings of the Mueller report should lay this to rest.
The third term, “obstruction,” as it related to the Mueller report, is a little more difficult for us, the proletariat, to understand. Because how can Trump be accused of obstructing an investigation of a crime which was determined by the Mueller investigation as unsubstantiated? It makes you want to scratch your head in puzzlement and question—doesn’t the government have anything better to do? Apparently not, since the government felt perfectly comfortable in spending more $25 million of taxpayers’ dollars for this report.
Although it cleared Trump of collusion/conspiracy, the report left open the possibility of obstruction by listing 10 instances in which obstruction might have occurred. These include Trump’s behavior related to the investigation of Michael Flynn, the National Security Advisor and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Mueller investigation; Trump’s efforts to limit the scope of the investigation and the alleged attempts to end the investigation by firing Mueller; and Trump’s conduct toward those individuals caught up in the investigation, including Flynn, Manafort and Cohen. Mueller could come to no conclusion regarding obstruction; however, it is clear that he wanted to provide the Democrat-controlled House the opportunity to bring impeachment charges against President Trump. (A little retribution against Trump because Trump failed to kiss Mueller’s you-know- what during the investigation?)
Although the Mueller investigation comes to an end, Mueller and his team have done a disservice to our nation by producing a report that continues to fuel the fires of division that have “obstructed” the functioning of our government and the prevention of our Congress to do the people’s business. SHAME ON YOU, MR. MUELLER!
Temple Li is the news editor for Empire State News, where she frequently authors her own editorials (just because she feels like it). She graduated at the top of her class at a mediocre college, infuriating her professors with her conservative wit and sultry charm. Empire State News allows Ms. Li to make a living, and to have a platform to tell people what she thinks. What could be better than that?
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