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No collusion.

While we don’t know yet what’s in the report by Special Counsel
Robert Mueller on Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S.
presidential election, many news organizations have reported on
what’s not in the report – any recommendation by Mueller for
further indictments.

This is very good news for President Trump and people in the
Trump orbit.

Not a single one of the nearly three dozen criminal indictments
Mueller has obtained in his nearly two years of investigation
deal with collusion between the Trump campaign or Trump himself
and Russia to win the presidential race against Hillary Clinton.

If there are no more indictments that’s a strong indication that
– to use one of the president’s favorite phrases – “there was no
collusion.” Or, at minimum, it means the Mueller team found no
evidence of collusion by Russia to put its supposedly favored
candidate in the Oval Office.

Here are some key facts to keep in perspective as we watch what
happens over the next few days.

From the very beginning, Democrats and others who oppose the
president politically had already decided that Donald Trump was
guilty of collusion with the Russians. They came to that
conclusion based largely on a highly questionable dossier
prepared as opposition research by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
In addition, they had a predisposition to think the worst of
Trump, whom many demonized.

From the very beginning, Democrats and others who oppose the
president politically had already decided that Donald Trump was
guilty of collusion with the Russians.

But after two years and hundreds of interviews, the House and
Senate Intelligence Committees were unable to find any credible
evidence of collusion. Their reports were largely ignored by
most of the media.

As required under Justice Department regulations, Mueller has
provided the attorney general with a “confidential report
explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by
the Special Counsel.” “Declination” refers to decisions to
decline to prosecute someone under investigation.

As soon as he received the Mueller report Friday afternoon, Barr
– also as required under the regulations – notified the chair
and ranking minority members of both the House and Senate
Judiciary Committees that the special counsel had finished his
job.

Barr added that the regulation required him to provide Congress
with a description of any instances in which he or any of his
predecessors “concluded that a proposed action by (the) Special
Counsel was so inappropriate or unwarranted under established
Departmental practices that it should not be pursued.” Barr said
that there “were no such instances during” the Mueller
investigation.

So much for the concern – and some hyperbolic statements
expressed by some Trump critics – that the president or his
Justice Department would try to interfere with Mueller’s
investigation.

Keep in mind that the special counsel’s report is a confidential
law enforcement document similar to any internal reports
prepared by prosecutors concerning a federal criminal
investigation.

These are privileged documents. Under Justice Department
regulations, it is up to the attorney general to decide to what
extent release of the Mueller report or any parts of the report
is in the public interest or can be released without
compromising national security or violating executive privilege.

Those clamoring for Barr to release the entire Mueller report
should remember the prior criticism of then-FBI Director James
Comey for wrongly engaging in that exact type of misbehavior –
for which he was fired as the head of the FBI.

In the letter he sent Friday to the Senate and House committee
leaders, Barr said he would be consulting with both Mueller and
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to determine what
information from the Mueller report could be released
“consistent with the law” including the Justice Department’s
“long-standing practices and policies.” Barr added that he
remained committed to being as transparent as possible.

One of those policies Barr is committed to following is that the
Justice Department does not release reports that make unproven
allegations against the targets of a criminal investigation.

If a prosecutor decides there is insufficient evidence to
warrant prosecution, the case is closed.

The prosecutor does not issue a public report saying that
although the Justice Department is not prosecuting an
individual, the prosecutor has a low opinion about the character
or behavior of that person.

To release such derogatory information without levying formal
charges would be fundamentally unfair, since it would besmirch
the reputation of individuals who do not have the opportunity to
contest the prosecutor’s assertions in a court of law as they do
in a prosecution.

Those clamoring for Barr to release the entire Mueller report
should remember the prior criticism of then-FBI Director James
Comey for wrongly engaging in that exact type of misbehavior –
for which he was fired as the head of the FBI.

After announcing that there was not sufficient evidence to
prosecute Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified material in
her emails and home computer, Comey criticized her behavior.

As Rod Rosenstein said in his May 9, 2017 memo to the attorney
general about FBI Director Comey’s improper actions: “The
Director laid out his version of the facts for the news media as
if it were a closing argument, but without a trial. It is a
textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are
taught not to do."

I have no doubt that Attorney General Barr is considering these
important factors as he reviews the special counsel’s report. If
the report concludes that no collusion occurred, as seems highly
likely, then that should clearly be released.

But in accordance with long-standing Justice Department
protocols, it would not be in the public interest to release any
allegations or speculation contained in the report that are
unproven and insufficient to warrant criminal prosecution.

As Rosenstein said in his earlier memo regarding Comey’s
comments on Hillary Clinton, there should be no release of
“derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.”

After almost two long years, it’s time we put the Mueller
investigation behind us if the special counsel’s report reveals
no evidence of wrongdoing by the president. Our elected
officials should finally get back to trying to solve the
substantive domestic and foreign policy challenges we face as a
nation.

The American people did not elect members of Congress to make
their central focus investigation after investigation after
investigation of the duly elected president of the United States.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mueller-report-appears-likely-to- validate-trump-claim-of-no-collusion-with-russia-to-win-election
 

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