Sen. Blackburn Commends Attorney General Barr For Quickly Releasing Summary of Mueller Findings That Clear President Trump of Collusion With Russia

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) praised Attorney General William Barr for quickly releasing the summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings to Congress that show President Donald Trump did not collude with Russia.

Mueller’s investigation found no evidence President Donald Trump, his campaign or associates conspired or coordinated with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary released Sunday by Attorney General William Barr, The Tennessee Star reported.

Blackburn tweeted her statement.

My statement on today’s letter from Attorney General Barr: pic.twitter.com/1xpZQDtWdZ

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) March 25, 2019

Blackburn’s statement reads:

“After two years of thorough investigation, led by a team of 19 lawyers and 40 FBI employees, costing over $25 million in taxpayer dollars, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusions confirm that President Trump’s campaign did not collude with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

“Attorney General Bill Barr, in a jointly reached conclusion with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, determined the evidence from the Special Counsel report was ‘not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.’

“Attorney General Barr is to be commended for his quick release of the findings to Congress as well as his commitment to continue reviewing the matter further with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

“Russia’s efforts to rig our elections and interfere with America’s democracy is a dangerous threat to our nation. I trust the Special Counsel’s findings will help us understand how we can prevent this threat moving forward.”

Mueller spent 22 months looking into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russians and if the president obstructed justice by trying to stop the investigation, The Star said. Key lawmakers, Democrats and some of Trump’s Republican allies, have called for release of the full report, but it is not clear whether Barr will do so. Trump said last week he did not object to the full release to the public but also has said it is up to Barr.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” where he said his Democratic colleagues viewed Robert Mueller as “next to Jesus” heading into the Russia investigation, according to The Star.

Jordan said, “The Democrats were all saying that the president of the United States worked with a hostile foreign country to steal the election, and again, there has not been one bit of evidence to suggest that any of that happened.”

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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.