Mueller wrote that his evidence was not sufficient to clearly establish that the President had not committed a crime. The Attorney General, Barr insisted that it was not sufficient to establish that he had.  These conclusions are fundamentally at odds. A footnote in the Mueller report points out that a criminal investigation could ultimately result in charges being brought either after a president has been removed from office by the process of impeachment or after he has left office. Mueller seems to be rejecting the defense that a president could not be guilty of obstruction of justice for the conduct in question: “The protection of the criminal justice system from corrupt acts by any person-including the President-accords with the fundamental principle of our government that ‘[n]o [person] in this country is so high that he is above the law.”

Where does this leave the report? Will it be used as a document that sets up impeachment or exonerates the President? We will know more in coming weeks, when the battle lines are drawn, and more is revealed. At the moment, there is talk from Congressional Democratic leaders that the report reveals more than the Attorney General initially reported. But it is still unclear if the report will have a devastating impact on the President’s term in office or his campaign. It will probably depend on if the American people are tired of this topic, or want the apparent offenses of the President pursued.   It is likely each member of Congress is testing these waters in their Districts and listening to reactions of constituents to the report.  Read more