In Donald Trump's long list legal problemsThe Müller report – which was published in redacted form on April 18, 2019 – seems all but forgotten.
But the nearly two-year-long investigation into Russia's alleged interference within the 2016 U.S. presidential election dominated the headlines – and exposed what has change into Trump's trademark: denial of any wrongdoing. For Trump, the Russia investigation was the primary “ridiculous fraud” And “Witch hunt.”
Mueller didn't help matters. “While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” the report said Special prosecutor explains.
With such ambiguous language, it's easy to see how Democrats and Republicans – and the American public – reacted completely otherwise to the report. While progressive Democrats called for Trump's impeachment, some GOP leaders called for an investigation into the origins of the investigation itself.
Over the past five years, Conversation US has published the work of several scholars who followed the Mueller investigation and what it revealed about Trump. Here we present 4 examples of the work of those scientists.
1. Obstruction of justice
As a law professor and former elected official David Orentlicher identified that Trump did many things that influenced the federal investigation against him and his associates. That includes firing FBI Director James Comey, publicly attacking the special counsel's work and pressuring then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from overseeing Mueller's investigation.
Some accused Trump of obstructing justice with these actions. However, Orentlicher wrote that obstruction of justice is “a complicated matter.”
Under federal law, obstruction occurs when an individual attempts to impede or influence a trial, investigation, or other official proceeding through threats or corrupt intent. The law also requires a “corrupt” intent to obstruct justice.
But in a letter dated March 24, 2019 As he summarized Mueller's findings, then-Attorney General William Barr told Congress he didn't see enough evidence that Trump had obstructed justice.
AP Photo/Jon Elswick
So it was as much as Congress to maneuver forward with an obstruction case against Trump, but against then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejectedargue that it can be too divisive for the nation and Trump “just wasn’t worth it.”
Read more: Trump and Obstruction of Justice: An Explanation
2. Why was the total report not published?
Charles Tiefer, a law professor on the University of Baltimore, expected that Trump and Barr would “do everything in their power to keep the full report and, just as importantly, the materials underlying the report, secret.”
Deeper was right. To keep Mueller's report secret, Barr invoked grand jury secrecy — the rule that attorneys, jurors and others “may not disclose a matter pending before the grand jury.”
AP Photo/Alex Brandon/Jose Luis Magana
Trump and Barr also claimed executive privilege to further block the report's release. While it may well't be used to shield evidence of a criminal offense, Tiefer explained, “This is where Barr's exoneration of Trump really helped the White House.”
Read more: How Trump and Barr could expand their claims to executive privileges and grand jury secrecy
3. Alternative facts
political scientist David C Barker And Morgan Marietta asked a very important query: Why didn't the report help the nation reach consensus on what happened within the 2016 presidential election after nearly two years of waiting?
In her bookEntitled “One Nation, Two Realities,” they found that voters see the world in a way that reinforces their values and identities, no matter whether or not they have ever watched Fox News or MSNBC.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
“The contradictory factual claims that have emerged since the report's release demonstrate how easy it is for citizens to believe whatever they want, regardless of what Robert Mueller, William Barr, or anyone else has to say about it,” they wrote .
Perhaps essentially the most disappointing finding, they argued, is that there aren’t any known solutions to this problem. They found that fact-checking has little impact on changing individual beliefs and that more education only exacerbates divisions.
And with that, they wrote, “the United States is moving ever closer to a public square where consensus perceptions are impossible and facts are irrelevant.”
Read more: From “Total exoneration!” to “Impeach now!” – the Mueller report and dueling factual perceptions
4. Trump's demand for loyalty
Yu Ouyang, a professor of political science, studies loyalty and politics at Purdue University Northwest. He explained that it’s normal for presidents to favor loyalists.
What sets Trump apart, Ouyang wrote, is his “extraordinary emphasis on loyalty.”
Trump expects personal loyalty from his employees – especially his attorney general.
When his first attorney general, Sessions, withdrew from overseeing the FBI's Russia interference investigation, Trump considered it an act of treason and fired him in November 2017. Sessions' removal allowed Trump to rent Barr.
“Trump values loyalty over other crucial qualities like competence and honesty. … And he appoints his staff accordingly,” Ouyang wrote.
Read more: Why does a president demand loyalty from his employees?
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