*Fox News (banned) – Page 16

March 26, 2019June 12, 2020

Mueller Report: Not Exactly Exoneration

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is now complete, and the report of the inquiry has been delivered. According to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Mueller’s report stated that the investigation found no evidence of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia regarding interference with the 2016 presidential election.

Many have concluded, “No collusion, no crime, Trump is innocent, let’s move on.”

As Trump and his administration celebrated, Trump tweeted, “”No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”

But, said Barr, quoting Mueller’s report, “While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Still, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein have determined that there was not sufficient evidence supporting prosecution of Trump for obstruction of justice in the ongoing investigation.

This does not mean that all investigation against Trump will cease, Americans can begin working together in harmony, and the remainder of Donald Trump’s presidency will proceed happily ever after.

Though Robert Mueller did not recommend any further indictments, we should keep in mind that most legal experts agree that a sitting president cannot be indicted, anyway. And though Mueller’s report concludes that no evidence was found regarding Trump’s collusion with Russia, evidence does show that Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. We should also remember that Robert Mueller’s investigation of Donald Trump was specifically directed at uncovering and determining criminal activity around election collusion with Russia.

Other investigations of Trump, independent of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, have been ongoing, and will continue. Congress, as well as other federal and state entities, are still investigating Trump and examining other activities around his 2016 presidential campaign, as well as looking into questionable business activities by Trump and the Trump Organization. It’s still possible that criminal charges against Trump could result from these investigations.

George Conway, in response to Robert Mueller’s report, tweeted, “Whatever happens this day or the next, or in this investigation or the next or the one after that, we should always remember this: We should expect far more from a president than merely that he not be provably a criminal beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The public may never see Robert Mueller’s full report. For Trump’s supporters, “No evidence of collusion” is a complete “win” for Trump. But for many others, we should, as Conway said, expect much more than a report stating that nothing was proven.

Trump claims ‘complete exoneration’ by Mueller report | DW News
[2019-03-25]

Trump: Mueller acted honorably in his investigation and report | Fox News [2018-03-25]

March 19, 2019June 10, 2020

Trump’s Veto: A National Emergency?

On Friday, Donald Trump vetoed Congress’ vote to reverse his declaration of a national state of emergency. After the House refused to authorize Trump’s full request for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump declared a national emergency in order to take funds from sources such as military construction monies to build the wall. Now, though Trump has been denied twice via the voting process, he will use his veto power to get what he wants.

“Today I am vetoing this resolution,” Trump said. “Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it.”

Almost immediately after the Senate, including 12 GOP senators, voted 59-41 against Trump’s emergency declaration, Trump proclaimed that he would proceed anyway.

“I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country,” Tweeted Trump.

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn), though he supports increased border security, remarked, “We had a war against a king in the American revolution…This would be the first time that a president has ever asked for a certain amount of money from Congress, Congress has refused to provide it, and then the president has declared a national emergency under the 1976 act and said, ‘I’m going to spend the money anyway.'”

Trump’s insistence that a border wall would be instrumental in keeping criminals from coming into the U.S. is unsupported by statistics. According to PRI, of the 362,000 who were apprehended by Border Patrol officers in FY18, less than 1 percent had convictions for violence, firearms, or sexual offenses. On the other hand, one in 12 American adults has been convicted of a felony.

As for preventing drug trafficking, though most of the heroin in the U.S. does come from Mexico, according to a 2018 report from the Drug Enforcement Agency, it does not just come into the U.S. via illegal border crossings. Much of it comes by way of legal crossings – not only by vehicle at legal points of entry, but through airports and even on ships.

And, says Elaine Carey, dean of the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences at Purdue University, “A wall’s not going to do anything unless you deal with the demand.”

Congress is not expected to have enough votes to override Trump’s veto. Still, the number of votes against Trump’s emergency declaration in both the House and Senate could carry some weight when the issue goes to court, which it almost certainly will. Trump, however, insists that his veto will hold up under legal challenges.

Trump signs first veto of his presidency | Full Remarks | Fox News [2019-03-15]

Trump uses veto power to kill bill that would block his border wall emergency | CBS This Morning [2019-03-16]