THE MUELLER REPORT (REDACTED): WITH THE EVIDENCE ALREADY, ANY OTHER PERSON WOULD BE INDICTED AND AWAITING TRIAL, BUT DONALD TRUMP - AT LEAST WHILE HE'S IN THE WHITE HOUSE - IS FREE TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE AGAIN

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     Any Americans who read The Mueller Report and aren't disturbed that Donald Trump remains seated behind the Oval Office desk are being dishonest with themselves.

     When Trump took the presidential oath of office on January 20th, 2017, he vowed to defend the Constitution of the United States.  Trump broke that promise long time ago.

     In his morning press conference before the redacted Mueller Report was released on Thursday, April 18th, 2019, Attorney General William Barr made it out as if Trump had a clean bill of health with his legal troubles.  Quite the contrary, as Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report does not indicate that at all.  As Mueller wrote, "The evidence we obtained about the president's actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred.  Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

     Donald Trump and his lawyers cannot be looking at The Mueller Report through rose-colored glasses, or at least they shouldn't be.  There's plenty of critically damaging evidence in the report to prove that Trump has committed crimes against our country and against the American people.  But Attorney General Barr has deliberately ignored all of it.  Instead, he performed at a podium as if he was one of Trump's sideline cheerleaders at a campaign rally.  It is not the job of the attorney general to make a decision on the special counsel's investigation.  The Mueller Report should have been able to speak for itself, as Robert Mueller's voice.  It was not to be interpreted by Barr, to his liking, in order to shield Trump.  The attorney general should defend the rule of law, not Trump and his image.  Barr is not supposed to be Trump's Hollywood publicist.  The special counsel and his team of investigators did not compose The Mueller Report for the attorney general, as Barr has indicated.  The report was penned for us, the people of the United States.

     William Barr proved on April 18th - as he has since he issued that bogus 4-page summary of The Mueller Report on March 24th - that he is nothing but a political hack and a puppet of Donald Trump's, and thus doesn't talk on behalf of himself as the chief law enforcement officer of our land, but instead as a pet myna bird for Trump.  At least four times in his press conference, Barr parroted Trump's two favorite words by squawking "no collusion," which is a phrase that Special Counsel Mueller never used in his report.  However, there is much evidence of collusion in The Mueller Report.  But Americans need to remember that there is no such crime as collusion.  The Trump mantra was something he, Trump, created.  The crime is conspiracy.  Apparently - at least to Robert Mueller - actions by Trump or any members of his campaign did not reach a point where the conspiracy needle reached a level of criminality.  According to the report, "While the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign, the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges."  The Mueller Report goes on to say that "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."  However, Mueller did find that Trump's campaign accepted with open arms any assistance received by Russia.  The special counsel notes that "Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome," Mueller continues to convey in his report that the Trump campaign also "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."  It is plain as day that Russia's intent was 

to aid Trump in an effort to defeat Hillary Clinton.  The Trump campaign knew it and accepted such behavior instead of running a fair campaign.  The bottom line is that through efforts by Vladimir Putin and The Kremlin, Donald Trump was elected to the U.S. presidency, in part, through the helping hands of Russia, a hostile foreign nation. 

     Robert Mueller concluded that Russia "interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion."  Donald Trump should not ever again defend Putin as Trump did on July 16th, 2018 at the Helsinki, Finland summit when he, Trump, sided with the Russian Federation president over 17 U.S. intelligence agencies.  While at a joint press conference with Putin, Trump declared that he didn't "see any reason why" Russia would be responsible for interfering in our democracy.  "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today."

     But Special Counsel Mueller linked the Internet Research Agency - a Russian hacking group - with targeting the 2016 U.S. election by reaching out to Trump campaign aides, including Trump's two oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, both of whom were willing to repeat the essence of the I.R.A. communications to others within the Trump campaign. Furthermore, Russian hackers stole emails and other documents from the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and then those hackers engaged WikiLeaks as an avenue of distribution for some of that information.  WikiLeaks - in case you're not familiar - is described by Wikipedia as "an international organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources."  The Mueller Report confirms that the Trump campaign had advance knowledge of WikiLeaks document dumps.

     In his Senate confirmation hearing, William Barr testified under oath that he would be "transparent."  He proved on April 18th that he doesn't even know what the word transparent means or - if he does know the definition - he simply doesn't care because all he wants to do is be a bulwark for Donald Trump.  It is obvious that Barr unconditionally has Trump's back when he should have America's back.

     That leads me to the following question.  Where was Special Counsel Robert Mueller on that Thursday, April 18th at 9:30 A.M., about 90 minutes before his report - redacted as it is - was to be released to the public?  Was Mueller told not to be at the Barr press conference or did he choose not to be?  Barr acted that morning - as he has in the past - more like Donald Trump's defense lawyer, not the U.S. attorney general.  As our nation's attorney general, Barr's job is to defend the Constitution of the United States and to defend the rights of the people of our nation.  He is not Trump's "Perry Mason."

     The special counsel's report does provide damning information against Donald Trump and his 2016 political campaign with Mueller writing that if the investigation had proceeded, proof of criminal activity would have been discovered.  "The evidence does indicate that a thorough F.B.I. investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the president personally that the president could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns." It will be up to Congress, as well as the prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and perhaps elsewhere, to determine how to move forward with investigating Trump.

     Despite Attorney General Barr's statements throughout the last four weeks, which are favorable towards Donald Trump, legal and law enforcement scholars across the country - after reading The Mueller Report - state categorically that there is a strong case against Trump for obstruction of justice.

     Even though Robert Mueller didn't charge Donald Trump with obstruction of justice, the special counsel's report outlines numerous examples of potential obstruction by Trump as he tried to influence people in his administration to lie while he himself lied and misled our country.  The Mueller Report describes eleven "key issues," which investigators examined.

     First, is the "The campaign's response to reports about Russian support for Trump" and that Trump himself, after the election, "expressed concerns to advisors that reports of Russia's election interference might lead the public to question the legitimacy of his election."  Furthermore, "Trump publicly expressed skepticism that Russia was responsible for the hacks at the same time that he and other campaign officials privately sought information [redaction] about any further planned WikiLeaks releases.  Trump also denied having any business in or connections to Russia, even though as late as June 2016 the Trump Organization had been pursuing a licensing deal for a skyscraper to be built in Russia called Trump Tower Moscow."

     Second, is Trump's "Conduct involving F.B.I. director (James) Comey and (National Security Adviser) Michael Flynn."  The Mueller team investigated the "loyalty" that Trump wanted from Comey, as Trump implied for Comey to put on the brakes on the investigation of Flynn in an attempt to stop the entire Russia probe.  "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.  He is a good guy.  I hope you can let this go."  Mueller's team was also concerned about Trump's remark to "an outside advisor" after Flynn was pushed to resign.  "Now that we fired Flynn, the Russia thing is over."

     Third, is "The president's reaction to the continuing Russia investigation" and Trump expressing "anger" when Attorney General Jeff Sessions "announced his recusal on March 2 (2017)." Trump "told advisors that he should have an attorney general who would protect him."  Within the next few days, Trump "took Sessions aside at an event and urged him to 'unrecuse' himself."  He did not.
    

     Fourth, is "The president's termination of Comey."  "The day after firing Comey, the president told Russian officials that he had 'faced great pressure because of Russia,' which had been 'taken off' by Comey's firing.  The next day, the president acknowledged in a television interview (with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt) that he was going to fire Comey regardless of the Department of Justice's recommendation and that when he 'decided to just do it,' he was thinking that 'this thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.'" 

     Fifth, is "The appointment of a special counsel and efforts to remove him."  Upon Robert Mueller's  May 17th, 2017 appointment by the Deputy Attorney General - who was Acting Attorney General for the Russia investigation - Rod Rosenstein, Trump told advisers this would be 'the end of his presidency' and subsequently "demanding that Attorney General Sessions resign.  Sessions submitted his resignation, but the president ultimately did not accept it."  Trump objected to Mueller being selected and "told aides that the special counsel had conflicts of interest and suggested that the special counsel therefore could not serve."  "On June 14th, 2017, the media reported that the Special Counsel's Office was investigating whether the president had obstructed justice."  "The president now was under investigation," which led to Trump publicly attacking Mueller, the Department of Justice and the investigation. "On June 17th, the president called (White House Counsel Don) McGahn at home and directed him to call the acting attorney general (Rod Rosenstein)" and that because of those "conflicts of interest" the special counsel "must be removed.  McGahn did not carry out the direction, however, deciding that he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre," a name that is popularly tagged to a series of events that took place on October 20th, 1973 during the Richard Nixon presidency and the Watergate scandal.  

     Sixth, is "Efforts to curtail the special counsel's investigation." On June 19th, 2017, Trump "met one-on-one in the Oval Office with his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski."  Trump wanted Lewandowski to deliver a message to Attorney General Sessions. "The message said that Sessions should publicly announce that, notwithstanding his recusal from the Russia investigation, the investigation was 'very unfair' to the president."  "Lewandowski said he understood what the president wanted Sessions to do."  A month later, the message had still not been delivered.

     Seventh, is "Efforts to prevent public disclosure of evidence," which involved the June 9th, 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr., his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and "a Russian lawyer who was said to be offering damaging information about Hillary Clinton."  The Mueller Report also states that Trump "directed aides not to publicly disclose the emails setting up the June 9th meeting, suggesting that the emails would not leak and that the number of lawyers with access to them should be limited.  Before the emails became public, the president edited a press statement for Trump Jr. by deleting a line that acknowledged that the meeting was with 'an individual who [Trump Jr.] was told might have information helpful to the campaign' and instead said only that the meeting was about adoptions of Russian children.  When the press asked questions about the president's involvement in Trump Jr.'s statement, the president's personal lawyer repeatedly denied the president had played any role."  

     This was the meeting that was arranged following a June 3rd email that was sent to Trump Jr. by British publicist and family friend, Rob Goldstone, who wrote, "The crown prosecutor of Russia... offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.  This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."  Seventeen minutes later, Trump Jr. replied to Goldstone.  "(I)f it's what you say I love it especially in the summer."  Trump, Trump Jr., Kushner and Manafort should have all been charged with conspiracy because of the Trump Tower meeting. Whether they received derogatory information about Mrs. Clinton or not, they did conspire to obtain whatever they could from Russia that would be detrimental to the former secretary of state and her presidential campaign, and they then participated in a cover-up. 

     Eighth, is "Further efforts to have the attorney general take control of the investigation" and Trump's repeated attempts to persuade Jeff Sessions to "reverse his recusal," including - in December 2017 - when Trump dangled over his head that he'd be a 'hero' if he "took back supervision of the Russian investigation."  But Sessions "did not unrecuse."  After much feuding between Trump and Sessions over the attorney general's recusal, on November 7th, 2018, Sessions resigned at Trump's request.  In other words, he was fired.

     Ninth, is "Efforts to have McGahn deny that the president had ordered him to have the special counsel removed."  "In early 2018, the press reported that the president had directed (Don) McGahn to have the special counsel removed in June 2017 and that McGahn had threatened to resign rather than carry out the order.  The president reacted to the news stories by directing White House officials to tell McGahn to dispute the story and create a record stating he had not been ordered to have the special counsel removed.  McGahn told those officials that the media reports were accurate in stating that the president had directed McGahn to have the special counsel removed.  The president then met with McGahn in the Oval Office and again pressured him to deny the reports.  In the same meeting, the president also asked McGahn why he had told the special counsel about the president's effort to remove the special counsel and why McGahn took notes of his conversations with the president.  McGahn refused to back away from what he remembered happening and perceived the president to be testing his mettle."

     The McGahn episode that is described in The Mueller Report was shot down in 2018 by Donald Trump when journalistic efforts by reporters at The New York Times discovered the series of events.  But Trump last year slammed the newspaper for creating "fake news."  Meanwhile, on Monday, April 22nd, 2019, Representative Jerry Nadler, Democrat from New York who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, issued a subpoena to Don McGahn to testify before Congress.
    

     Tenth, is "Conduct towards Flynn, Manafort, [Redacted]." "After (Michael) Flynn withdrew from a joint defense agreement with the president and began cooperating with the government, the president's personal counsel left a message for Flynn's attorneys reminding them of the president's warm feelings towards Flynn, which he said 'still remains,' and asking for a 'heads up' if Flynn knew 'information that implicates the president.'  When Flynn's counsel reiterated that Flynn could no longer share information pursuant to a joint defense agreement, the president's personal counsel said he would make sure that the president knew that Flynn's actions reflected 'hostility' towards the president.  During (Paul) Manafort's prosecution and when the jury in his criminal trial was deliberating, the president praised Manafort in public, said that Manafort was being treated unfairly, and declined to rule out a pardon.  After Manafort was convicted, the president called Manafort 'a brave man,' for refusing to 'break' and said that 'flipping' 'almost ought to be outlawed.'"

     Eleventh, is "Conduct involving Michael Cohen."  "The president's conduct towards Michael Cohen, a former Trump Organization executive, changed from praise for Cohen when he falsely minimized the president's involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow project, to castigation of Cohen when he became a cooperating witness." After the F.B.I. raided Cohen's home and office in April 2018, Trump contacted Cohen and encouraged him to 'stay strong.'  But after Cohen flipped and cooperated with the government, Trump publicly criticized his former personal lawyer and so-called 'fixer' by calling him "a 'rat,' and suggested that his family members had committed crimes."

     Part of the two-volume Mueller Report, with its 448 pages of written material, infers that the special counsel left to Congress - not the attorney general - to decide the obstruction of justice issue.  Special Counsel Mueller refused to make that decision himself on whether Donald Trump obstructed justice.  Mueller concluded that "Congress can validly regulate the president's exercise of official duties to prohibit actions motivated by a corrupt intent to obstruct justice."  The Mueller Report explains that the special counsel considered obstruction charges - as discussed in the above paragraphs - but he would not make a "traditional prosecutorial judgment." Mueller and his team of investigators "recognized that a federal criminal accusation against a sitting president would place burdens on the president's capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional process for addressing presidential misconduct."  But Mueller also noted, "If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state."  To me, that all sounds like a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo so that Mueller wouldn't be the one to bring down Trump and his presidency. Now the special counsel has passed the buck to all of Congress.

     Unless Congress can accomplish what Mueller did not, then the special counsel's failure to determine that Donald Trump obstructed justice is giving Trump a green light to obstruct again.  Therefore, Attorney General Barr has relished in Mueller's lack of a decision, which provides Trump - or any future occupant of the Oval Office - a carte blanche opportunity to accept help from a foreign adversary and to perhaps even obstruct justice.  This is un-American and unpatriotic, and should be illegal. 

     Let me remind my readers that William Barr was handpicked by Donald Trump after Barr auditioned for the attorney general position by composing a 19-page memorandum in June 2018 where he expressed opposition to the Mueller investigation and describing it as "fatally misconceived."  Barr wrote in his memo that no president should ever be judged on obstruction of justice. 

     Trump has viciously lambasted the Mueller investigation for nearly two years. Attorney General Barr has played a game of "Mother May I" with Trump. Metaphorically speaking, Barr says, "Yes Donald, you may obstruct justice.  And of course you may badmouth the Department of Justice, the F.B.I. and the special counsel by calling the Mueller probe a 'witch hunt' and a 'hoax.'"  Trump's vulgarity remains in high gear with a punch of profanity added for good measure, which I will spell out here and elsewhere in this column, just as Trump did on Twitter and in meetings with others.  In a three-tweet message on Friday, April 19th that began early in the morning but wasn't completed until late afternoon, Trump reacted harshly to the Mueller Report.  (Part One) "Statements are made about me by certain people in the Crazy Mueller Report, in itself written by 18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters, which are fabricated & totally untrue.  Watch out for people that take so-called 'notes,' when the notes never existed until needed.  Because I never..." (Part Two continues where Part One left off)  "...agreed to testify, it was not necessary for me to respond to statements made in the 'Report' about me, some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad).  This was an Illegally Started Hoax that never should have happened, a..." (Part Three continues where Part Two left off)  "...big, fat, waste of time, energy and money - $30,000,000 to be exact.  It is now finally time to turn the tables and bring justice to some very sick and dangerous people who have committed very serious crimes, perhaps even Spying or Treason.  This should never happen again."

     Let us remember a few, extremely vital factors of the Mueller investigation, the most important of which is that Donald Trump never met with the special counsel or anyone on his team face to face.  All Trump was willing to do was pretend that he was a D- high school student taking the S.A.T.  Trump answered - if you can call them answers - a series of written questions that were limited to the part of the probe that focused on Russian interference in America's 2016 presidential election. Trump refused to respond to any written inquiries that Mueller would have asked in person about the obstruction of justice aspect of the investigation.  Of the written questions that Trump did answer, he undoubtedly lied because 37 times Trump replied with "I do not recall," "I do not remember," or "I have no recollection," especially whether he was involved in the planning of the June 9th, 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and an assortment of Russians, or if he was even aware of the gathering before it took place.  And this is the same Donald Trump who has egotistically voiced that he has "one of the great memories of all time."  As a result, The Mueller Report states, "We viewed the written answers to be inadequate."

     Special Counsel Mueller wanted a personal sit-down interview with Donald Trump, but such a request was declined.  The president of the United States should not have the right to decline.  The special counsel considered issuing a grand jury subpoena - as Mueller writes in his report - but he feared that a subpoena would have delayed the end of the investigation.  "Ultimately, while we believed that we had the authority and legal justification to issue a grand jury subpoena to obtain the president's testimony, we chose not to do so.  We made that decision in view of the substantial delay that such an investigative step would likely produce at a late stage in our investigation.  We also assessed that based on the significant body of evidence we had already obtained of the president's actions and his public and private statements describing or explaining those actions, we had sufficient evidence to understand relevant events and to make certain assessments without the president's testimony."  That is no excuse.  As Mueller also stated in his report, "(No one) in this country is so high that he is above the law."  Mueller should have demanded with a subpoena or, if necessary, by a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that Trump testify under oath in person before a grand jury.  There should be no executive privilege invoked by any U.S. president when concerning allegations of criminal activity.  For Mueller to not interview Trump in person is a travesty.  Yet Attorney General Barr - with a straight face - wants Americans to believe that Trump and The White House "fully cooperated" with the special counsel.  That is totally false.  Congress has to be much tougher than Robert Mueller was on getting answers from Donald Trump.  And if it takes the Supreme Court to rule that Trump testify before the country in a nationally televised hearing, then so be it.  It is our right...yours and mine...to hear directly from Trump.  As Special Counsel Mueller has stated, which I and millions of other Americans have said, Donald Trump is not above the law.

     With Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Acting Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed O'Callaghan standing behind him as if they were poorly sculptured ancient Greek statues with no artistic value or personality, Attorney General William Barr gave the impression to a room filled with reporters at the Department of Justice - along with the entire nation via live television - that he felt sorry for Donald Trump these last 22 months as Trump was "frustrated" by the Mueller investigation.  Caring about Trump's emotions should not be the concern of the attorney general, unless he believes - as a good many Americans do - that Trump's mental behavior is unstable and unbalanced, and therefore, he is unfit to serve as president of our country.  Otherwise, for Barr to even mention Trump's frustration is irrelevant.  It is not Barr's role to analyze Trump's state of mind. 

     Congresswoman Jackie Speier - Democrat from California - later on April 18th told anchor Brian 
Williams during MSNBC's all day special coverage of The Mueller Report, "The attorney general of the United States has been corrupted."

     On the same day, Congressman Adam Schiff - Democrat from California and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee - didn't mince words when he told reporters in Burbank, California that "The attorney general did a grave disservice to the country by misrepresenting significant parts of The Mueller Report by attempting to put a positive spin for the president on the special counsel's findings."
  

     And at his Washington, DC press conference, shortly after he digested the redacted Mueller Report and heard what Attorney General Barr had to say about it, Congressman Nadler's reaction was blunt and to the point when on April 18th he told reporters and the nation, "We clearly can't believe what Attorney General Barr tells us."  Nadler has called on Special Counsel Mueller to testify before the Judiciary Committee "no later than May 23rd."  Barr is on the record for having "no objection to Bob Mueller testifying." 

     Donald Trump thought he could perform some sort of a magic act and make the Russia investigation disappear like a bunny rabbit in a hat.  Trump first waved his wand over James Comey in order to fire him as F.B.I. director.  But all that did was create more of a problem for Trump when Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel.  Rosenstein oversaw the Russia probe since the then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself.  And no matter what Republicans want to believe - and what Mueller also discussed in his report as I noted earlier in this column - Trump, on May 11th, 2017, admitted on national television that the Russia investigation was on his mind when he terminated Comey's employment with the federal government.  Although Mueller didn't completely agree, there are other legal scholars and congressional dignitaries who believe - as I do - that Trump's action was without question obstruction of justice. 

     Trump attempted again to put a stop to said investigation that included him as a subject when he - according to The Mueller Report - told Sessions after Mueller's appointment, "How could you let this happen, Jeff?  You were supposed to protect me.  This is the worst thing that ever happened to me."  Another example of obstruction of justice.  But Mueller didn't think so.  The special counsel's report continued to cite testimony from Sessions' chief of staff by quoting Trump.  "Oh my God.  This is terrible.  This is the end of my presidency.  I'm fucked."

     The Mueller Report goes on to tell us that Trump tried to again employ abracadabra when - as quoted earlier in this column - he gave a direct order to then-White House Counsel Don McGahn that Mueller had to go.  But instead of confronting Rod Rosenstein - who was the only person, by law, who could actually fire Mueller - McGahn approached then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus that Trump had instructed him to "do crazy shit."  But according to The Mueller Report, "McGahn ultimately did not quit and the president did not follow up with McGahn on his request to have the special counsel removed."  So there's more evidence that Trump tried to obstruct justice.  But again, Mueller didn't think so. McGahn didn't leave the Trump administration until October 17th, 2018, but according to The Mueller Report, at one point, Trump referred to McGahn as a "lying bastard."
  

     Numerous Members of Congress do believe that Trump has likely committed obstruction of justice.  On the Sunday, April 21st broadcast of NBC's Meet The Press with Chuck Todd, Congressman Nadler declared, "There is plenty of evidence of obstruction."  Chuck Todd asked Nadler, "Do you think this is impeachable?"  Nadler took a long pause before answering.  "Yeah I do.  If proven, some of this would be impeachable, yes.  Obstruction of justice if proven would be impeachable."  Therefore, it's now up to our elected lawmakers to move forward with the investigation.

     But The Mueller Report explains that Trump's aides didn't obey certain commands thus the special counsel couldn't make a determination on an obstruction case against Trump.  Mueller expounds, "The president's efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that was largely because the person who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."  In other words, Trump's underlings saved his butt.  That said, Mueller's statement makes no sense to many congressional politicians and other constitutional and legal scholars throughout America.  Based on the Obstruction of Justice Statute, I would agree with those experts.  According to the United States Code, Title 18, Section 1503, a person needs to only "endeavor" obstruction of justice.  One does not need to be effective, one only needs to try.  A "threat" or an "influence" is all that is necessary to be guilty of obstruction of justice.  Meanwhile, on April 22nd, Trump told reporters, "Nobody disobeys my orders."  Obviously, people do.

     Democrats on Capitol Hill are not giving up on their accusations against Donald Trump that he obstructed justice and that he conspired to collude with Russia. In a joint statement on April 18th, senior House of Representatives Democrats Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Eliot Engel of New York, Jerry Nadler of New York, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Adam Schiff of California, and Maxine Waters of California articulate with the following words.  "Taken as a whole, Mueller's report paints a damning portrait of lies that appear to have materially impaired the investigation, a body of evidence of improper contacts with a foreign adversary, and serious allegations about how (Donald) Trump sought to obstruct a legitimate, and deeply important, counterintelligence investigation.  We are profoundly troubled by the astonishing efforts by (Donald) Trump identified in the report to obstruct the investigation, including his attempts to remove the special counsel and encourage witnesses to lie and to destroy or conceal evidence."  Representatives Cummings, Engel, Nadler, Neal, Schiff and Waters hold the chairperson seats of the House Oversight and Reform, Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, Ways and Means, Intelligence, and Financial Services Committees, respectively.  Democrats blame Attorney General Barr for misrepresenting sections of Robert Mueller's report because the special counsel states Congress should be permitted to decide whether to investigate a sitting president for "corrupt" uses of presidential power.  The Mueller Report says, "With respect to whether the president can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has authority to prohibit a president's corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice."  But in Barr's 4-page summary on March 24th, which he submitted to Congress, Barr claimed that Mueller left in the hands of the attorney general to determine whether to prosecute Trump on obstruction of justice charges.  Barr says he and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove that Trump had committed any crimes.  But Democrats believe there is a plethora of evidence including - as I noted earlier - Trump's firing of James Comey as F.B.I. director in an effort to put an end to the Russia investigation.

     In case any of my readers have forgotten, Donald Trump has already been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the campaign finance prosecution of Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen.  Cohen testified under oath before a U.S. District Court judge and prosecutors from the Southern District of New York that he violated federal law when he began in October 2016 to make illegal hush money payments totaling $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels - whose real name is Stephanie Clifford - so that she would remain silent about an alleged sexual affair she had with Trump. Cohen and the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan have recognized Trump as "Individual-1."  Cohen, in sworn testimony, says he paid off Daniels "in coordination with and at the direction of" Donald Trump.  Trump has also been linked with Cohen in the hush money arrangement of Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal who was paid $150,000 in August 2016 by David Pecker, the chief executive officer of American Media Inc., which is the parent company of the National Enquirer.  The big bucks to McDougal were to not only silence her, but to prevent any other tabloid from publishing her anecdote. The National Enquirer was given exclusive rights to the story, but then Pecker declined to publish it.  Reportedly, Pecker and Trump have been friends for decades.

Cohen has testified that Trump ordered the money be given to the two women to eliminate any chance that voters would learn about Trump's extra-marital flings before they cast their ballots in fear that supporters would abandon him and thus influence the election. Numerous legal experts have communicated that such secret payments to Daniels and McDougal, in connection with a political election, are violations of the campaign finance law and that the cover-up could be considered obstruction of justice.  The statute of limitations for each of those two crimes is five years.  The years in question range between 2016 and 2018 so unless Trump resigns the presidency and a new president, Mike Pence, pardons

him, Trump's legal exposure could be in full force from 2021 to 2023. At least one reimbursement check to Michael Cohen, signed by Donald Trump in the amount of $35,000, was written on August 1st, 2017 while Trump was already in The White House.  It baffles me that at least one-third of our country still supports Donald Trump.  Meanwhile, Cohen is scheduled to go to prison on May 6th, 2019.

     The Washington Post Fact Checker has been calculating Donald Trump's lies - his false or misleading claims - since he took the presidential oath of office.  The number is approaching 10,000.  So what about the crime of corruption by Trump?  He is the most dishonest, fraudulent U.S. president that America has ever known.  Trump makes Richard Nixon smell like a fragrant springtime bouquet of fresh White House Rose Garden flowers.

     The Mueller Report provides evidence that Donald Trump tried to fire Special Counsel Mueller and that Trump intimidated witnesses.  Yet Trump still thinks it's "Game Over."  Sorry Donald, but this is just the 7th inning stretch.  Democrats are about ready to hit a grand slam home run to win this ball game once and for all.  On April 19th, the House Judiciary Committee got up to the plate and did exactly what Chairman Nadler promised he would do.  He had a subpoena issued to the Department of Justice for the full, unredacted Mueller Report.

     The version of The Mueller Report that was released by Attorney General Barr has nearly 1,000 redactions with seven pages that are completely blacked out. Approximately, 69 percent of the redactions pertain to ongoing investigations while another 18 percent is edited because of grand jury materials that generally cannot be disclosed.  There is, however, precedent in history when grand jury testimonies and other information have been made public.  About 8 percent of the redactions focused on sensitive information that is deemed to be classified, and 5 percent of the report is blackened because the information related to personal privacy.  To censor The Mueller Report is in direct conflict with the principles of democracy and Americans' freedom of information.  We not only deserve to read the entire unredacted report, but it should be our right to do so.

     William Barr isn't the United States attorney general.  He's Donald Trump's protector general.  Trump had thought that Jeff Sessions would "protect" him, as The Mueller Report noted earlier in this column.  Now Trump has Barr to do it for him. This is why it is crucial for Congress to hear Special Counsel Mueller testify under oath. I'm counting on that testimony to be given in a live, televised broadcast so anyone and everyone in America can watch and listen.   

     The Mueller Report is the beginning of the end of Donald Trump's presidency. Attorney General Barr can try to put his own positive spin on the report, but it's now Congress' turn to get to the truth.  The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, along with Democrats in the Senate, need to move forward with convincing Republicans in both chambers that Trump should be impeached, convicted and removed from office.

     Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, on April 19th, was the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to call on the House to start the impeachment process against Trump.  "The severity of this misconduct demands that elected officials in both parties set aside political considerations and do their constitutional duty.  That means the House should initiate impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States."

     While on a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg reacted to The Mueller Report on April 19th by calling on Congress to remove Trump from office.  "There's a lot of evidence that this president deserves to be impeached."

     Buttigieg and Warren are only two of a growing list of prominent Democrats who want Trump to be punished for his actions before and during his presidency.

     Meanwhile, another Democratic presidential candidate, Congressman Eric Swalwell of California, has called for the resignation of Attorney General William Barr. In an April 18th interview with Nicolle Wallace on her MSNBC show Deadline: White House, Swalwell was adamant that Barr has lost his credibility and that he should resign.  "You can be the attorney general of the United States and represent all of us, or you can represent Donald Trump.  You can't do both.  And because Attorney General Barr wants to represent Donald Trump, I think he should resign."  Swalwell added that Barr is "embedded deeply in to the Trump team and that affects the credibility that the attorney general must have."

     The issue of impeachment is going to be an explosive debate that may drag on for awhile.  Republicans on Capitol Hill - specifically G.O.P. senators - will need to make what to me seems to be an easy decision.  They need to ask themselves, am I more loyal to Donald Trump or to the United States Constitution?  The answer - to me - should be a no-brainer.  Our country has to come first over political party or the president. 

     Congress has constitutional authority to perform oversight of The Mueller Report and the complete Mueller investigation.  Trump and the Republicans need to take a step back and accept that Congress is duty bound - morally and legally obliged - to investigate the investigation, so to speak, as it considers the possibility of Donald Trump's impeachment.

     Robert Mueller lays out in his report that should Trump survive a congressional impeachment, conviction and removal from office, he "does not have immunity after he leaves office," and therefore he could be charged with crimes once he moves out of The White House.  Attorney General Barr can claim that "the evidence developed during the special counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense," but once the presidential seal is no longer stamped on Trump's forehead, he could find himself in handcuffs.  The Mueller Report states, "A possible remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a president leaves office." 


     For now, impeachment by the Democrats in the House would not produce the final outcome that Democrats across our land believe is justified.  Trump would certainly be impeached if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi decides to do so, as she and the rest of the Democratic Caucus only need a simple majority.  However, getting 67 senators to convict is the challenge since it will require 20 Republicans to come together with the 47 Democrats.  But I believe there will be a time - sooner rather than later - when Republicans in the Senate will come to the conclusion - as they did with 

Richard Nixon in 1974 - that the president is a "crook."  That is when you will find Republicans on Capitol Hill escaping the Trump orbit.  It is unlikely - at least for the time being - that the Trump base will abandon his ship.  But Republican voters throughout America need to stop thinking that the Senate will never convict. As with President Nixon, if the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump is guilty of criminal activity, Republicans in the Senate will join with Democrats and either remove Trump from office or, as they did with Mr. Nixon, force Trump to resign.  But Democrats need that "smoking gun."  However, if for any reason that Democrats are unable to convince Republicans in the Senate - should the G.O.P. not accept the evidence, which right now they would not do - and Trump ends up on the 2020 ballot, Independents, I believe, will not jump onto the bandwagon with Republicans again, at least not this time.  Instead, Independents will stick like glue with the Democrats in order to elect a Democrat as our 46th president. The crux of any election is the Independent voter, and Independents nationwide are already bailing on Trump. 

     A reader who staunchly supports Donald Trump recently accused me of being "blind" whenever I predict that Trump will be forced to resign if not impeached, convicted and removed from office. "It's time to put down the Kool-Aid and face reality.  He is going to be re-elected by historic margins," this person wrote.  But my eyes are 20/20 when it comes to Trump.  The clearest vision for America's future does not include a president who - as former Vice President Joe Biden recently described - is "a tragedy."  As many Democrats await with hopeful anticipation - as I do - Mr. Biden's official announcement that he's running for president in 2020, which is expected to happen on Thursday, April 25th, the clearest vision for America's future does not include Donald Trump.

     The crime that makes no sense is allowing a sitting president to not be indicted when there's evidence of criminal wrongdoing.  The Department of Justice policy - it's not a federal law - is seriously flawed.  Any other person would be wearing an orange jumpsuit behind bars as he nervously prepares for trial.  Based on the evidence so far, a jury may have already found such an individual guilty, and a judge would have turned that conviction in to a prison sentence.  But because he currently sits behind the Oval Office desk, Donald Trump remains free to be corrupt and to obstruct justice again. 

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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Photo credits: The Irish Times/Reuters/The Associated Press/Getty Images (Donald Trump, Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Attorney General William Barr), Reuters/The Associated Press/Getty Images (Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), Joe Kohen/Getty Images/Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images/Jan Kruger/Getty Images (Eric Trump, Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr.), Michael Reynolds (Donald Trump, Former F.B.I. Director James Comey and Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn), Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images/Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images (Donald Trump and Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions), NBC News Screenshot (Donald Trump and Lester Holt), The Associated Press/Reuters/Getty Images (Former Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski and Donald Trump), Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Richard Drew/Evan Vucci/The Associated Press (Former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner), NBC News Screenshot (Rob Goldstone), The Associated Press/Reuters/Getty Images (Donald Trump and Former White House Counsel Don McGahn), The Associated Press/Reuters/Getty Images (Former Trump Personal Lawyer Michael Cohen and Donald Trump), MSNBC Screenshot (Acting Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed O'Callaghan, Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein), MSNBC Screenshot (Representative Jackie Speier), MSNBC Screenshot (Brian Williams), C-SPAN Screenshot (Representative Adam Schiff), C-SPAN Screenshot (Representative Jerry Nadler), The Associated Press/Mary Altaffer (Former White House Counsel Don McGahn and Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus), NBC News/Meet The Press Screenshot (Representative Jerry Nadler and Chuck Todd), Martin Schoeller (Representative Elijah Cummings, Representative Jerry Nadler, Representative Adam Schiff, Representative Maxine Waters and Representative Richard Neal), The Associated Press/Matt Sayles/Evan Vucci/Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris (Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump and Karen McDougal), Getty Images (Chief Executive Officer of American Media Inc. David Pecker, Donald Trump and Former Trump Personal Lawyer Michael Cohen), PBS (Donald Trump's Check to Michael Cohen), The Associated Press/Rick Bowmer (Senator Elizabeth Warren), Alex Ware/Getty Images (Mayor Pete Buttigieg), MSNBC Screenshot (Representative Eric Swalwell), MSNBC Screenshot (Nicolle Wallace), Mark Wilson/Getty Images (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi), Richard Nixon Foundation (Former President Richard Nixon) and USA Today/Getty Images (Former Vice President Joe Biden)

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