DEMS/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A feeling of uneasy anticipation hangs over Washington ahead of the release of a redacted version of Robert Mueller’s report Thursday [4-18-19]. Many in the White House seem braced for bad news — which is odd considering President Donald Trump has already claimed complete absolution from the special counsel. But that pessimism is also shared by the President’s Democratic enemies. Once, Mueller’s report loomed as a moment of national catharsis that could finally lay out what happened in the bitter 2016 election and put the Russian election meddling saga to rest. But after 2,800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, 500 witness interviews and partly because of a relentless campaign by Trump to discredit Mueller, it’s clear that such hopes were misplaced. The report will almost certainly leave everyone on both sides of the aisle unsatisfied and will only spark deeper divides in a nation that is already split down the middle over Trump. The drama surrounding its conclusion is now most likely to serve as a monument to Washington dysfunction, the irreconcilable viewpoints of warring political factions on common facts, and to provide another data point for those who believe the current White House is determined to resist constraints on its power.”
-Stephen Collinson, “Washington waits, but Mueller may solve nothing,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 16, 2019 8:25 am