ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not have found evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, but his report details extensive contacts between the campaign and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election. Mueller said in his report released on Thursday [4-18-19] that he found ‘numerous links’ and that the Trump campaign ‘expected it would benefit’ from Russia’s effort to tilt the ballot in Trump’s favor. Ultimately, Mueller determined the various contacts either didn’t amount to criminal behavior or would be difficult to prove in court, even if people in Trump’s orbit sometimes displayed a willingness to accept Russian help, the report showed. Trump and his allies, who derided the Mueller probe as a political ‘witch hunt’, portrayed the report as vindication. ‘No collusion. No obstruction. For all the haters and the radical left Democrats, game over,’ Trump tweeted on Thursday.”
–Nathan Layne, Mark Hosenball, “Mueller finds no conspiracy, but extensive Trump-Russia contacts,” Reuters, April18, 2019 4:43 pm