So, when the president’s new Attorney General William Barr issued a two-page summary of the Mueller report, and cleared the president of any wrongdoing, the media, the Democrats, the 54 per cent of Americans who disapprove of Trump, all gasped. In the words of the recently disgraced Game of Thrones writers, expectations were… subverted.
Even when the report was released, and it was revealed Barr had shamelessly misrepresented its findings—Mueller had found overwhelming evidence of Russian interference, of cooperation with the Trump campaign, and of obstruction of justice—it was too late. The momentum was gone. The mob of townspeople chanting for justice had already dispersed. Trump had gotten away with it. Democratic leaders explained impeachment was too politically unpalatable. Pundits stopped speculating about Trump’s arrest and began speculating about his second term.
Then Mueller spoke.
He read a short prepared statement. It was simple and blunt. After two years, he was done. His investigation was over. It found that the Russians had made “multiple, systematic efforts to subvert” American democracy. That attack was meant to hurt Trump’s rival. And that if his team “had confidence the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so.” Furthermore, charging the president was not an option for them because the U.S. constitution required a different path—an impeachment trial.
Mueller’s message was clear: I was never going to bring you justice—I was only going to give you the facts. You should never have waited for me to determine if the president is guilty. That is up to you and the people you have elected to represent you. Justice can be done—but only by the American people. I did my job—go do yours.
Then Mueller walked away from the podium and retired.
