By all means, let Donald Trump’s supporters celebrate their mistaken victory for now
I cannot recall a time in my life when I was more disgusted with some citizens of my birth country. The very idea that there exist citizens of the United States of America – by the millions – who will celebrate what they mistakenly believe the President of the United States “got away with,” fills me with unspeakable revulsion. The fact that a man who couldn’t find the truth with both hands, a roadmap and a flashlight could be anyone’s idea of a hero is almost more than I can believe and still count myself rational.
But make no mistake, no matter what Fox News, Donald Trump or his demented followers may tell you, the Mueller Report is not an exoneration of Donald Trump. How do I know this? I know this because the Mueller Report says so, in the very last line of its conclusion: “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
What we do know from the Mueller Report is, “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.” The man behind this “sweeping and systematic” interference, is a man Donald Trump counts as a personal friend, Vladimir Putin. Furthermore, we know that, “The Office [of the Special Counsel] determined that certain individuals associated with the Campaign lied to investigators about Campaign contacts with Russia and have taken other actions to interfere with the investigation.”
Robert Mueller explains in part why he decided not to prosecute Donald Trump: “Because we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment, we did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President’s conduct.” I think we can safely conclude from this that others are in fact safe to “make a prosecutorial judgment,” and will do so at some point in the future.
Bear in mind, Robert Mueller makes clear that investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election was his exclusive remit. He did not investigate Trump’s numerous swindles, money launderings, tax cheats, charity scams, sexual assaults or rapes. The evidence of obstruction of justice in the Mueller Report is self-evident, and evidence of conspiracy with the Russians is tantalizingly suggested, but these are only the tip of the iceberg of the crimes of Donald Trump. So let Trump’s deceived supporters celebrate. It will make our victory all the sweeter when we celebrate last.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.