Robert Mueller finally finished his investigation into the 2016 election, and found no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Quote, "The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."
Attorney General William Barr on Sunday released the "principal conclusions" of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's completed Russia probe in a bombshell four-page letter to Capitol Hill lawmakers, which stated definitively that Mueller did not establish evidence that President Trump's team or any associates of the Trump campaign had conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election -- "despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."
For Trump, who has tweeted more than 230 times that he did not collude with Russians amid a torrent of allegations from media and political figures, the moment amounted to a near-total vindication. Although Mueller noted that his report did not "exonerate" Trump on obstruction, Barr wrote, the "report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the Special Counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public."
"No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION," Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday afternoon. "KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"
Later, he told reporters, "It was just announced there was no collusion with Russia, the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There was no collusion with Russia, there was no obstruction. ... It's a shame that our country had to go through this, to be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this -- since before I even got elected, it began. And it began illegally. Hopefully someone is going to look at the other side. This was an illegal takedown that failed."
Mueller's team specifically looked into two Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 election -- first, the work by a Russian organization, the Internet Research Agency (IRA), to "conduct disinformation and social media operations" designed to "sow discord" in the United States.
According to Barr's letter, "the Special Counsel did not find that any U.S. person or Trump campaign official or associate conspired or knowingly coordinated with the IRA in its efforts, although the Special Counsel brought criminal charges against a number of Russian nationals and entities in connection with these activities."
Next, Mueller investigated whether the Trump team was involved in the hacking of emails, many of which were released publicly through intermediaries like WikiLeaks, that belonged to the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
So that's that.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, March 24, 2019. Special Counsel Robert Mueller made no conclusion on possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump but found no evidence of collusion with Russia, according to Attorney General William Barr. Photographer: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty Images