The Trump administration continues to boast that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report cleared the President of all wrongdoing. In fact, Attorney General William Barr's summary of the report found that while the investigation couldn't establish collusion with the Kremlin, the report didn't exonerate the president on obstruction of justice.
Writing in the conservative publication The Bulwark, former Republican congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL) notes that there's nevertheless plenty in the investigation to indicate serious wrongdoing.
"It’s good news that after thorough investigation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller didn’t establish a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. If he had, our country would’ve gone from chaos to crisis," Walsh writes.
"But there’s alarming information in Mueller’s report, too. We know this because the attorney general said so, right in his letter."
Walsh points out that Americans should be relieved the report doesn't appear to be as bad as the most dire predictions. Yet, the findings don't bode well for the state of the executive branch.
"And while it’s a good thing that Mueller didn’t uncover a conspiracy, it’s a bad thing he had reasons to explore the possibility," he writes.
"He exposed crooks and criminals close to Trump, who belonged nowhere near the power of the Oval Office. He made 34 indictments and has secured 7 convictions (so far). They came as he 'issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants . . . and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses,'" Walsh continues.
"Amid all that work, he may well have found evidence that Team Trump, knowing Russia was interfering, did not break the law but behaved in ways that were deeply unethical. We won’t know until we read the actual report, which is why there is a 'public interest,' as Barr noted, in reading the details."
As Congress awaits the full report, both sides of the aisle should be prepared to hold the administration accountable, Walsh contends.
"This will be a test of public accountability."
Walsh lays out all the avenues different congressional committees should explore, from national security to obstruction.
"When I served in the House of Representatives, I said I believed that no president is above the law—or above the United States Congress."
