The Justice Department said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Mueller also investigated whether Trump obstructed justice but did not come to a definitive answer.
In a four-page letter to Congress, Attorney General William Barr quoted Mueller's report as stating it "does not exonerate" the president on obstruction. Instead, Barr said, it "sets out evidence on both sides of the question."
Trump, in Florida, celebrated that the report showed "there was no collusion." He also claimed it showed there was no obstruction.
Barr released his summary of Mueller's report Sunday afternoon. Mueller wrapped up his investigation on Friday with no new indictments, bringing to a close a probe that has shadowed Trump for nearly two years.
But the broader fight is not over.
The Justice Department summary sets up a battle between Barr and Democrats, who called for Mueller's full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigation.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times reporter based in Washington, D.C. where he reports on the special counsel investigation; he tweets
Jeff Mordock, reporter covering the Justice Department for the Washington Times
David Rivkin, partner at the law firm BakerHostetler; he has previously held positions at the Department of Justice, in the Office of White House Counsel and elsewhere in the federal government; he tweets
Justin Levitt, professor of law at Loyola Law School and former deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department under President Obama; he tweets
Miriam Baer, professor of law at Brooklyn Law School where she specializes in corporate and white-collar crime and criminal law and procedure
John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government and director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.
Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets
