Trump declares he is having a "good day" but it may not be that good
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's having a good day, following Attorney General Bill Barr's news conference and just as special counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report was released.
"They're having a good day. I'm having a good day, too. It was called no collusion. No obstruction," Trump said to cheers at a Wounded Warriors event at the White House.
"There never was by the way and there never will be. And we do have to get to the bottom of these things I will say. This should've never happened ... I say this in front of my friends, this should never happen to another president again. This hoax -- it should never happen again. Thank you."
Mueller's investigation into possible obstruction of justice could not clear Trump, stating the President's actions and intent "presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred," according to a redacted version of the special counsel's report released Thursday.
The special counsel's investigation into possible collusion found that members of the Trump campaign knew they would benefit from Russia's illegal actions to influence the election, but didn't take criminal steps to help, the Mueller report said.
Mueller also makes clear Congress can continue to investigate Trump.
"With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President's corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice."
Attorney General William Barr released the report after holding a press conference where he defended his conclusion there wasn't sufficient evidence to prosecute an obstruction case.
"After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas, and hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the special counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election, but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes," Barr said.
By Maegan Vazquez, CNN. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
The Gayly – April 18, 2019 @ 12:20 p.m. CDT.