The full Mueller report with redactions came out yesterday. Will it change anyone's mind? Probably not. If someone had believed and supported Trump all this time, he/she will continue to do so. But here is my take:
1. While the report could not establish any collusion or conspiracy in legal terms, it says that the Russians interfered with the election with the goal of helping Trump win over Clinton. Also Trump welcomed the help and believe that it would benefit his campaign. You must wonder, why did Putin want Trump to win? Why did Trump think that the Russians want him to win? Either Putin thought that Trump is a weaker leader than Clinton or that he had something on him.
2. The report certainly does not exonerate Trump on the matter of obstruction of justice. In fact, Mueller said that he tried to obstruct, failing at times because his subordinates did not follow his orders. Mueller even said that if he had confidence that Trump did not obstruct, Mueller would have said so, but he could not say so. It is like saying: I would say you are innocent if I believe that you are innocent. But I can't say that. Implication: I think you are guilty.
3. It looked like Mueller did not want to deal with any prosecution of this mess and thus punted. He punted to Congress, not Barr. But Barr intercepted and cleared Trump of obstruction. I guess even if the punt went to Congress, it would have called for a fair catch and led to nowhere. Impeachment should be off the table, given that the GOP controlled Senate won't convict. It would be a waste of time and divide the country more.
So what do we go from here? Maybe if Mueller testify, it would clear things up and make Trump's guilt more apparent. But if Mueller wanted to sink Trump, he would not have punted. So I am not sure he will have much more to say on the subject. The best the Democrats can do is use this in the 2020 election. Keep hammering the fact that Putin was trying to help Trump. Point out how Trump have nice things to say about Putin and other dictators. Point out why Trump wanted to obstruct justice, as mentioned in the report, if he was not guilty. Maybe all this will get some independent votes and get him out of office. We can't afford another four years of this.
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