Trump Breathes Free

The suspense is over and Donald Trump is in the clear, but only for now. The US President has been dogged by two questions — did he collude with the Russians in the 2016 elections to swing it in his favour, and did he thereafter from the White House try to obstruct an FBI probe into this allegation. Concluding investigations that lasted nearly two years, special counsel Robert Mueller has found no evidence that Trump or his campaign managers conspired with the Russians, ‘despite multiple offers from Russia-affiliated individuals’ to provide such help. However, the report does not give a clear answer whether Trump tried to stymie the FBI probe and obstruct the course of justice. Expectedly, Trump is cock-a-whoop over the report, dubbing it a ‘complete exoneration’, while his Republican supporters gleefully see in this development his re-election in 2020. Democrats are not convinced, because attorney general Bill Barr, quoting Mueller, has informed lawmakers that while the report ‘does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him’. Barr will likely be asked to testify during the Democrats’ own congressional hearings into Trump’s dealings. Among the 34 people against whom criminal charges have been filed as part of Mueller’s investigation, six are former Trump associates and advisers. US and state attorneys in New York are also probing into Trump’s businesses, including allegations of fraudulent statements to lenders and insurers about real estate, corruption involving foreign donations and hush money paid to a porn star. But overall, the threat of impeachment has receded, though President Trump continues to mystify many of his countrymen with divisive rhetoric, headstrong policies and support for autocrats like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Recep Erdogan (often repudiating his own top officials). While more Trump revelations are likely in the coming days, the Democrats can hope to prosper in 2020 only by putting up a candidate more presidential than the incumbent.