Attorney General William Barr began his Thursday morning news conference by stating that special counsel Robert Mueller “found no evidence” that President Donald Trump‘s campaign colluded with Russia.
“As the special counsel report makes clear, the Russian government sought to interfere in our election process,” Barr said. “But thanks to the special counsel’s thorough investigation, we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign or the knowing assistance of any other American for that matter. That is something that all Americans can and should be grateful to have confirmed.”
Barr went on to say that Mueller concluded that no American worked in concert with the Internet Research Agency (IRA) — a Russian company with “close ties” to the Russian government — to interfere with the 2016 election.
“The special counsel found no evidence that any American, including anyone associated with the Trump campaign, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government or the IRA in this illegal scheme,” Barr said. “Indeed, as the report states, quote, the investigation did not identify evidence that any U.S. Person knowingly or intentionally coordinated with the Ira’s interference operation, unquote. Put another way, the special counsel found no collusion by any Americans in Ira’s illegal activities.”
Barr, on Wednesday night, came under heavy criticism for even holding Thursday’s
Watch above, via MSNBC.