Thread by @benrileysmith

**Thread**

Still lots to digest and lots to read.

But here are seven brief takeaways from the Mueller report...

1/ Fears off mass redactions proved unfounded. As did the suggestion Mueller wouldn’t spell out his findings in detail.

Report was 448 pages. Incidents recounted with forensic detail. Often lengthy factual / legal analysis too. Almost all of it visible to the public.

2/ Trump’s inability to have his orders obeyed inadvertently helped him.

McGahn refused to fire Mueller. Sessions refused to un-recuse himself. Lewandowski didn’t give Sessions the message to limit probe’s remit.

The president was saved from himself by others.

3/ Trump is willing to lie to the press.

He did it over McGahn, demanding he say he wasn’t ordered to sack Mueller. He did it over Trump Tower, dictating a press statement that misconstrued the meeting.

(NB: lying to press is not a crime)

4/ Was the initial W House strategy of co-operating with probe actually the right one all along?

Trump + aides were ultimately cleared of conspiring with Russians. Whole Volume 2 of report on obstruction would have been unnecessary if president had played ball throughout.

5/ Obstruction section was a major vindication of the press.

Almost every one of the 11 ‘episodes’ looked at by Mueller had been revealed by NY Times + Washington Post.

Part of the reason there were so few bombshells is US media had already revealed many of them.

6/ Don’t expect many voters to change their minds.

Trump + allies will trumpet clearance on Russian collusion and Barr’s ‘no crime’ on obstruction as victory.

Dems will say behaviour was unethical if not illegal and paint pattern of an irresponsible president.

Which means...

7/ Impeachment is now fully off the table. Leading Democrat said as much today.

19 months to go until election. Mueller hasn’t created the wave of outrage Dems were hoping for (in part thanks to drip-drip of report’s release).

So roll on 2020.

[ends]