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Sen. Lindsey Graham says Mueller report removes cloud over Trump

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

The White House is seen in Washington today. Special counsel Robert Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency.

WASHINGTON >> The Latest on President Donald Trump and the special counsel’s Russia investigation (all times Eastern):

4:15 p.m.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham says “the cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed” by special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Graham, a close ally of Trump, also says it is “a bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down.”

A summary of Mueller’s findings released Sunday says Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election. It also says that Mueller did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice or find that he committed a crime.

Top House Judiciary Republican Doug Collins said “there is no constitutional crisis.” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said “it is time we move on for the good of the nation.”

4:10 p.m.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman says special counsel Robert Mueller “clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president.”

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler tweeted that Attorney General William Barr’s letter to Congress says that while President Donald Trump may have acted to obstruct justice, the government would need to prove that “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

But Nadler tweeted Congress must hear from Barr about his decision making and see “all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts.”

4 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and executed nearly 500 search warrants in its probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election and any potential involvement by President Donald Trump’s campaign.

That’s according to Attorney General William Barr’s letter to Congress on Sunday summarizing the findings. The special counsel employed 19 lawyers and was assisted by a team of 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and other professional staff. The team interviewed approximately 500 witnesses.

3:50 p.m.

Evidence gathered in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation “is not sufficient to establish” that President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice.

That’s according to Attorney General William Barr in a letter to Congress summarizing the finding of the Mueller probe.

Barr says Mueller did not reach any conclusions in evaluating the president’s conduct, leaving it to the Justice Department.

Barr says he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reached the conclusion without considering constitutional questions regarding bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.

3:46 p.m.

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice or find that he committed a crime.

That’s according to a summary of Mueller’s findings provided to Congress by the Justice Department.

The summary also says Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates “conspired or coordinated” with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.

3:35 p.m.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says a letter from the Justice Department describing special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings “does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

The department sent the letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Sunday afternoon. Nadler tweeted that the Justice Department “determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment.”

3:09 p.m.

The Justice Department has told Congress to expect a summary of Robert Mueller’s findings in the Russia investigation within the hour.

That’s according to two people familiar with the Justice Department’s plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the plans.

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