Mueller finds no Russia collusion but some questions left unresolved

美國司法部長巴爾向國會發去的信件，概括了穆勒調查的主要發現及司法部據此得出的結論。(Photo: AP)

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that US President Donald Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared Sunday.

Mueller’s conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton?

美國司法部長威廉·巴爾在當地時間週日（24日）下午致信國會，在四頁紙的篇幅內總結了“通俄門”特別檢察官羅伯特·穆勒在過去22個月內的調查發現。完整報告穆勒在兩天前便已上交巴爾，鑑於全美都高度關注穆勒究竟在調查中都發現了什麼，巴爾便先寫了一份“精縮版”報告知會國會。

根據巴爾的總結，穆勒主要調查了兩件事。一是俄羅斯是否幹預了2016年美國大選，以及特朗普及其競選團隊是否“通俄”；二是特朗普上臺後是否妨礙相關聯邦調查。這項調查主要圍繞特朗普突然炒掉聯邦調查局前局長詹姆斯·科米一事展開的。科米被開幾周後，穆勒調查正式啓動。

Though Mueller did not find evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government, Barr’s summary notes “multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”

The attorney general said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had determined that Mueller’s evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe.

已完成調查報告的穆勒週日首次出現在公衆視野 (Photo: AP)

巴爾引述穆勒報告稱，調查認爲沒有證據顯示任何特朗普競選團隊成員與俄羅斯政府合謀或協作幹預選舉活動。但是巴爾在總結中提到，一些與俄羅斯有關聯的人員主動接觸過特朗普的競選團隊，提出會提供支持。

巴爾說，穆勒團隊就特朗普妨礙司法的各項指控進行了“全面的事實調查”，最終決定“對所調查（總統）言行是否構成妨礙司法不做結論”，而交由司法部長裁定。巴爾引述穆勒報告說：“報告沒有作出總統妨礙司法的結論，同時也沒有爲他脫罪。”

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Obstruction of justice is a difficult crime to prove. There is also a legal debate surrounding whether a president can be alleged to have obstructed justice, with some legal scholars arguing that the president has the constitutional authority to fire the FBI director and tell the Justice Department who and who not to investigate.

巴爾說，經審閱穆勒報告及與司法部官員磋商，依據聯邦檢方起訴決定的指導原則，他和司法部副部長羅森斯坦所作結論是：穆勒調查所發現的證據“不足以確定總統犯有妨礙司法的違法行爲”。

美國司法部法律顧問辦公室曾在2000年公佈過一份備忘意見書，認爲現任總統一旦被起訴，或是被髮起刑事調查，會導致美國政府的行政部門無法履行憲法所制定的職責。

一些法學專家也認爲，在法庭上證明特朗普妨礙司法難度相當大，畢竟開除FBI局長和叫停司法部某項調查，都是總統正當的憲法權力。

穆勒完成報告的消息一出，美國媒體除了關心報告內容，也緊盯總統本人的反應。

特朗普的推特在沉寂了一整個週六之後，在週日清晨發出了穆勒報告提交後的首批推文： “早安！祝有美好的一天！”、 “讓美國再度偉大！”

“沒有‘通俄’，沒有妨礙司法，完全脫罪。讓美國保持偉大！”——直到週日下午，特朗普才直接回應了穆勒調查結論。

“通俄”調查是種恥辱，總統特朗普對記者表示。(Photo: AP)

Trump cheered the outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. “It’s a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this,” he said.

司法部的結論令特朗普喜悅，在媒體面前他又難掩對“通俄”調查的不滿。週日（24日）他對媒體說：“這是個恥辱，我們國家竟要經歷這樣的事。老實說，你們的總統要遭遇這種事，也是一種恥辱。”

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president’s attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

“Attorney General Barr’s letter raises as many questions as it answers,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

“Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the special counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report,” they said. Trump’s own claim of complete exoneration “directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility,” they added.

民主黨對巴爾提交的報告總結顯然十分不滿，要求查看報告全文。他們認爲，僅憑這四頁紙並不足以洗清特朗普所有嫌疑，穆勒肯定找到了特朗普妨礙司法的相關證據。

國會兩院民主黨領袖在一份聲明中說，“巴爾的總結留下的問題跟它解決的一樣多。” 衆議院議長南希·佩洛西和參議院民主黨領袖查克·舒默在這份聲明裏了質疑巴爾的中立性：基於巴爾對調查存在的偏見，他無法保持中立，也無法做出客觀的裁定。

收到巴爾總結後，國會衆議院司法委員會主席、民主黨議員傑羅爾德?納德勒在社交媒體上表示，將會要求司法部長本人到國會作證，解釋司法部如何根據穆勒調查報告得出總統無嫌疑的結論。

Mueller’s findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don’t entirely remove the legal threats the president and associates are facing. Federal prosecutors in New York, for instance, are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the campaign who say they had sex with the president. Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated Trump in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

It’s unclear, however, what, if any, other ongoing investigations have grown out of the special counsel’s investigation. Trump’s inaugural committee also has faced scrutiny in various districts, though it’s unclear whether those are in any way connected to Mueller’s probe.

(Photo: AP)

美國媒體普遍認爲，穆勒報告沒有完全去除特朗普所面臨的法律威脅。特朗普雖然已擺脫與俄羅斯暗通款曲干涉大選的嫌疑，但涉及特朗普及其助手們的多項司法調查並未隨着穆勒調查的終結而停止。

目前，紐約的聯邦檢察官還在調查特朗普涉嫌違反競選財務法，在競選期間向兩名女性支付“封口費”。據美聯社報道，特朗普的總統就職委員會，已在多個司法轄區接受調查。穆勒報告將如何影響國會衆議院民主黨針對特朗普一系列調查的走向，也廣受關注。

Sources: AP, The Hill, 新華社

Compiled by Chen Lidan