MSNBC’s Tur on Mueller Report: ‘This Vindicates the President on Collusion’

March 24th, 2019 3:57 PM

Buckle up, folks. Because the meltdowns we’re about to see concerning the principal conclusions of the Mueller Report via a letter from Attorney General Bill Barr will rival or top those seen on election night 2016.

Upon being read portions of the Barr letter, MSNBC host and one-time Trump campaign correspondent Katy Tur was forced to painstaking admit that Mueller’s findings have “vindicate[d] the President on collusion.”

 

 

Tur came to this conclusion after being read portions of the Barr letter from national security and Justice reporter Julia Ainsley (click “expand”):

I’m going to read you what it says here in this footnote, it's key. It says: “In assessing conspiracy charges special counsel also considered whether members of the campaign coordinated with Russian election interference activities.” “The special counsel,” this is key, “defined coordination as an agreement, tacit or expressed between the Trump campaigned the Russian government on election interference.” And in that case they did not find that coordination. They said there were several attempts by the Russian government to reach out to the Trump campaign but it says: “Despite multiple offers from Russian affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign, the special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts. So, he's spelling out exactly what he is clearing them from and he says tacitly or expressly they did not. That answers a big question because a lot of people thought perhaps there were signals. It wasn't expressed. But when the president said as a candidate, if you're listening, could that have been tacit? And Robert Mueller said weighed in and said that was not tacit. There was no coordination or conspiracy. 

After Tur made perhaps the most painstaking legal or political announcement of her career, Ainsley replied that “it does....vindicated him on collusion and remember, collusion is a term that was laid out in the charge given to special counsel Robert Mueller when he got this assignment but it’s not a criminal.”

“[H]e’s been cleared — has cleared the president and his campaign and anyone associated with it on both of those things,” she added.

Clearly petrified, Tur fretted that the Trump Tower meeting wasn’t found to have been an instance of collusion:

It’s not just Russia, if you're listening, Julia. This also goes to the Trump Tower meeting. A lot people out there believed and expressed this much that Don Jr. even accepting dirt from a Russian national that was alleged to have come from the Russian government in an e-mail was enough to say that there was conspiracy. Robert Mueller said, no. That was enough — that was not enough.

Tur commiserated at 4:06 p.m. Eastern with chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson as Tur pointed out that, all along, everyone from the White House to the President to his supporters have insisted there was no collusion and, indeed, “Robert Mueller found no conspiracy, which is no collusion.”

Jackson then responded:

There is no gray area on that piece of it, Katy when you look at those two buckets. The conspiracy piece, as you say, which is sort of called collusion, and then the obstruction piece. On the conspiracy piece of it, it is — it is black and white. It is very clear that the special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia. That is already what we're seeing.

To see the relevant transcript from March 24's MSNBC Live, click “expand.”

MSNBC Live
March 24, 2019
3:45 p.m. Eastern

KATY TUR: One thing I still have a question on, Julia because we joined Pete slightly late is whether Mueller found any evidence of conspiracy. 

JULIA AINSLEY: I’m glad you asked that, Katy. I just got to a footnote. What he decided to investigate was coordinated, this would be conspiracy charges. He wanted to be able to define coordinated. Whether or not the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian efforts. I’m going to read you what it says here in this footnote, it's key. It says: “In assessing conspiracy charges special counsel also considered whether members of the campaign coordinated with Russian election interference activities.” “The Special counsel,” this is key, “defined coordination as an agreement, tacit or expressed between the Trump campaigned the Russian government on election interference.” And in that case they did not find that coordination. They said there were several attempts by the Russian government to reach out to the Trump campaign but it says: “Despite multiple offers from Russian affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign, the special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts. So, he's spelling out exactly what he is clearing them from and he says tacitly or expressly they did not. That answers a big question because a lot of people thought perhaps there were signals. It wasn't expressed. But when the president said as a candidate, if you're listening, could that have been tacit? And Robert Mueller said weighed in and said that was not tacit. There was no coordination or conspiracy. 

TUR: So, this vindicates the President on collusion. 

AINSLEY: It does. So, it would vindicate him on collusion. And remember, collusion is a term that was laid out in the charge given to special counsel Robert Mueller when he got this assignment but it’s not a criminal. There's no statute on collusion. What you would have would be conspiracy or coordination. So, what is what Robert Mueller is answering here because he's sticking to the criminal statute and he’s been cleared — has cleared the president and his campaign and anyone associated with it on both of those things. 

TUR: It’s not just Russia, if you're listening, Julia. This also goes to the Trump Tower meeting. A lot people out there believed and expressed this much that Don Jr. even accepting dirt from a Russian national that was alleged to have come from the Russian government in an e-mail was enough to say that there was conspiracy. Robert Mueller said, no. That was enough — that was not enough.