Special counsel Robert Mueller has confirmed that he is closing his investigation into Donald Trump and closing the office of the Special Prosecutor.
In damning closing remarks Mr Mueller did not exonerate Donald Trump.
He told reporters: “If we had confidence he did not commit a crime we would have said so.
“We did not however have confidence that the president did not commit a crime.”
He said that they operated under a Justice Department legal opinion that says sitting presidents cannot be indicted.
He told reporters in Washington: “Charging the president with a crime was … not an option we could consider,”
“We concluded that we would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime.”
The end of the investigation means Mr Mueller will stand down from the Justice Department.
But he was clear that if was summoned by Congress to give evidence, he would not for beyond what was written in his report.
(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)
It comes just one week before Mr Trump is due to land in the UK for his state visit.
Mr Mueller made the remarks in his first public statement on the Russia investigation since it was submitted to US Attorney General William Barr.
The statement comes amid demands for Mr Mueller to give evidence on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with attorney general William Barr over the handling of his report.
Mr Mueller’s report into Russian meddling in the 2016 election did not find that Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign co-ordinated to sway the presidential election – according to Trump’s Attorney General.
It also did not reach a conclusion on whether Mr Trump had obstructed justice, with Mr Mueller saying he did not think it would be fair to publicly accuse the president of a crime if he could not charge him.
(Image: REUTERS)
Mr Barr has said he was surprised that Mr Mueller did not reach a conclusion, and decided with deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein that the evidence did not support an obstruction of justice allegation.
Mr Mueller, for his part, privately complained to Mr Barr that a four-page letter the attorney general wrote summarising his main conclusions did not adequately capture the investigation’s findings.
Mr Barr has called Mr Mueller’s letter “snitty”.
A senior White House official said “the White House was notified” on Tuesday night that Mr Mueller might make a statement on Wednesday.
