The No Collusion Conclusion

For two years now, there has been a fever pitch intensity surrounding the investigation by Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election, possible collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign and potential obstruction of justice by Donald Trump against that investigation.   

For two years: 

What is Robert Mueller up to?
What does Robert Mueller know? 
Robert Mueller is getting close to Trump now!
Robert Mueller is going to lower the boom on Donald Trump!
Robert Mueller is going to save us all!!!

Sorry, folks, it looks like Robert Mueller is NOT going to save us all.

Sadly, I don't think Robert Mueller was ever going to save us all. 

Despite the efforts of Donald Trump and his enabling ass kissers in his immediate circle jerk of advisers in the White House and on Fox News to categorize Robert Mueller  as some kind of crazed witch hunter on an errant mission of Democratic vengeance, the reputation Robert Mueller had going into this thing was that of a tough as nails guy who played by a very firm and well defined rule book. 

On the subject of collusion, my first guess is that Robert Mueller may have found many instances of the two worlds intersecting, the world of Donald Trump's campaign and the world of Russians seeking to put their thumbs on the scales of the American electoral process.  My second guess is that Robert Mueller did not find the level of cooperation and coordination between the two worlds to needed define their interactions as collusion within the strictest parameters of the law defining collusion.  

Now this is just the opinion of a random blog writer looking in from way, way, way outside but it seems that in the bits and pieces that did come out  about Russian and Trumpian interactions, it seemed that Trump operatives always came off as a bit hapless, lacking coordination and intelligence as they stumbled into contact with the Russians. In short, it never seemed to me that the Russians received any help or guidance from the Trump campaign towards their mission to disrupt the 2016 campaign for President. If the Russians were in fact putting their thumb on the scale to help Donald Trump with a cyber campaign of social media disinformation, they really didn't need Donald Trump's help to do that.  

I think to prove collusion, Robert Mueller would've needed a more defined quid quo pro between the Russians and the Trump team, like Donald Trump Jr. slipping a Russian operative the password to John Panetta's email account.  

I don't think Robert Mueller was ever going to find that level of cooperation. And from what we know from the Attorney General William Barr and his letter to Congress on Mueller's report, he did not find that. 

As far as collusion was concerned, I don't think Robert Mueller was ever going to save us all. 

On the subject of obstruction of justice, the water is a bit murkier.  Mueller’s team drew no conclusions about whether Trump illegally obstructed justice according to Barr. So Barr and his deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, offered their own conclusion, that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the president committed obstruction of justice. 

It seemed to me (again, just some schmuck with a blog looking at this from way, way, way outside) that Donald Trump's blundering efforts to blunt, slow or stop the investigation were morally and ethically questionable but not anything that that was outside the strictest parameters of what a president legally can or cannot do. 

Robert Mueller, a tough as nails guy who played by a very firm and well defined rule book, was not here to venture beyond the strictest parameters of the law. 

Yes, Donald Trump is a very, very stupid man who should never have been president. Perhaps under the hard, reserved flinty exterior, Robert Mueller may have felt that way too. But Robert Mueller's job wasn't about this feelings. 

When it came to saving us from the very, very stupid man who should never have been president, Robert Mueller was never going to save us all. 
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Alas, the Anteaters.  UC Irvine did not advance past Oregon in the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament.  

Robert Mueller cannot save the Anteaters.