The Mueller Report (The Washington Post)

The Mueller Report
The Washington Post, with Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky
Scribner
Nonfiction, Law/Politics
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: The official public documentation of the Special Council investigation into possible foreign interference, and later attempts to cover up crimes, associated with the American 2016 presidential election, presented with footnotes and additional related material.

REVIEW: This is not the sort of material I regularly read, but some documents are too important to ignore. The Mueller report is one of them.
The rating takes into account the overall thoroughness of the investigation, which was made under difficult (and sometimes hostile) circumstances. Though dense and thick with names and associations, not to mention copious legalese (particularly in the sections on whether or not there is any standing to even question Presidential authority and conduct), the gist of matters is not difficult to ascertain. Oddly enough, it's post-election conduct that raises the most red flags and is the most damning; proving knowledge of Russian interference pre-election is much more difficult, given the layers of contacts and general insulation of the candidate from acting individuals. Couple that with an official White House stance that facts are malleable (the infamous stance that the president has a right to "alternative facts" being just one example) and that certain people are above the law (in direct violation of Constitutional intent, that all powers should be checked and balance and should, first and foremost, exercise their authority for the good of the American people and not the self), plus the numerous convictions already on record related to these events, and there's simply far too much smoke for there not to be a fire somewhere, even if it's not the one the Special Council initially investigated. The process itself appears to have been undertaken with utmost impartiality.
The ultimate picture is grim indeed, a tangled web that the best conspiracy thriller authors would hesitate to posit, yet backed up by testimony and evidence as actual occurrences. Failure to act on these findings paints an even grimmer picture of the state of our nation, as partisan wrangling and posturing appears to take precedent over actually reading the gathered evidence. As the last lines state in words that may well go down in history: "Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, neither does it exonerate him." This is not an exoneration by any means, but while not every avenue investigated here resulted in suspect findings, those who have benefited from these events - regardless of proof of personal knowledge of shadiness or active wrongdoing - appear to have successfully placed themselves beyond reach of further investigation, let alone trial.

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