I said before that this thread is mind-boggling and I was puzzled with the FACT that NOBODY here has read the report, but many here are making the wildest statements about it.
I said that I've NEVER believed (and this is demonstrable by my posting history given that I said it many times, much before the delivery of the report) that the impeachment or indictment of Donald Trump would come out of the Mueller report, and that hopes for that amounted to classical wishful thinking. I said that I continue to think it won't happen (listen to Nancy Pelosi for once), but I do acknowledge that this is a guess, because I haven't read the report. I'm not passing advance judgment on something I haven't read. I allow myself to guess, but that's as far as I go.
People who jump to conclusion quote the "no more indictments" part, which is the ONLY part that has already been revealed. Sure, it's good news for Kushner and Trump Jr., but not even this part is any clear-cut conclusion at this point, because of a couple of possibilities (again, not that I believe they will happen, but they are definitely still possibilities at this point): One, that Mueller does have convincing evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors but simply followed the DoJ existing tradition already expressed in memos, that a sitting president can't be indicted, and simply, as a loyal career officer, followed procedure: report to the AG, and let the AG refer the matter to Congress if there is need for it. Two, that Mueller wisely avoided a direct confrontation with the president and his family, also knowing very well that a presidential pardon would ensue or the investigation would be shut down and he'd be fired before finishing it, and simply and quietly provided the evidence without further action, hoping that a state court in New York will pick up the follow-up, which would be immune to presidential pardons and firings.
Again, not that I have strong expectations about the above; my point is just to say that WE DON'T KNOW YET, and I've expressed puzzlement at how people jumped to conclusion, here, one way or the other. Trumpsters seem to believe that the simple fact that the report was delivered is proof of Trump's innocence. Well, the report had to be delivered at some point, right? Why is the simple delivery, proof of anything at all??? Let's wait to learn about the CONTENT, shall we?
Then today I was thinking, why in the hell am I surprised? The way things are polarized these days, we know that the reaction would be like this, regardless of the content of the report, so, there seems to be no need to learn about this content, in order to issue this predetermined knee-jerk opinion. Let's say Mueller had extended his work to the utmost consequence of indicting the president (something that would completely rupture with tradition since it's the job of the House, not of the Special Counsel), his son, and his son-in-law.
The reaction here would be exactly the same. Trumpsters would still be dancing joyfully, saying "lies, witch hunt, no collusion, illegal indictment, it won't stand scrutiny, waste of time and money, nothingburger."
So, why was I surprised? The reaction here is actually not puzzling; it went as expected. Again, regardless of what Trump says or does or is or is not discovered about him and his family, all Trumpsters will continue to support him.
This thread is just more of the same.
In the news right now is the fact that another former president of Brazil, Michel Temer, has been indicted and arrested, AFTER he left the presidency at the end of his term. It happened as well to another one, Lula da Silva, who is currently serving a prison sentence. Neither one was indicted while in office, but only, after they lost the immunity of the position, when then, they got prosecuted. Brazil's constitution is very similar to the United States', having been largely modeled upon ours, when theirs was redrawn in 1988.
So, Trumpsters shouldn't rejoice prematurely. It is not at all excluded that after Trump leaves office, if still alive, he and/or his son and son-in-law might still face prosecution, especially in the State of New York courts.
But like I said, regardless of that, I've NEVER anticipated that Trump wouldn't finish his term(s), and I've NEVER believed that there would be impeachment and much less, removal from office (which obviously is the job of the Senate, which is controlled by the president's party). I don't engage in wishful thinking.
I've been saying, the ONLY way for the Democrats to remove Trump from office, is to field a good, viable candidate in 2020, one with actually an enticing platform, proposals, and ideas that appeal to the American people at large, especially swing voters (the polarized ones will never change). The Dems would be well advised to focus on getting a good candidate and real ideas, instead of focusing on indictments, impeachment, and other futile wishful thoughts.