Trump wants media outlets to fire his critics now that he’s been ‘exonerated’ by Mueller report

Trump

Now that he’s convinced the Mueller report has fully exonerated him, President Donald Trump is seeking vengeance against those who have dared to criticize him over the past two years, the Washington Post reports:

Within an hour of learning the findings, Trump called for an investigation of his critics and cast himself as a victim.

Aides say Trump plans to … call for organizations to fire members of the media and former government officials who he believes made false accusations about him.”

And other Trump supporters are also calling for retribution against those who have been critical of the president, according to Axios:

  • Don Jr., the president’s eldest son, tweeted: “How this farce started and snowballed … into one the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the America should be discovered. Those responsible should be held accountable.”
  • Rep. Mark Meadows(R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said: “The public deserves to see the interviews, documents, and intelligence that ‘justified’ this investigation in the first place.”
  • And Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News: “[T]here has to be a full and complete investigation, with at least as much enthusiasm as this one, to figure out where did this charge emanate, who started it.”

While we do indeed have Attorney General William Barr’s four-page “summary” of the Mueller report, we haven’t yet seen the full report, so it seems more than a bit premature for Trump to be doing a victory dance and ordering the dismissal of those who dared to highlight his 2016 campaign’s many contacts with Russian officials.

Additionally, while Trump may be alleging that he’s been cleared, the Barr summary doesn’t exonerate him, NPR notes:

“Mueller’s report ‘did not draw a conclusion’ about whether President Trump obstructed justice in the investigation, but ‘it also does not exonerate him.'”

And Trump isn’t fully in the clear just yet. There are at least a dozen other investigations open into the president’s business dealings, inauguration committee, and connections to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. And of those could lead to indictments and charges against the president and members of his family.

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