the Russian government sought to interfere

in our election process.

But thanks to the special counsel’s

thorough investigation,

we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated

these schemes did not have the cooperation of

President Trump or the Trump campaign.

The report details efforts by the Internet Research Agency,

a Russian company with close ties

to the Russian government, to sow social discord

among American voters through disinformation

and social media operations.

The special counsel found no evidence

that any American, including anyone associated

with the Trump campaign,

conspired or coordinated with the Russian government

or the I.R.A.

in this illegal scheme.

The special counsel’s

investigation also examined Russian efforts

to publish stolen emails and documents on the internet.

The special counsel found that after the G.R.U.

disseminated some of the stolen documents

to entities that it controlled, DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0,

the G.R.U. transferred some of the stolen materials

to WikiLeaks for publication.

WikiLeaks then made a series of document dumps.

Under applicable law,

publication of these types of material

would not be criminal unless the publisher also

participated in the underlying hacking conspiracy.

Here too, the special counsel’s report

did not find that any person associated with

the Trump campaign illegally participated

in the dissemination of the materials.

After finding no underlying collusion with Russia,

the special counsel’s report goes on

to consider whether certain actions of the president

could amount to obstruction

of the special counsel’s investigation.

The special counsel did not make

a traditional prosecutorial judgment

regarding this allegation.

Instead, the report recounts 10 episodes involving

the president and discusses potential legal theories

for connecting those activities to the elements

of an obstruction offense.

And as the special counsel’s report acknowledges,

there is substantial evidence to show

that the president was frustrated and angered

by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining

his presidency,

propelled by his political opponents

and fueled by illegal leaks.

Nonetheless, the White House fully cooperated

with the special counsel’s investigation.

But again, the special counsel’s report

did not find any evidence that members of the Trump campaign,

or anyone associated with the campaign,

conspired or coordinated with the Russian government

in these hacking operations.

In other words, there was no evidence

of the Trump campaign collusion

with the Russian government’s hacking.