White House counselor Kellyanne Conway declared Thursday “the best day” since President Trump’s election, reveling in the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report.
Conway spoke to reporters at the White House, where she swiped at Democrats and the media after Mueller’s investigation and downplayed any potentially damaging information included in the more than 400-page document, which did not implicate Trump in conspiracy with the Russian government or obstruction of justice.
{mosads}”I called this a political proctology exam,” Conway said of the report, claiming Trump had received a “clean bill of health.”
Mueller’s report did not establish that there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. On obstruction of justice, Mueller looked at 10 episodes and did not exonerate Trump, but Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge the president.
Conway said she read the entire report.
“That should make people very good about democracy,” Conway said of the report’s main findings. “And it should make people feel really great that a campaign I managed to its successful end did not collude with any Russians.”
“We’re accepting apologies today, too, for anybody who feels the grace in offering them,” she added.
Conway disputed that Mueller’s detailed findings on how Trump may have tried to obstruct the investigation were a cause for concern, arguing that the president has the right to fire administration officials.
“Intent has never mattered to any of you, respectfully, throughout this whole thing,” Conway said. “Was there intent to collude? Was there intent to commit a crime? Was there intent to conspire with Russians? Was there intent to steal the election from poor, old Hillary Clinton, I’m sure for whom most of you voted.
“The intent matters and the president’s intention here was not to do that,” she added. “And so intent matters and I know you want to cherry-pick one line here or one line there because the big lie that you’ve let fly for two years, it’s over folks.”