--- title: Mueller Report: Why Mueller Didn't Charge Trump With Obstruction description: Special Counsel Robert Mueller found significant evidence that Donald Trump may have obstructed justice, but he declined to charge him based on his view of... canonical: https://time.com/5573289/robert-mueller-trump-obstruction-charges/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-18T17:37:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:57:06.423Z article:section: Politics og:title: Despite Evidence, Robert Mueller Would Not Say Whether Trump Obstructed Justice. Here's Why og:description: He was influenced by his views of the Constitution og:url: https://time.com/5573289/robert-mueller-trump-obstruction-charges/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte18a839f4de73187/6989483509208fa0cf413a49/trump-comments-sanctuary-cities-migrants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5402 og:image:height: 3039 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Despite Evidence, Robert Mueller Would Not Say Whether Trump Obstructed Justice. Here's Why twitter:description: He was influenced by his views of the Constitution twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte18a839f4de73187/6989483509208fa0cf413a49/trump-comments-sanctuary-cities-migrants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Despite Evidence, Robert Mueller Would Not Say Whether Trump Obstructed Justice. Here's Why > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Apr 18, 2019 5:37 PM UTC  President Donald Trump listens to South Korean President Moon Jae-in speak during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. President Donald Trump listens to South Korean President Moon Jae-in speak during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 11, 2019, in Washington. Evan Vucci—AP by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Apr 18, 2019 5:37 PM UTC Special Counsel Robert Mueller found significant evidence that Donald Trump may have obstructed justice, but he declined to charge him based on his view of how the law should work. In a [400-page report](http://time.com/5573091/mueller-report-how-to-read/) sent to Congress Thursday, the former FBI director spelled out a view of the constitutional limitations placed on prosecutors which guided his decision-making in not charging Trump. At the same time, he plainly stated that if he could have said that Trump was innocent of obstruction of justice, he would have done so. “The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intents present difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred,” Mueller wrote. “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” The report details several examples of conduct which might be considered obstruction of justice, including Trump pressuring FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into his national security advisor, firing Comey, attempting to urge Attorney General Sessions to undo his recusal from the investigation and attempting to fire Mueller, among other things. Despite Mueller’s decision, Attorney General [William Barr](http://time.com/5560216/william-barr-trump-decision-next-steps/) and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein [announced](http://time.com/5557779/bill-barr-mueller-report-congress-conclusions/) in late March that after reviewing the evidence they had decided that Trump did not obstruct justice. Here’s a look at the legal reasoning behind Mueller’s decision. ## **A sitting president cannot be indicted** Mueller began by noting that the Office of Legal Counsel in the White House wrote in [a 2000 memo](https://www.justice.gov/file/19351/download) that sitting presidents can’t be indicted because it would undermine their ability to oversee the nation’s criminal justice system. But he adds that doesn’t mean that a special counsel couldn’t investigate a presidential actions, since charges could be brought after they’ve left office. “Given those considerations, the facts known to us, and the strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of the criminal justice system, we conducted a thorough factual investigation in order to preserve the evidence when memories were fresh and documentary materials were available,” he wrote. **Read More:** [_Can Trump Be Indicted? What to Know About His Legal Powers_](http://time.com/5374631/trump-cohen-manafort-indictment-impeachment/) ## Defendants normally have a chance to clear their name in a trial Mueller then notes that defendants have a constitutional right to clear their name of criminal accusations through a speedy trial. By contrast, if prosecutors were allowed to impugn their reputations without charging them with crimes, it would be unfair. “The ordinary means for an individual to respond to an accusation is through a speedy and public trial, with all the procedural protections that surround a criminal case,” he wrote. “A prosecutor’s judgement that crimes were committed, but that no charges will be brought, affords no such adversarial opportunity for public name-clearing before an impartial adjudicator.” **Read More:** [_The 270 Arguments Trump Made About the Russia Probe_](http://time.com/5290531/donald-trump-robert-mueller-russia-investigation-arguments/) ## It would be unfair to say Trump committed a crime without offering him a chance to clear his name  U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he leaves the White House April 05, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images Because Mueller’s team can’t indict Trump, it also can’t give him the opportunity for a speedy trial to clear his name, Mueller reasoned. He decided that his team would therefore not make an announcement that Trump had committed a crime — such as obstructing justice — despite the facts it uncover. “The concerns about the fairness of such a determination would be heightened in the case of a sitting President, where a federal prosecutor’s accusation of a crime, even in an internal report, could carry consequences that extend beyond the realm of criminal justice,” he wrote. ## Even a ‘secret indictment’ could still leak Mueller also ruled out another option, which would be to obtain a sealed indictment against presidents that would not become public until after they leave office would not work because they could be leaked. “‘It would be very difficult to preserve \[an indictment’s secrecy,’ and if an indictment became public, ‘\[t\]he stigma and opprobrium’ could imperil the President’s ability to govern,'” he wrote, quoting the Office of Legal Counsel memo. ## Prosecutors could still clear the president, but they declined All that said, Mueller also said that he did not rule out publicly clearing the President of wrongdoing, either. But based on the facts his investigators uncovered, he decided not to do so. “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state,” he wrote. “Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgement.” “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” he added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5573289/robert-mueller-trump-obstruction-charges/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5573289/robert-mueller-trump-obstruction-charges/"},"headline":"Despite Evidence, Robert Mueller Would Not Say Whether Trump Obstructed Justice. 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