The Special Counsel’s investigation established that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election principally through two operations. The investigation also identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign. Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

Mueller summarized Volume I: "The first volume of the report details numerous efforts emanating from Russia to influence the election." He then stated: "This volume includes a discussion of the Trump campaign’s response to this activity, as well as our conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy." This public statement reflects the report’s conclusion on conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

In Volume I, under the heading "Russian Government Links To And Contacts With The Trump Campaign," the report states: "Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, **the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.**" It further explains its usage of "coordination": "We applied the term coordination in that sense when stating in the report that the investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

The report said the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities. It also said the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.

The Special Counsel's Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election consists of two volumes. Volume I describes the factual results of the Special Counsel’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and its interactions with the Trump Campaign. Among its principal conclusions, Volume I states that although Russia interfered in the election, the investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

The Office investigated whether those contacts reflected or resulted in the Campaign conspiring or coordinating with Russia in its election-interference activities. Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, **the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities**. Further, the evidence was not sufficient to charge that any member of the Trump Campaign conspired with representatives of the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.

The report further explains that a primary consideration for the Special Counsel's investigation was whether any Americans – including individuals associated with the Trump campaign – joined the Russian conspiracies to influence the election, which would be a federal crime. **The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.** As the report states: "[T]he evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference."

In the very next line, Mueller writes, "Based on the available information, **the investigation didn't establish such coordination**." Mueller reached that conclusion even though, he writes, there were numerous links between the campaign and the Russians, that several people connected to the campaign lied to his team and tried to obstruct their investigation into their contacts with the Russians. This brings us back to Mueller's main conclusion in this part of the report, that, despite these varied contacts, **the evidence was insufficient to show that the Trump campaign coordinated or conspired with Russia**.

The report said the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities. It also said that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.

The Office investigated whether those contacts reflected or resulted in the Campaign conspiring or coordinating with Russia in its election-interference activities. Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller identified in his report similar, and even more extensive, evidence of improper links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government. A bipartisan Senate investigation also found that Russia sought to help the candidacy of Donald Trump in 2016. "While Special Counsel Mueller found insufficient evidence to prove the crime of criminal conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, he refused to draw any conclusion on the issue of collusion — contrary to false representations made by Attorney General Bill Barr and others."

Discussing the report’s conclusions, the analysis states: "While Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s recently‑released report on 2016 election interference and coordination **did not establish coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia**, it highlights significant flaws in our campaign finance laws and reveals how the Trump campaign was willing to accept help from a foreign adversary." It further explains that Mueller investigated whether a "conspiracy" to violate campaign finance laws occurred, applying a high standard of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" and that "it is wrong to say that Mueller found ‘no collusion,’ as the report includes accounts of dozens of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians."

NBC quotes directly from the report: "The report says, **"The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."**" The piece contrasts that with another passage: "But it also says that "the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.""

The 448-page Mueller report contains copious detail about how Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, both by using social media to influence American voters with misinformation and by hacking into the Clinton campaign’s computers. Discussing the Trump campaign, the report is described as documenting "numerous links" between Trump campaign associates and Russians, but the investigators ultimately did not charge a criminal conspiracy. As the program title for the second segment notes, it will explain "Why ‘numerous links’ between Trump campaign and Russia didn’t add up to conspiracy," reflecting Mueller's conclusion that the evidence was insufficient to establish a criminal agreement.

The column acknowledges the report’s language: "In his first letter after receiving the Mueller report, Attorney General William Barr accurately quoted it as saying that **“the investigation … did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”**" The author argues that despite this prosecutorial conclusion, "it is also true that the Mueller report confirms that members of the Trump campaign did, in fact, conspire or coordinate with the Russian government regarding its election interference efforts," distinguishing between the legal standard "beyond a reasonable doubt" and the broader factual record.

CREW’s fact sheet states: "Instead, as Special Counsel Mueller’s Report on Russian Interference in the 2016 Election concluded, there were in fact **“numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.”**" It continues: "While those links did not ultimately substantiate a **criminal charge of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia**, the investigation yielded two lengthy indictments of Russian nationals and officials for their interference in the 2016 election as well as six Trump associates." This reiterates that Mueller identified extensive links but did not establish a chargeable conspiracy.

This guide links to the "Full Text of the Mueller Report's Executive Summaries" for both Volume I and Volume II. Volume I, which addresses Russian interference and links to the Trump campaign, includes the finding that the investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," while simultaneously describing numerous contacts between Trump associates and individuals with ties to the Russian government.

This summary explains that the Mueller investigation had two main components: Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to tip the election in Trump's favor. The summary states that Mueller "did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," even though the report describes numerous contacts between Trump associates and Russians and concludes that Russia worked to help Trump's candidacy.

This document reproduces the Special Counsel team's Executive Summaries of both volumes of the report. In the section on Russian election interference and links to the Trump Campaign, the Special Counsel states that while Russia interfered with the 2016 election and the Trump Campaign welcomed that interference, **"the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government"** in those election interference activities.

Just Security’s analysis emphasizes that the Mueller Report draws a distinction between the colloquial concept of "collusion" and the legal standards for conspiracy and coordination. It explains that Mueller "did not establish" a criminal conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and the Russian government regarding election interference, but that the report nonetheless "documents a series of activities that show strong evidence of collusion" in a non-legal sense, including the campaign’s receptivity to Russian assistance and its failure to report contacts with Russian intermediaries.

This was Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusion after conducting a two-year investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. What Mueller Found: Despite the strict ban on donated foreign assistance to U.S. election campaigns, the Mueller Report documented many attempts to directly assist the Trump campaign that were directed or encouraged by the Russian government.

The Special Counsel investigation uncovered extensive criminal activity. Russia engaged in extensive attacks on the US election system in 2016. The report states that the investigation ‘identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign’ and that the Trump Campaign ‘showed interest in WikiLeaks's releases of documents and welcomed their potential to damage candidate Clinton.’

On March 22, 2019, Attorney General Barr confirmed that Mr. Mueller had delivered the Special Counsel’s final report concerning Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The report required disclosure of the final report and described the FBI investigation into the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.

Public commentary on the Mueller report has noted that Mueller's phrase "did not establish" reflects the criminal-law standard he was applying: to charge a conspiracy, prosecutors must be able to prove an agreement beyond a reasonable doubt. Mueller’s report explains that while there were "numerous links" between Trump campaign associates and Russians and evidence that both sides saw potential benefits, the Special Counsel concluded the admissible evidence was insufficient to meet that standard for conspiracy or coordination with the Russian government in its election interference activities. This contextualizes the specific wording used in the report.

While the report concludes that the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities, investigators had an incomplete picture of what happened due in part to some communications that were encrypted, deleted, or not saved, as well as testimony that was false, incomplete, or declined.