Bay Area experts weigh in on release of Mueller report

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ByAmy Hollyfield KGO logo
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Bay Area experts weigh in on release of Mueller report
After hearing from local political experts, it's evident there is a split on how to interpret the report and what to do next.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Local expert's reaction to the Mueller report shows that there is still a split on how to interpret it and what to do next.

The report is 448 pages long and will take time for people to read and process, so ABC7 News turned to the experts.

RELATED: Mueller Report Release: Redacted version made public

We checked in with two women who have been following this and were quickly pouring through the report.

A leader in the Republican Party and San Francisco resident says the Mueller report exonerates President Trump.

"If there is no there there, I think it is time to move on and talk about solutions for the country. About homelessness and our economy, jobs, national security, issues people care about not the issues that a few partisan democrats care about in congress," said Harmeet Dhillon, the Committeewoman for California's Republican National Committee.

RELATED: What you won't see in the redacted report

Democrats this morning, though, say they are not satisfied. Dhillon is not surprised.

"(US Representative) Eric Swalwell came out with a tweet this morning smearing the attorney general, saying he is a tool of the president. I think they are going to have to eat their words yet again. I think there is going to be more humiliation for the Democrats who insist on dwelling on this instead of being happy that the conclusion is that no American colluded with the Russians to interfere with our elections they are still trying to get the president," she said.

Representative Swalwell, who represents the East Bay and is running for President, tweeted about William Barr:

"You can be the President's defense attorney or America's attorney general, but you can't be both."

We checked in with a law professor at UC Hastings who is working her way through the report and isn't surprised to hear that the results are being debated.

"I think the facts we know. The only question is how we interpret the facts," said Professor Hadar Aviram.

She says just because the president wasn't indicted doesn't mean there wasn't foul play.

RELATED: Trump reacts to Mueller report findings: It's 'a shame' nation had to endure probe

"While the report doesn't recommend indicting anybody, part of the reason why it doesn't recommend indictments is because the Department of Justice supports the legal opinion that you cannot indict a sitting president," she said.

She called the report highly damaging.

"We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Russians intervened in the elections. They did so in two ways- through social media and through infiltrating the DNCC emails," she explained.

Aviram says Americans should be concerned about what happened in 2016, while Dhillon says Democrats should take their lumps and move on.

See more stories and videos related to the releasing of the Robert Mueller report.