Trump gives commencement address to Air Force Academy

President Trump is delivering the commencement address to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Thursday, as he defends his interpretation of special counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusions.

Mr. Trump has reiterated his claims that there was no collusion or obstruction, despite Mueller not reaching those conclusions in his report. Mueller spoke out publicly Wednesday for the first time since he became special counsel two years ago, claiming that if he and his investigators found the president committed no crime, they would have said so, and Justice Department policy prohibits him from charging a sitting president.

As he left the White House this morning, he had an exchange with CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid about Mueller’s remarks. Reid pointed out that Mueller did not exonerate him. “He couldn’t clear you,” she pointed out.

“That means you’re innocent. That means you’re innocent,” Mr. Trump said.

“He said he couldn’t say you were innocent,” Reid countered.

“Then he should have said, ‘You’re guilty,'” Mr. Trump responded.

Reid reminded him that Mueller had said he wouldn’t make that pronouncement because it would be unfair.

“He said essentially, ‘You’re innocent,'” Mr. Trump said. He added, “There was no crime, there was no collusion there was no nothing. And this is from a group of people that hate me. If they only found anything, they would have had it and he knows it better than anybody.”

Trump says Russia did not help him get elected

Mr. Trump and his White House consider Mueller’s conclusions a vindication of the president, who appeared to tweet — whether intentionally or not — that Russia helped him to get elected, only to walk back that claim minutes later.

Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax,” the president tweeted Thursday morning. “And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected. It was a crime that didn’t exist. So now the Dems and their partner, the Fake News Media … say he fought back against this phony crime that didn’t exist, this horrendous false accusation, and he shouldn’t fight back, he should just sit back and take it. Could this be Obstruction? No, Mueller didn’t find Obstruction either. Presidential Harassment!”

Moments later, the president told reporters Russia didn’t help him get elected, and Russia instead helped the other side — Hillary Clinton.