Trump's Challenges Won't End With Mueller Report

As everyone dives to dictionaries to see if "vindication" and "exoneration" are properly attached to the completion of the Mueller report, rest assured that like most things these days, the reactions will be filtered through the lens of opinion about President Donald Trump.The president and his supporters are justified in identifying what we have learned about the report as a confirmation of their assertions of the last two years — that this probe would find no evidence of collusion with Russia, a charge so empty that the entire investigation was ill-conceived.But it is also true that the report is not an exoneration on the issue of obstruction of justice, a charge that can be so broad as to contain a wide range of words and actions.As such, the Mueller report is not willing to declare that no obstruction happened, only that its efforts did not uncover evidence of it. Such are the technicalities of law and logic.But in the day-to-day world, the bottom line is that this specific cloud that darkened over the head of the Trump administration is now largely dissipated. Breathless media coverage will no longer be able to warn us of indictment-worthy bombshells that could go off at any moment. The collusion and obstruction artillery has been removed from the Trump critics' arsenal.But that does not mean the decks are cleared and we now move to a good, old-fashioned focus on jobs, borders and social issues. Democrats will call for a complete release of the Mueller report and all underlying documents, which they know will never happen.Some of the tonnage of Mueller output involves matters currently under review by grand juries, which must be concealed by law. Nonetheless, look for opportunistic protests that this is some sinister cover-up designed to shield Trump. But it is in the best interests of the Mueller team to have its findings represented accurately; a response would be likely if Attorney General William Barr or anyone else mischaracterizes what they spent two years and millions of dollars compiling.So what happens now? This is a president who remembers friends and enemies, so don't look for him to move on to wall funding or trade policies right away. We'll see some spiking of the ball here, and why not? I would imagine the halls of liberalism would have shaken with joy if the Mueller team had armed them with fodder for impeachment or imprisonment.So will Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham now launch a new probe aimed at the key players behind this chapter of drama? "See you soon," he tweeted at former FBI Director James Comey. We may now see months of inquiry into his motives, the bureau's, and a host of others who might not have approached the task with the objectivity the job required.And what of Mueller himself? It is not wise to expect the report to earn him conservative praise. In the mind of the Trump base, a witch hunt does not become noble simply because it finds no witch.The best thing to wish for is a massive reset button. House Democrats may continue to sift for any nugget they can find to bolster a damaged narrative of Trump as a crook, but their presidential candidate field should probably start going after him for actual policies they disagree with. This frees the president and all Republicans to argue for their agenda in turn, rather than filling interviews with the latest minutiae from Mueller-land.And who knows? Maybe that lights the way for a 2020 campaign based on ideas, unburdened by the distracting noise we've had in our ears for most of this presidency.Mark Davis is a radio host and frequent contributor to The Dallas Morning News. The Mark Davis Show airs from 7 to 10 a.m. weekdays on KSKY-AM (660).   Continue reading...