“The order appointing me special counsel authorized us to investigate actions that could obstruct the investigation,” Mueller
said. “We conducted that investigation, and we kept the office of the Acting Attorney General apprised of the progress of our work. As set forth in our report, after that investigation, if we had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that.” (What
it does say is “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”