Sam Clovis (file photo)
An Iowan who served as a campaign aide to President Donald Trump was happy to hear that special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Sam Clovis of Hinton says he and administration officials have been saying there was no collusion with Russia since Mueller’s investigation began. “In fact, I think if you read the Attorney General’s letter, it said that we actually resisted contacts with the Russians,” Clovis says,”and that was something that I had said all along. That had been my advice to the president and my advice to campaign from day one — was to not have anything to do with the Russians. And as it worked out, that’s exactly what the Mueller people found out.”
Clovis had been called to testify before a grand jury more than one year ago regarding possible campaign ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. “I feel personally vindicated, I am happy for my friends and colleagues on the campaign who have been vindicated,” according to Clovis. “And I am really happy for the president. I think this is something that we are really going to be better off now that this is over and moving forward.”
The report reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice but said key elements were not there. Clovis says Democrats are seizing on that part of the four page summary of the report. I am stunned at the reaction of the Democrats. Of course you would expect them to be sore losers about all of this. But I think at the end of the day, they would be better served if they got a little bit more adult about what they are doing and decided to move on,” Clovis says.
Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demand to see his full report.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)