The wisdom of Trump's lawyers, and the accountability that must follow Mueller's report

Special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerFox's Cavuto roasts Trump over criticism of network Mueller report fades from political conversation Trump calls for probe of Obama book deal MORE did the job he was asked to do, seemingly unfazed by the mindless babble of speculating reporters or the panicked political arrows fired his way from all sides in Washington over nearly two breathless years.

On Friday, he completed that work and delivered a final report in the same understated style with which he accepted the job in May 2017. In between, he was as invisible and mythical as the Wizard of Oz, as he conducted a methodical investigation.

Let the record reflect these four instant takeaways:

1. President TrumpDonald John TrumpPompeo pressed on possible Senate run by Kansas media The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump digs in on Hurricane Dorian projection Trump's mental decline is perfectly clear for those with eyes to see and ears to hear MORE was not indicted, nor did Mueller recommend an indictment against him for collusion or obstruction.

2. There were no major disagreements between Mueller and his managers at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

3. The Russians who tried to interfere in the 2016 election were exposed and charged — but no American was charged with any effort to conspire with Moscow and hijack the election.

4. While nearly three dozen people were charged, including a few close to the president or who worked for his campaign, no one in proximity to the president was formally charged with colluding with Russia. Most, such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn or campaign adviser George PapadopoulosGeorge Demetrios Papadopoulos10 declassified Russia collusion revelations that could rock Washington this fall Flynn, Papadopoulos to speak at event preparing 'social media warriors' for 'digital civil war' Judge dismisses DNC lawsuit against Trump campaign, Russia over election interference MORE, were charged with process crimes or felonies unrelated to the main case, as in Paul ManafortPaul John ManafortManafort's legal team argues NY prosecution constitutes double jeopardy Clip surfaces of Paul Manafort and wife on Nickelodeon game show Ex-Obama counsel Greg Craig found not guilty of lying over Ukraine-related work MORE’s secretive, multimillion-dollar foreign lobbying spree through Ukraine.

There still are other legal threats out there for Trump and his team, such as cases winding through the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. And there will be days and weeks of debate about what’s in, and not in, the Mueller report.

What likely won’t get much debate, but unquestionably played an essential role in the history of the case and the outcome of the report, was the firm decision by Trump attorneys Jay SekulowJay Alan SekulowHouse Democrats planning to hold hearings regarding Trump's role in hush-money payments: report Trump, RNC sue to block California law requiring release of tax returns Voters sue California over tax return law targeting Trump MORE and Rudy GiulianiRudy GiulianiTed Cruz fires back at Lori Lightfoot: 'Mayor, your anger is misplaced' Sunday shows - Gun legislation dominates after deadly Texas mass shooting Giuliani claims Comey tried to 'frame' Trump after IG report MORE to not let their client testify.

That’s not to say the president didn’t cooperate. His organization, campaign, inaugural committee and White House produced millions of pages of documents, and he submitted written answers to prosecutors about his conduct prior to Election Day. Nearly all key events were illuminated by this cooperation.

Such disclosure likely was enough to satisfy Mueller, since we know the prosecutor in the end didn’t force the president to testify by subpoena.

But the Trump legal team’s decision to steadfastly restrain their client from testifying — a client whose natural tendency is to fight when accused, tweet when challenged, and debate his detractors — almost certainly kept him from the sort of perjury traps that felled other figures in the case, such as Flynn and Papadopoulos, or that two decades earlier beguiled Bill ClintonWilliam (Bill) Jefferson ClintonFour states set to cancel 2020 GOP presidential primaries: report Democrats should look to Judge Judy if they want to win Meghan McCain: 'I'm not living without guns' MORE as president. (Remember the Paula Jones deposition perjury?)

The public wants and deserves more transparency going forward. But while jeopardy lurked with an open criminal case, the president’s lawyers took a wise course that was in his personal legal interest. And that is what lawyers are supposed to do.

Now, Mueller’s investigations leave one major mission unfinished: meting out justice to the intelligence, congressional, FBI and DOJ officials who appear to have used a political dirty trick to falsely weave an unproven narrative of Russia collusion.

Unverified political opposition research never should be treated as actionable intelligence or Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) evidence, as it was in this case.

Just hours before Mueller’s report arrived, new evidence emerged of just how egregious the FBI acted in the early days of the Russia probe.

Fox News’s brilliant reporter Catherine Herridge obtained new text messages Friday showing Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabeAndrew George McCabeIn three years of Trump's presidency, who has branded whom? Trump knocks news of CNN hiring ex-FBI official McCabe Conservatives lash out at CNN for hiring Andrew McCabe MORE and his chief lawyer, Lisa Page, were discussing credibility issues and “bias” about a key human source whose work was to support the FISA warrant used to first spy on the Trump campaign in October 2016.

Those credibility issues likely were hidden from the judges who approved the warrant of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page (no relation to Lisa Page). As I have reported, the FBI also possesses emails showing concerns with the evidence it was going to use to support the FISA warrant.

Likewise the bureau didn’t disclose to the court that:

• the “Steele dossier” that was the main FISA evidence was paid for with funds from Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBernie Sanders struggles to win over older voters Texas Republicans sound alarm about rapidly evolving state Lewandowski predicts Trump will win by wider electoral margin in 2020 MORE’s campaign and the Democratic Party;
  
  
• Christopher Steele, the dossier’s author, had told a senior DOJ official he was desperate to defeat Trump;
  
  
• most of the dossier was not verified before it was used as evidence of alleged Trump-Russia collusion; and
  
  
• agents collected statements from key defendants such as Papadopoulos and Carter Page during interactions with an FBI informant that strongly suggested their innocence.

Such omissions are so glaring as to constitute defrauding a federal court. And each and every participant to those omissions needs to be brought to justice.

An upcoming DOJ inspector general’s report should trigger the beginning of that accountability in a court of law, and President Trump can assist the effort by declassifying all evidence of wrongdoing by FBI, CIA and DOJ officials. 

Accountability also must be handed out in the court of public opinion, where senior members of Congress, such as Rep. Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffFacebook unveils feature to combat vaccine misinformation What in the world is Adam Schiff thinking with his domestic terrorism bill? Hillicon Valley: YouTube disables 200+ accounts over Hong Kong misinformation | Lawmakers sound alarm over Chinese influence efforts | DHS cyber agency details priorities | State AGs get tough on robocalls | DOJ busts online scammers MORE (D-Calif.) and Sen. Mark WarnerMark Robert WarnerGOP senators object to White House delaying home-state projects for border wall Report highlights Instagram, deepfake videos as key disinformation threats in 2020 elections GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson to resign at end of year MORE (D-Va.), and former members of the intelligence community, such as John BrennanJohn Owen BrennanTrump lashes out at former intel officials for criticism of Iran tweet Trailer shows first look at Annette Bening as Dianne Feinstein Webb: Questions for Robert Mueller MORE and James ClapperJames Robert ClapperTrump lashes out at former intel officials for criticism of Iran tweet Trump knocks news of CNN hiring ex-FBI official McCabe Conservatives lash out at CNN for hiring Andrew McCabe MORE, along with several major news organizations, spun tall stories of a Watergate-sized criminal conspiracy between Donald Trump and Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinPence greeted by rainbow flags upon arrival in Iceland The unraveling of Vladimir Putin Bipartisan senators urge Trump administration to release Ukraine aid MORE.

Mueller’s anticlimactic finish to the special counsel’s probe on Friday made clear no such Trump-Putin criminal conspiracy existed. If it did, it would have been charged.

Trump can help the American public reconcile these issues, too, by declassifying all briefings to Congress’s “Gang of Eight” leadership, so that the public can see what our leaders were being told behind closed doors and what they were claiming on the public airwaves.

This accountability is essential to ensuring the nation never endures another travesty like the Russia collusion narrative.

John Solomon is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work over the years has exposed U.S. and FBI intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal scientists’ misuse of foster children and veterans in drug experiments, and numerous cases of political corruption. He serves as an investigative columnist and executive vice president for video at The Hill.