Fox News on Friday declared the Mueller report a “total victory” for Donald Trump, even though no one at Fox News, nor indeed anyone other than Attorney General William Barr, has read it.

As Slate reports, late Friday afternoon, news broke that FBI Special Counsel had delivered his final report into his months-long Russia probe to Barr’s desk. However, the report was not delivered to the media and/or the general public, and indeed, it may never be. That means that the contents of the report remain unknown, for now.

That didn’t stop Fox News host Tucker Carlson and his guest, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz from taking what Slate writer Justin Peters calls a “victory lap.”

“Happy No Collusion Day!” Carlson declared.

Another Fox News host, Sean Hannity, also declared victory for Trump, without having read the report.

“The left’s favorite conspiracy theory is now dead. It is buried. And there was no collusion. No conspiracy. No obstruction. Nothing. The witch hunt is over.”

In fact, about all that can be gleaned from the release of the report is that no further criminal indictments are forthcoming from the Mueller investigation. While that’s good news for Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and other individuals affiliated with Trump — who were rumored to be caught up in the investigation — it doesn’t mean much for Trump personally, at least not at this time. That’s because the question of whether or not a sitting president can be criminally indicted has not been legally settled. Mueller’s report may very well tie Trump to specific crimes, but Mueller didn’t indict him because his hands are tied legally.

Attorney General William Barr will continue to review the Mueller report today.



Barr arrived at the Justice Department shortly before 10 a.m. https://t.co/gCI8bUohqy pic.twitter.com/d5VM4bs7sd — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 23, 2019

That being said, the report may contain absolutely nothing to ties Trump with criminal or impeachable acts. Until anyone outside of the Department of Justice is given access to the report, there is no knowing what is inside of it.

When (or if) that will happen remains unclear. Barr has the legal authority to release as much or as little of the report as he sees fit, and he has suggested that he may only release a redacted report or a summary.

Congressional Democrats, for their part, did not accept the idea of not being able to see the report in its entirety. Earlier this month, as reported at the time by The Inquisitr, the House of Representatives voted 420-0 in a non-binding resolution to demand Barr release the entire report to the public. Over in the Senate, Lindsey Graham blocked the chamber from taking a vote on such a resolution.