Mueller Probe's End to 'Take Temperature Down' in US-Russia Dialogue - Bannon

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former White House strategist Steve Bannon expressed hope on Tuesday that the publication of main findings of US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe would help in taking the "temperature" down in relations with Russia, stressing that he expected no immediate changes in the "toxic" atmosphere in Washington.

"I think it will start to take the temperature down", Bannon said at a press conference at Italy’s Foreign Press Association, when asked about a possible impact of the findings' publication on the dialogue with Russia.

He, however, added that "everything is so toxic in Washington DC right now, anything about the United States and Russia is just so toxic that I don't believe that there will be a change tomorrow morning".

Bannon also did not rule out that the Democrats would try to "weaponise the Mueller report, particularly the potential obstruction of justice issues, not the collusion" as the probe clearly revealed that there was no such.

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In general, he described the 22-month Russia probe as an attempt to curb Trump’s work on infrastructure, criminal justice reform or healthcare and remove the president from office through an "impeachment or investigative process".

The statement comes after the US Department of Justice released a four-page summary of the investigation’s main conclusions on 24 March. According to the document, the probe found no proof of collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election.

Mueller, however, maintains that Russia did try to interfere in the election, a claim Moscow has repeatedly refuted. On obstruction of justice by Trump, the attorney general stated that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him".