Members of the Democratic and Republican parties in Butler County and beyond have differing views of the Robert Mueller report on Russian collusion by President Donald Trump during the 2016 election season.

Mueller did not find that Trump colluded or coordinated with any Russians in the election. Attorney General William Barr on Sunday delivered a summary of the report to Congress.

“I hope this can bring all these proceedings to an end and allow our government to function as it needs to,” said Trish Lindsay, co-vice chairwoman of the county Republican Committee.

She said she doubts that Democrats will accept the report summary and allow the controversy to die.

“They just keep everything in a state of uproar and it doesn't allow our government to function as it needs to,” Lindsay said. “It's a constant state of outrage (in the Democratic party.)”

Catherine LaLonde, the chairwoman of the county Democratic Committee, disagrees that Mueller's report lets Trump off the hook.

“It certainly doesn't exonerate the president,” LaLonde said.

The Mueller report did not determine that no collusion took place, she said, it said there is no evidence of collusion.

She said Trump first called the investigation a “witch hunt” and now has reversed his stance and thinks it was fair.

LaLonde said Democrats should not appeal or fight Mueller's report, they should continue investigating Trump.

“From my perspective, those investigations will continue, but in the meantime, we're focused on what is needed to run the country,” LaLonde said.

By that she means protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and a focus on campaign finance reform that would expose dark money contributions.

LaLonde does think the Mueller report should be released in its entirety.

“People want it to be released to the public,” LaLonde said. “So why not release it and let's see what's in it?”

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, said in a Monday news release that Trump's characterization of the collusion investigation as a witch hunt “rings true.”

“The special counsel's report details no evidence of wrongdoing by the president, nor does it suggest that any member of his campaign coordinated with Russians to aid his election to the presidency,” Kelly said. “The fact that the Democrats have spent more than two years perpetuating those baseless allegations to negate the results of the 2016 election and help themselves in 2020 are shameful.”

Kelly also took to task “high-level Justice Department and FBI officials” whose conduct led to the investigation.

“Their actions are a blot on those agencies that otherwise have a stellar record of service to the American people,” Kelly said.

Kelly voted on March 14 to make the report public, and now supports “publication of those portions eligible for release under U.S. law.”

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., released a statement praising Mueller and those who worked alongside him during the investigation, and said they “reached conclusions based upon a thorough and fair investigative process.”

But Casey said the full report and underlying documents must be made public immediately.

“It's a product of taxpayer dollars, and the American people deserve an opportunity to read it for themselves,” Casey said. “Additionally, seeing the full report will inform Congress as we work to protect our nation from further interference by Russia in 2020 and to conduct basic oversight and hold the (Trump) Administration accountable.”

Casey's release said he is concerned that the issue of obstruction of justice remains an open question.

“This fact only reinforces why the full report must be made public,” he said.