At a remarkable press conference on Wednesday – at which he refused to take questions – Mueller sank the theory that Attorney General William Barr somehow misinterpreted his report, and sent a clear message to House Democrats eager to have him testify about the probe that “the report is my testimony.”
If we had confidence the President did not commit a crime, we would have said so.
That was no mere misstep, either. Mueller followed that line up with a passage about how his office did not make a determination whether Trump committed a crime because the standing policy of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Not their fault, you see, they had no choice.
Does the OLC guideline prevent a prosecutor from at least specifying chargeable conduct by POTUS and recommending those charges? If not, why didn’t Mueller do it?
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) May 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/willchamberlain/status/1133767614029795328
Except they did, and they had the avenue to make their claim – but chose not to, knowing that Barr would shoot it down, because he disagreed with their interpretation of obstruction laws long before he became AG. But those are details known to lawyers and honest legal analysts, not the propagandists and conspiracy-peddlers who have spent years whipping the American public into a hysteria not seen since the 1950s.
Mueller’s was a weasel statement, worthy of former FBI boss and his personal friend James Comey – who actually admitted to Congress that he hoped to force the appointment of a special counsel by leaking the memos of his meetings with Trump to the press.
It also seems to have been a dog-whistle to Democrats, who have been arguing ever since the Mueller report was published that it totally proved obstruction of justice and gave them the pretext for impeachment. A variety of party luminaries, such as House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-New York), presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), now doubled down on the claim.
Read my statement following Special Counsel Robert Muller's press conference this morning on the conclusion of the investigation into President Trump and his associates: pic.twitter.com/1FDMotIgiY
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) May 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1133761342421311489
Mueller is playing a game of Taboo with Congress.
His word is “impeach.” https://t.co/mS4K8faLCw
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 29, 2019
Those who believe Mueller’s mission was to “get Trump” will no doubt be happy with the former special counsel’s last move. But Americans who hoped he would clear the air clogged by endless conspiracy theories have every right to feel disappointed.
I demand a $35 million refund from Mueller and his staff. Their job was to add clarity. He did exactly the opposite.
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) May 29, 2019