Mueller says he could not charge Trump as Congress weighs impeachment

[webfact]

Mueller says he could not charge Trump as Congress weighs impeachment

By Sarah N. Lynch and Andy Sullivan

 

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after delivering a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election at the Justice Department in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller said on Wednesday his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election was never going to end with criminal charges against President Donald Trump but he did not clear him and indicated it was up to Congress to decide whether he should be impeached.

 

In his first public comments since starting the investigation in May 2017, Mueller said Justice Department policy prevented him from bringing charges against a sitting president or filing sealed charges, telling reporters it was "not an option we would consider."

 

But he also said his two-year investigation did not clear Trump of improper behaviour and, while he did not use the word "impeachment," he pointed out there were other ways to hold presidents accountable.

 

"The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing," Mueller said as he announced his resignation from the Justice Department.

 

Congressional Democrats are debating whether to try to move ahead with impeachment in the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives, even though the Republican-controlled Senate would be unlikely to complete the process outlined in the U.S. Constitution for removing a president from office by convicting him.

 

The White House and several top Republicans responded to Mueller's comments on Wednesday by saying it was time to move on to other matters, while several candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, called for impeachment.

 

One candidate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, wrote on Twitter: "What Robert Muellerbasically did was return an impeachment referral."

 

Calls to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump have grown among some Democrats, who have been frustrated by White House efforts to thwart congressional subpoenas seeking records and testimony related to the Russia investigation and other matters related to Trump and his family.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been more cautious and is arguing that lawmakers should push ahead with their investigations before deciding whether to impeach Trump.

 

On Wednesday she said she was sticking with that plan.

 

"Nothing is off the table, but we do want to make such a compelling case, such an ironclad case, that even the Republican Senate, which at the time seems to be not an objective jury, will be convinced of the path that we have to take as a country,” she said at a San Francisco event.

 

Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he would hold Trump "accountable" but declined to say whether he would bring impeachment charges.

 

"With respect to impeachment, all options are on the table and nothing should be ruled out," he said at a news conference after Mueller's appearance.

 

A redacted version of Mueller's report was published in April. It concluded that Russia repeatedly interfered in the 2016 election and that Trump's election campaign had multiple contacts with Russian officials, but did not establish a criminal conspiracy with Moscow to win the White House.

 

Mueller's report declined to make a judgment on whether Trump obstructed justice, although it outlined 10 instances in which Trump tried to have Mueller fired or otherwise impede the investigation.

 

"If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller said. "We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime."

 

Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor, said he thought Mueller was "saying in his own way that a crime was committed."

 

A source close to Trump said the Mueller statement amounted to a "bad day for the home team."

 

"Mueller’s statement today was a direct assault on the president," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "And it will only empower the Democrats to be bolder and more aggressive in their move to impeach him."

 

TRUMP DECLARES 'CASE CLOSED'

Trump, who has repeatedly denounced Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt" and "hoax" meant to hobble his presidency, still took to Twitter to say the matter was settled.

 

"Nothing changes from the Mueller Report," he wrote. "There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you."

 

Mueller, a Republican who headed the FBI from 2001 to 2013, said he would not elaborate beyond what was contained in his 448-page report, signalling to Democrats that he was unlikely to provide them more ammunition for impeachment if he were to testify to a congressional committee.

 

Mueller, 74, said his office is formally closing its doors and he is now returning to life as a private citizen.

 

"Beyond what I've said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further," he said, adding that he would not go beyond what was in his report in any future testimony to Congress.

 

He did not take questions after making his statement.

 

It was not clear whether Mueller would testify to Congress. He made clear he would prefer not to, although House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said he still expects to hear from the special counsel.

 

"While I understand his reluctance to answer hypotheticals or deviate from the carefully worded conclusions he drew on his charging decisions, there are, nevertheless, a great many questions he can answer that go beyond the report," Schiff said.

 

The House Judiciary Committee's top Republican, Representative Doug Collins, said relitigating Mueller's findings would only divide the country. "It is time to move on from the investigation and start focusing on real solutions for the American people," he said.

 

Only one Republican so far, Representative Justin Amash, has said Trump has committed impeachable offences. "The ball is in our court, Congress," he wrote on Twitter.

 

Mueller's investigation ensnared dozens of people, including several top Trump advisers and a series of Russian nationals and companies.

 

Among them are his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who is serving 7-1/2 years in prison for financial crimes and lobbying violations, and his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who recently began a three-year sentence for campaign-finance violations and lying to Congress.

 

Since the report's release, Democratic lawmakers have tried without success to get the unredacted version and underlying evidence.

 

Barr now is leading a review of the origins of the Russia investigation in what is the third known inquiry into the FBI's handling of the matter. Trump harbours suspicions that the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama started the investigation in 2016 to undermine his presidency.

 

In attacking Mueller's probe, Trump also has often attacked the integrity of the FBI and its investigators.

 

Mueller appeared to offer a response to that criticism on Wednesday.

 

The prosecutors, FBI agents, analysts and others who worked with him were "of the highest integrity," he said.

 

He also defended the need to conduct the probe in the first place, saying Russia's actions during the election campaign to interfere "needed to be investigated and understood."

 

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Makini Brice, Mark Hosenball, Karen Freifeld and Susan Cornwell; editing by Kieran Murray, Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-30

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[Puchaiyank]

Mueller took two years and 10s of millions of tax payer's dollars to report...that he can not report...height of political double-speak...does nothing to unite the political divide...more years of endless speculations...

[TopDeadSenter]

56 minutes ago, webfact said:

Mueller, 74, said his office is formally closing its doors and he is now returning to life as a private citizen.

 

"Beyond what I've said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further," he said, adding that he would not go beyond what was in his report in any future testimony to Congress.

Neatly buried amidst the waffle is the most important part. Mueller thinks he can just resign and slink off into the sunset, and never speak about his witch hunt again He is sorely mistaken. It doesn't work like that. Mueller will be dragged kicking and screaming if necessary to testify about what on earth he was thinking acting on the Steele dossier(that even Steele refuses to talk about!) that was paid for up Clinton and team, and how he could be so stupid to stack his team with extremists like Page and Strzok, and the rest of the bizarre actions he undertook. You can't overshadow and ruin the first 3 years of the best President ever for no reason whatsoever without some serious blowback after you fail. Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

[dcutman]

The Trump hating Mueller just got the rest of the Trump hater's orgasmic today.

Good luck with the impeachment, please spend every waking hour on it.

That will absolute guarantee Trump 4 more years  the Republicans maintain control of the senate and most like cost the Dems the majority in the house.

Go Trump, 2020 landslide! https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/opinion/trumps-formidable-2020-tailwind.html

[stevenl]

So Muller has confirmed: we found wrongdoings, but can't charge due to DoJ interpretation of the law.

[helpisgood]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Mueller said Justice Department policy prevented him from bringing charges against a sitting president or filing sealed charges, telling reporters it was "not an option we would consider."

1 hour ago, webfact said:

 

"Nothing changes from the Mueller Report," he [Trump] wrote. "There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you."

 

Nice try, Donald.  The Mueller Report was not, regarding Trump's actions, a "case" but a report (thus, called the Mueller Report and not US v. Trump).  The Mueller Report conclusions regarding Trump's actions are not subject to the same rules of a burden of proof as it would if it was a criminal case.  A clever, but misleading, conflation for his base.

 

Besides, as I quote from the OP, Mueller specified that the Justice Department's memo opining that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted "prevented him from bringing charges." 

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

But he [Mueller] also said his two-year investigation did not clear Trump of improper behaviour

 

Besides, it's got to be a little unsettling for the Chief Executive, viz., Pres. Trump, when an investigator within his own branch of government (thus, essentially one of his own employees) on a high-profile investigation gives a public statement specifying that the employee cannot exonerate his top boss of acts that invite impeachment of said boss, viz., the president (See, e.g., Watergate and the obstruction of justice article of impeachment). 

[bristolboy]

53 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

I guess when someone doesn't understand the words, resorting to reading body language is all they've got. 

[bristolboy]

55 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

 Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

Got some sad news for you. There are no lèse majesté laws in the USA.

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Neatly buried amidst the waffle is the most important part. Mueller thinks he can just resign and slink off into the sunset, and never speak about his witch hunt again He is sorely mistaken. It doesn't work like that. Mueller will be dragged kicking and screaming if necessary to testify about what on earth he was thinking acting on the Steele dossier(that even Steele refuses to talk about!) that was paid for up Clinton and team, and how he could be so stupid to stack his team with extremists like Page and Strzok, and the rest of the bizarre actions he undertook. You can't overshadow and ruin the first 3 years of the best President ever for no reason whatsoever without some serious blowback after you fail. Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

Read his report before you sprout this utter BS

[bendejo]

 

No collusion.

No obstruction.

Says so right there on the sign.

Case closed.

 

 

[attrayant]

Oh, well if it's on a sign it must be true.

 

17 minutes ago, bendejo said:

No collusion.

No obstruction.

 

Then why didn't the report clear Trump?

[TopDeadSenter]

39 minutes ago, bendejo said:

No collusion.

No obstruction.

Small point, but I do wonder how there can be obstruction if there was no collusion? Doesn't make sense at all. When you think of obstruction to justice you think about criminals acid washing/bleech-bitting their hard drive, or some such blatant attempt to stop investigations. Now who connected to this witch hunt did that?

[alanrchase]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Neatly buried amidst the waffle is the most important part. Mueller thinks he can just resign and slink off into the sunset, and never speak about his witch hunt again He is sorely mistaken. It doesn't work like that. Mueller will be dragged kicking and screaming if necessary to testify about what on earth he was thinking acting on the Steele dossier(that even Steele refuses to talk about!) that was paid for up Clinton and team, and how he could be so stupid to stack his team with extremists like Page and Strzok, and the rest of the bizarre actions he undertook. You can't overshadow and ruin the first 3 years of the best President ever for no reason whatsoever without some serious blowback after you fail. Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

Enough of the PDA, get a room.

[Tug]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Neatly buried amidst the waffle is the most important part. Mueller thinks he can just resign and slink off into the sunset, and never speak about his witch hunt again He is sorely mistaken. It doesn't work like that. Mueller will be dragged kicking and screaming if necessary to testify about what on earth he was thinking acting on the Steele dossier(that even Steele refuses to talk about!) that was paid for up Clinton and team, and how he could be so stupid to stack his team with extremists like Page and Strzok, and the rest of the bizarre actions he undertook. You can't overshadow and ruin the first 3 years of the best President ever for no reason whatsoever without some serious blowback after you fail. Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

Ha ha Donald just got cut off at the knees and his tody mr Barr got bitch slapped in a very oh so correct way by a dedicated American hero mr muller born rich and privileged chose service Donald chose graft mr muller within the pervew given him just told congress to do its job so far only one republican has put country before party 

[kamahele]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Neatly buried amidst the waffle is the most important part. Mueller thinks he can just resign and slink off into the sunset, and never speak about his witch hunt again He is sorely mistaken. It doesn't work like that. Mueller will be dragged kicking and screaming if necessary to testify about what on earth he was thinking acting on the Steele dossier(that even Steele refuses to talk about!) that was paid for up Clinton and team, and how he could be so stupid to stack his team with extremists like Page and Strzok, and the rest of the bizarre actions he undertook. You can't overshadow and ruin the first 3 years of the best President ever for no reason whatsoever without some serious blowback after you fail. Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

Nice cherry picking. You should work in Marketing.

[neeray]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Neatly buried amidst the waffle is the most important part. Mueller thinks he can just resign and slink off into the sunset, and never speak about his witch hunt again He is sorely mistaken. It doesn't work like that. Mueller will be dragged kicking and screaming if necessary to testify about what on earth he was thinking acting on the Steele dossier(that even Steele refuses to talk about!) that was paid for up Clinton and team, and how he could be so stupid to stack his team with extremists like Page and Strzok, and the rest of the bizarre actions he undertook. You can't overshadow and ruin the first 3 years of the best President ever for no reason whatsoever without some serious blowback after you fail. Expect treason/sedition charges at the very least. That also goes for Comey, Clinton and the rest of those complicit in this farce.

 

 Mueller can finally stop talking about this travesty of justice and soft coup attempt when he is safely behind bars. Can't come soon enough.

 

edit to add - did anyone else notice the guys demeanor? He started off the speech in flat-out panic mode. He was finding it hard to breath, looked like he was about to have a coronary. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

OMG .... What a ridiculous rant.

[cmarshall]

Mueller will testify even if Nadler has to subpoena him to do so.  Beggars belief that he thinks it is up to him to decide when his job is done.  Many questions remain to be answered.  Did Barr shut down the investigation which ended 2 weeks after Barr took office?  Why did Mueller refer Cohen to the Southern District to be charged with perjury before Congress, but not Don Jr., Hope Hicks, or any of the other members of the Trump crime family?  Why did he not subpoena Trump?  Did Trump or any the others refuse to testify by invoking their Fifth Amendment rights?  If so, that should have been reported.  The public is entitled to hear all this and more directly from Mueller.  

 

Mueller is mistaken when he claims in his speech that the Constitution prevents him from indicting the president.  The Constitution is silent on the question and the DoJ policy was set by the DoJ and can be changed by the DoJ at any time.  He could and should have identified Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator as Jaworski did with Nixon.  

 

He apparently failed to investigate Trump's financial involvement with the Russians which is pertinent to Trump's public support for the Russian attack on the election.  Mueller was specifically charged with carrying out the counter-intelligence investigate, as distinct from the criminal investigation, but instead turned that over to the FBI.  No public report was issued. 

 

Mueller failed to fulfill his obligation to the American people.  Nevertheless, his speech yesterday is a pretty clear call for impeachment.  I hope the Dems step up quickly to the task at hand.

[Tug]

The dems are ready it’s the republicans that are cowards except one

[Chomper Higgot]

23 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Small point, but I do wonder how there can be obstruction if there was no collusion? Doesn't make sense at all. When you think of obstruction to justice you think about criminals acid washing/bleech-bitting their hard drive, or some such blatant attempt to stop investigations. Now who connected to this witch hunt did that?

Apart from the fact (explained multiple times) that obstruction is a crime in and of itself are you able to grasp the idea of obstruction hiding the crime under investigation?

 

 

[neeray]

1 hour ago, helpisgood said:

 

 

 

Besides, it's got to be a little unsettling for the Chief Executive, viz., Pres. Trump, when an investigator within his own branch of government (thus, essentially one of his own employees) on a high-profile investigation gives a public statement specifying that the employee cannot exonerate his top boss of acts that invite impeachment of said boss, viz., the president (See, e.g., Watergate and the obstruction of justice article of impeachment). 

You can't "unsettle" a psychopath.

[neeray]

1 hour ago, bendejo said:

 

No collusion.

No obstruction.

Says so right there on the sign.

Case closed.

 

 

Don't believe everything you read (or hear on FOX).

[cmarshall]

3 minutes ago, Tug said:

The dems are ready it’s the republicans that are cowards except one

What we need now is a few of the John Dean moments, i.e. those involved in Trump's crimes to testify publicly.  The Nixon downfall began with John Dean's testimony, not Jaworski's report which was not released at the time.  People don't read; they watch tv.  The Dems need to drag McGahn and all the others in front of the cameras to testify under oath and even to give immunity so they don't have Fifth Amendment rights any longer.  

 

This is the process that could get a significant portion of the public to recognize Trump for the career criminal he is.  The impeachment itself won't change anything.  If the House voted articles of impeachment I think McConnell would refuse even to conduct a trial in the Senate at all.  But that's not the point.  The point is to turn Trump out of office next year.  A year of steady testimony along with further prosecutions is needed.

 

Otherwise, Trump will win, in my opinion.

[OneMoreFarang]

What kind of evidence do the American voters need before they all admit that they voted for a lying cheating moron?

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, dcutman said:

The Trump hating Mueller just got the rest of the Trump hater's orgasmic today.

Good luck with the impeachment, please spend every waking hour on it.

That will absolute guarantee Trump 4 more years  the Republicans maintain control of the senate and most like cost the Dems the majority in the house.

Go Trump, 2020 landslide! https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/opinion/trumps-formidable-2020-tailwind.html

There is zero evidence of Mueller ‘hating Trump’ - Zero!

 

Far from it, Mueller has made no personal comments about Trump and has framed all of the comments he has made, and indeed the report itself, to be politically impartial.

 

This of course does not prevent Trump’s illiberal supporters accusing Mueller of being a ‘Trump hater’, but they do so without a shred of evidence to backup their ridiculous claim.

[Chomper Higgot]

13 minutes ago, neeray said:

You can't "unsettle" a psychopath.

But unsettling a narcissist is easy.

 

Publicly expose their lies and the deceptions.

[utalkin2me]

What the hell are they talking about? Even a five year old knows he can be charged. Now being afraid to charge him and being able to charge him are different things. I am so sick of them saying they can't charge him. Yes they can. He may still get away with it but they can definitely charge him. 

[BobBKK]

Muller has said what needs to be said. He didn't have the power but no one in chains for collusion. Can we move on now? it's really boring. Vote him out in 2020 if you can.

[bendejo]

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What kind of evidence do the American voters need before they all admit that they voted for a lying cheating moron?

I've been wondering about this since November 2016.  A lot of people are not able to admit they've been had, and in such a grand way as this.

I think this is one of the things driving the blind support of this obvious con man. 

Some years back there was this US guy conned in one of those Nigerian prince schemes, to the point where he embezzled money to send them and was being sent to prison.  He never let go that any day now his prince was going to come through with his promises of vast riches.  The whole things is chronicled on the net somewhere.  He also played the patriot thing, showing up in court in outfits adorned with American eagles, "support our boys" slogans, etc.

 

 

[sfokevin]

13 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Muller has said what needs to be said. He didn't have the power but no one in chains for collusion. Can we move on now? it's really boring. Vote him out in 2020 if you can.

If this would have been Obama or Hillary you would be the third guy on the left... 

 

[Silurian]

Now it is time for the DOJ to finally fulfill their civic duty and release the complete unredacted Mueller report to Congress. No more obfuscation and cover up from the WH administration. Get the complete report in Congress's hands. The American tax payer paid for the complete report not a white washed version from the sycophant Barr. 

 

A redacted version of the Mueller report stinks of yet another attempt by the WH administration to obstruct justice. Only the Reality TV Con Man and his lackeys are afraid of an un-redacted Mueller report, why is that?