Those who were expecting a made-for-TV movie courtroom-style drama of much-anticipated hearing by two Congressional committees of Special Counsel Robert Mueller were probably disappointed. While many had hoped he would forcefully bring to life the 448-page Mueller Report of his findings, released in late spring, Mueller did what he told us he was going to do. He stuck to “the four corners of the report.”
We did hear him say that the evidence of sweeping and systemic interference by the Russian government in our 2016 election occurred. We heard him express his deep concern that we may well face it in the 2020 election. We did hear him say that there exists substantial evidence that the president directed multiple acts of obstruction in attempts to stop the investigation. He reiterated that there were significant lies made by those who gave testimony, and significant gaps in the president’s written responses to Special Counsel questions. Both of which impacted the completeness of the investigation or his teams’ ability to determine whether conspiracy had occurred.
We did hear him say that there was not enough evidence to charge the president with conspiracy (and explain that collusion isn’t a legal charge). We did not hear him answer the question “based on your examination, can you exonerate the president?” because it wasn’t answered.
We did hear him say that if the president who had committed the acts of obstruction detailed in the report did not currently occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he could be indicted.
Depending upon which party you belonged to and the media you view, you will receive their particular “spin” of what happened during yesterday’s testimony. Democrats were respectful, deferential and appeared focused on getting answers, but weren’t sufficiently astute in their questioning of a man who seems to prefer to give only brief answers. It quickly became apparent that the Republican strategy was to attack the character of the man before the committee. They offered no serious questioning and used much of their five-minute slots to pontificate.
Mueller began the morning with a public statement, saying in part that his job was “to determine the role of Russian in influencing our democratic process and elections. I led investigative work to determine if there was a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia … and I also investigated efforts to interfere with that investigation.” He added, “We needed to do our work as thoroughly as possible, as expeditiously as possible. Second, our investigation was conducted fairly and with absolute integrity. … decisions were made based on the facts and the law.”
Perhaps because it began backward, the day seemed off-kilter – the cart before the horse. The morning hearing before the House Judiciary Committee focused on Volume II of The Mueller Report, which investigated obstruction by the Trump campaign and the Trump White House to cover up their involvement in the Russian attacks on our election.
Obstruction included repeated attempts to curtail the Russian interference investigation. This includes the president firing FBI Director James Comey, demanding then-White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Mueller and then asking him to create false documents to cover up the request, then attempting to push then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to retract his personal recusal from the investigation and take over the inquiry. Trump’s obstruction efforts include repeated actions toward indicted former staffers or advisors, to which he waved thinly-veiled pardon prospects to influence and prevent their testimony.
Throughout the day, questions were raised referencing specific portions of The Mueller Report, which Mueller acknowledged or explained. When asked by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D- TX) specifically about Page 78, Vol II of the report, in which the president, when told by McGahn about the appointment of the special counsel, he confirmed that McGahn testified the president responded saying, “Oh my God, This is the end of my presidency, I’m F*****d.”
The afternoon session testifying before the House Intelligence Committee focused on Volume I, which investigated Russian government interference in our election, how they did it, and whether the Trump campaign and the Trump White House conspired with them to swing the election. (Some have referenced this as collusion, although that is not a legal charge.)
Known in past testimony before Congress to be a forceful advocate, in the morning hearing Mueller, was subdued, dispassionate, obviously not a willing witness. But during the afternoon’s questioning related to Russian interference, he was a passionate patriot. The public glimpsed the man’s absolute dedication to the country.
When the decorated Vietnam War Veteran and former head of the FBI was asked if the Trump campaign behavior related to its repeated contact with the Russians, courting their support, while failing to notify authorities of the Russian advances was ethical, Mueller responded “Yes it’s unethical – It’s criminal [behavior] – and its unpatriotic.”
In nearly 200 instances throughout the day, Mueller said he could not answer committee questions, either due to ongoing investigations of which there appear to be several, or related to national security. In a few cases, he cited limitations placed on him in a letter he received from the Department of Justice reminding him that he could not discuss the deliberations behind the conclusions made in the report.
Mueller expressed a warning to Congress and the American people that we need to act now to answer what he sees as nothing less than an attack on our country by a foreign adversary; to harden our election processes and defend our democratic processes. The threat, says Mueller, is growing.
“I think [with this interference] we are moving to a new normal,” he said sadly. I fear it to be so.”
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