Tag: Robert Mueller

Mueller Hits Trump Hard For Encouraging Wikileaks’ ‘Illegal Activities’

Special counsel Robert Mueller had harsh words about Trump’s exuberant praise of WikiLeaks, the organization that illegally released emails from the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign. During a Wednesday hearing with the House Intelligence Committee, Mueller called Trump’s actions “problematic.”

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) noted during the hearing that Mike Pompeo, when he was director of the CIA, had assessed WikiLeaks as “a hostile intelligence service.” Mueller agreed with that view.

Quigley then read numerous statements by Trump, who frequently praised the outlet during the 2016 campaign.

View the complete July 24 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

‘Not A Hoax’: Mueller Rebuts Trump’s Big Lie About Russian Meddling

Special counsel Robert Mueller testified to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that Russia’s attack on the American election in 2016 was “not a hoax,” a direct rebuke to Trump.

“Would you agree that it was not a hoax that the Russians were engaged in trying to impact our election?” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) asked Mueller at the hearing.

“Absolutely, it was not a hoax,” Mueller replied. “The indictments that we returned against the Russians — two different ones — were substantial in their scope.”

View the complete July 24 article by Oliver Willis on the National Memo website here.

Fact-checking lawmakers’ claims during the Mueller hearings

Washington Post logoOver the course of nearly six hours, former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III testified before two House committees. Here’s a guide to some of the claims made by lawmakers that were factually shaky or misleading.

“The special counsel’s job — nowhere does it say that you were to conclusively determine Donald Trump’s innocence, or that the special counsel report should determine whether or not to exonerate him. It’s not in any of the documents. It’s not in your appointment order. It’s not in the special counsel regulations. It’s not in the OLC opinions. It’s not in the Justice Manual. And it’s not in the Principles of Federal Prosecution. Nowhere do those words appear together because, respectfully, respectfully, director, it was not the special counsel’s job to conclusively determine Donald Trump’s innocence or to exonerate him. Because the bedrock principle of our justice system is a presumption of innocence.”

— Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.)

Ratcliffe essentially accused Mueller of overstepping his bounds. For various reasons, Mueller did not file charges against Trump. Yet the report lays out substantial evidence of potential obstruction of justice by the president.

View the complete July 25 article by Salvador Rizzo and Glenn Kessler on The Washington Post website here.

Mueller sounds alarm on Russian meddling. So what has Congress done about it?

Russian interference is ‘among the most serious’ challenges to American democracy, ex-special counsel says

Former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s testimony before two House committees Wednesday brought a new focus on foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, and highlighted what has — and has not — been done to prevent a recurrence in the next election less than 16 months away.

Mueller, who led the FBI in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, told both the House Judiciary and Intelligence panels that among the challenges to democracy he’s seen in his career, “the Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious.”

“Much more needs to be done in order to protect against this,” he told House Intelligence members.

View the complete July 25 article by Bridget Bowman on The Roll Call website here.

Mueller says he did not meet with Trump to apply for FBI director job, countering Trump’s claims

The president wanted Mueller to say it under oath. On Wednesday, he did.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Robert Mueller was unsuited for the role of special counsel because, as he stated Monday, “He wanted the job of FBI director and he didn’t get it” — a conflict of interest, according to the president.

Testifying before Congress Wednesday, Mueller rejected that premise.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asked Mueller whether he and Trump had discussed the vacancy left by fired FBI Director James Comey when the two men met in May 2017, shortly after Comey was dismissed.

View the complete July 24 article by Zack Ford on the ThinkProgress website here.

Mueller shuns spotlight, but says probe didn’t ‘exonerate’ Trump

President has claimed investigation cleared him of obstruction of justice

On a day House Democrats hoped Robert S. Mueller III’s televised testimony Wednesday would animate the special counsel’s 448-page report for the nation, the star witness eschewed the leading role with a muted performance with few soundbites during the first of two back-to-back hearings.

Mueller’s answers were concise. He often said simply, “True,” or “I rely on the language of the report.” The 74-year-old gray-haired Marine veteran and former FBI director frequently didn’t speak into the mic.

His voice didn’t carry well through the committee room and he asked for questions to be repeated. The famously tight-lipped former prosecutor, who didn’t comment for the duration of the nearly 22-month investigation, often declined to engage with leading questions, telling members “he wouldn’t get into that.”

View the complete July 24 article by Todd Ruger on The Roll Call website here.

President Trump’s love-hate relationship with the Mueller report

Washington Post logo“No, I’m not going to be watching, probably. Maybe I’ll see a little bit of it.”

— President Trump, remarks to reporters, July 22, 2019

The president’s approach to former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report — and Mueller’s testimony before Congress on Wednesday — reminds us of the line from the opening of “Annie Hall”: Two women are eating at a Catskills resort, and one says, “The food at this place is really terrible.” The other replies, “I know, and such small portions.”

For Trump, Mueller’s report is both an exoneration and a source of bitter complaints. The former FBI director and longtime Republican is derided as a partisan hack — except when he is not. The president has hailed some of the report’s findings — usually by mischaracterizing them — while denouncing its other conclusions.

Trump has spoken or tweeted about Mueller more than 300 times during his presidency, according to Factba.se. As a reader service, here’s a guide to how Trump has waxed and waned on the Mueller report.

View the complete July 23 article by Glenn Kessler and Meg Kelly on The Washington Post website here.

Trump renews Mueller attacks days before testimony

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Monday renewed his attacks on Robert Mueller, days before the former special counsel is set to testify about the Russia investigation during a highly anticipated congressional hearing.

In a pair of tweets, Trump repeated his claim that Mueller is “highly conflicted” and accused him of leading a “ridiculous Witch Hunt.” The president for more than two years has leveled both charges in an attempt to undermine Mueller’s credibility.

“Highly conflicted Robert Mueller should not be given another bite at the apple. In the end it will be bad for him and the phony Democrats in Congress who have done nothing but waste time on this ridiculous Witch Hunt,” Trump tweeted.

View the complete July 22 article by Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.

GOP conspiracy buff Devin Nunes claims with no evidence that Democrats are conspiring with Mueller to create an anti-Trump ‘narrative’

AlterNet logoRep. Devin Nunes of California has never been shy about promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, and the Republican congressman has come up with one involving House Democrats and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller: that the two are joining forces to create a “narrative” about President Donald Trump and the Russia investigation.

Mueller is scheduled to appear before two Democrat-led committees next week on Wednesday, July 24. Previously, Mueller’s testimony was scheduled for July 17, but it was postponed a week in order to give House members more time to ask him questions. And Nunes, during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News on Monday night, insisted that Mueller and Democrats are conspiring against the president.

“There’s got to be a reason for it,” the congressman told Hannity.

View the complete July 16 article by Alex Henderson on the AlterNet logo here.

Mueller testimony likely to be delayed for one week

The Hill logoFormer special counsel Robert Mueller’s public testimony before Congress is likely to be postponed until July 24, multiple sources familiar with the matter told The Hill. 

The House Judiciary Committee is negotiating for lawmakers to have more time to question Mueller about his investigation into Russian interference and potential obstruction of justice by President Trump, the sources said. They cautioned that the situation is fluid and is pending a final agreement by the Democrats on his appearance.

Mueller was initially scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees on Wednesday. The initial agreement was for Mueller to testify at two consecutive hearings before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, with his testimony limited to about two hours before each committee. Under the agreement, 22 lawmakers would be able to ask questions.  

View the complete July 12 article by Olivia Beavers and Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.