Cummings: Mueller ‘Confirms Both the Evidence of Obstruction by the President and the Critical Role of Congress’

Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday stressed that his office did not consider it an option to charge President Trump with a crime as he and his team completed their investigation.

Mueller spoke for about 10 minutes Wednesday morning from a podium at the Justice Department, marking his first public appearance since launching a two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.  

“If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime,” he said, reiterating a key finding from his 448-page report.

Mueller said he was abiding by longstanding Justice Department policy, where “a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office.” He added, “Charging a president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider.”

Many House Democrats considering how to proceed in investigating a defiant administration took Mueller’s comments as a clear signal that it’s up to lawmakers to aggressively probe the president’s actions.

“Special Counsel #Mueller’s statement today confirms both the evidence of obstruction by the President and the critical role of Congress under the Constitution going forward,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) wrote.

Mueller’s comments, while mainly restating the contents of his written report, further energized some who are clamoring to begin an impeachment inquiry.

“He said only Congress can hold the president accountable. That’s why we need to begin our impeachment inquiry NOW,” Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette wrote.

Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, the lone congressional Republican so far to push for impeachment, said of Mueller’s comments, “The ball is in our court, Congress.”

Many lawmakers still want Mueller to testify before Congress, although the special counsel made it clear that he is closing up shop and doesn’t plan to offer much more information, even if he’s at the witness stand.

“I am speaking out today because our investigation is complete; the attorney general has made the report on our investigation largely public. We are formally closing the special counsel’s office and as well I’m resigning from the Department of Justice to return to private life,” he said. He took no questions after he spoke.

Any congressional testimony he would offer “would not go beyond our report,” Mueller said. “We will not comment on any other conclusions or hypotheticals about the president.” He noted that his office isn’t involved in conversations about congressional access to the evidence underlying his report, which lawmakers are also seeking to obtain.

Trump and his GOP allies continued their defense of the president.

“Nothing changes from the Mueller Report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you,” Trump wrote on Twitter shortly after Mueller’s appearance.

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