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Tag: mueller public testimony
100 House Members Now Urging Trump Impeachment

100 House Members Now Urging Trump Impeachment

The drumbeat for Congress to open an impeachment inquiry continues to grow louder, with 100 members of the House of Representatives now publicly supporting the idea, according to Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).

“There will be more to come,” he added. Beyer is one of the 100 who support such an inquiry.

In May, Shareblue Media counted 50 members of Congress who said they supported impeachment inquiries, a tally that included a handful of senators.

Just eight weeks later, the number has skyrocketed in the House, with 99 Democrats and one independent, Rep. Justin Amash (MI), who was a Republican until earlier this month.

Calls to start official proceedings looking into possible impeachable offenses by Trump got a boost after special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress on Wednesday. During his testimony, Mueller made clear that his report did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice allegations; rather, his report laid out evidence that Trump made several attempts to obstruct Mueller’s investigation.

Some of the most recent calls come from freshman Democrats who took over Republican-held seats in the 2018 midterm election.

“We have witnessed [Trump’s] contempt for democratic norms and institutions, including his repeated failure to respond to legitimate requests for documents and information,” Democrat Rep. Mike Levin, who replaced Rep. Darrell Issa in a California swing district, said recently. “I must now support an impeachment inquiry.”

Levin joins Reps. Katie Porter and Harley Rouda, two other freshmen who flipped California district from red to blue, in calling for such an inquiry.

On Thursday, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) became the highest-ranking Democrat to support the inquiry. Clark is the vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

And the calls for impeachment span the ideological spectrum as well. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), former chair of the moderate New Dems, called for an impeachment inquiry in late June.

“From the moment of his inauguration, this President has shown contempt for the truth, has attacked our institutions and has ignored the Constitution he swore to defend,” Himes said. “I believe an impeachment inquiry will be a fair airing and consideration of the facts that the American people must understand.”

“There are moments for careful calculation,” Himes added. “For weighing political expediency and conflicting interests. And there are moments for clarity and conviction.”

“This is that moment.”

Published with permission of The American Independent.

The Moment Mueller Said What He Thinks Of Trump

The Moment Mueller Said What He Thinks Of Trump

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Throughout his testimony on Wednesday, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was generally reserved and hesitant with his answers. When pressed on specific matters, he usually referred lawmakers directly to what is written in his report, and frequently refused to expand on his analysis or opinions of matters in the Russia investigation.

But under one particular line of questioning from Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Mueller appeared to drop this hesitance and offered straightforward criticism of President Donald Trump’s conduct during the 2016 election.

Quigley read out a series of then-candidate Trump’s statements about releases of stolen emails from WikiLeaks, which Mueller agreed acted as a hostile foreign intelligence agency. In the comments, Trump said “I love WikiLeaks,” said its “stuff is unbelievable” and “you gotta read it.”

“Do any of those quotes disturb you, Mr. Director?” said Quigley.

“I’m not sure I would say…” Mueller began.

“How do you react to them?” asked Quigley.

“Well, ‘problematic’ is an understatement,” said Mueller. “In terms of what it displays, in terms of giving some hope, or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity.”

Quigley then detailed how Donald Trump Jr. had “direct electronic communication with WikiLeaks during the campaign period.”

“[Is] this behavior, at the very least, disturbing?” Quigley asked.

“Disturbing and also subject to investigation,” Mueller affirmed.

Later, speaking to Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Mueller offered more direct criticism of the Trump campaign’s actions in 2016. Welch asked whether the Trump campaign’s refusal to report Russia’s efforts to intervene in an election set a “new normal” for campaigns.

“I hope this is not the new normal,” Mueller said. “But I fear it is.”

Watch the clip of the exchange with Quigley below:

Mueller On Russian Meddling: “They’re Doing It As We Sit Here’

Mueller On Russian Meddling: “They’re Doing It As We Sit Here’

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

During former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress on Wednesday, most of the Republicans who questioned him jumped through hoops trying to discredit his testimony — from Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas to Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. But Texas Rep. Will Hurd actually wanted to hear what the former FBI director had to say and sought his insights on Russian interference in U.S. elections.

Muelle reiterated his previous assertion that in 2016, members of the Russian government made a sweeping and concerted effort to influence the outcome of the presidential election. And the 41-year-old Hurd, during his questioning of Mueller, zeroed in on the fact that the Russian government interference in U.S. elections is by no means limited to 2016.

“In your investigation,” Hurd asked Mueller, “did you think that this was a single attempt by the Russians to get involved in our election? Or did you find evidence to suggest that they will try to do this again?”

Mueller emphatically responded, “No, it wasn’t a single attempt.” And he quickly added that Russians are still trying to influence U.S. elections and predicted that they will be doing so in the 2020 election.

“They’re doing it as we sit here,” Mueller testified. “And they expect to do it during the next campaign.”

 

Mueller: Prosecutors Can Charge Trump After Presidency

Mueller: Prosecutors Can Charge Trump After Presidency

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Former special counsel Robert Mueller, in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, informed Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) that the president can be charged with a crime after leaving office, a moment that appeared to stun the Republican representative.

Buck was in the middle of a line of questioning designed to criticize Mueller’s refusal to indict or exonerate President Trump for alleged obstruction of justice.

“You made the decision on the Russian interference,” Buck said. “You couldn’t have indicted the president on that and you made the decision on that. But when it came to obstruction you threw a bunch of stuff up against the wall to see what would stick. That is fundamentally unfair.”

“I would not agree to that characterization at all,” Mueller replied. “What we did was provide to the Attorney general in the form of a confidential memorandum our understanding of the case. Those cases that were brought, those cases that were declined. And that one case where the president cannot be charged with a crime.”

“Okay,” Buck replied. “But could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?”

“Yes,” Mueller said.

Watch the exchange below: