This is breaking story….
We will follow up in a hour when we know what Mueller says….
We have no idea if he will follow Barr’s lead or go against the idea he found no criminality by Trump…And will he go before the House to answer questions…
Special counsel Robert Mueller is set to make his first public statement on the Russia investigation Wednesday, the Justice Department said.
Mueller will speak at the Justice Department at 11 a.m. and won’t take any questions.
It was not clear what he intended to say, but the statement comes amid demands for Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with Attorney General William Barr over the handling of his report.
Mueller’s report into Russia meddling in the 2016 election did not find that Russia and the Trump campaign coordinated to sway the presidential election. It did not reach a conclusion on whether the president had obstructed justice…..
Note…
He’s making this appearance at Barr’s Justice Department….
Hmmmm?
Update…
image…thehill.com
AG Barr is NOT at the Justice Dept….He is in Alaska….
Mueller notified Justice and the White House last night….
I do NOT expect Mueller to break any new ground in his statement…
He seems to go out of his way NOT to get out front in this investigation….
He maybe have to to be forced to talk to Congress
Mueller DID give AG Barr a summary of his comments….
House Oversight Chair Nadler was notified of the announcement coming…
The statement will be ‘substantial’….
There will be no questions….
Mueller is resigning from the Justice Department…
He says no conspiracy…..
He says he could NOT charge a President with a crime…
He could conduct a investigations and can charge anyone else…
In felt constrained against charges against a sitting President…
The report speaks for itself…
He does NOT want to talk to Congress..
The report is his testomiy….
He is trying to NOT say anything more about the case…
He thanks his team…
And ends that someone tried to influence the 2016 election…
Let’s see if Nadler and the Democrats will let him NOT have to show up before them….
Mueller also stated that he believes you CANNOT charge a sitting President with a crime…
Mueller said he could NOT charge Trump with a crime because the DOJ rules told him he couldn’t…
Mueller did NOT say Trump did NOT commit crimes….
He AGAIN said he he didn’t go there because his investigation had to fit DOJ rules…
And Independent Prosecutor of the DOJ….COULD?
He threw things back to Congress…
Any testimony from him would probably a read-back of his report?
Boston Globe
@BostonGlobe
Special Counsel Robert Mueller said Wednesday he believed he was constitutionally barred from charging President Trump with a crime, but noted his report did not exonerate the president. http://bos.gl/1Gzuyqu
twitter
Jim Sciutto
@jimsciutto
Jim Sciutto Retweeted Donald J. Trump
Wherein the president does not contest that there was evidence of wrongdoing.
Jim Sciutto added,
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
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.
twitter…
I change my mind….
I do NOT see how Nadler can NOT compel Robert Mueller to come before his committee in public or private
I read the transcript of Mueller’s remarks. I think he stated what he needed to say very clearly and between that and the report itself, there really is nothing else he can testify to.
The pressure to impeach Donald Trump is only going to ratchet up.
While barring an immense shift in public sentiment, Trump is not going to be removed from office via the impeachment process before the next election, I think there is now even a greater case that the U.S. House has a Constitutional duty to act, regardless of the outcome.
I totally understand why Leadership is reluctant for political reasons, but the judgment of history may demand that all 535 Members of Congress should be on record as to this matter.
There is a difference between being on the record with a impeachment and failing to convict and giving Trump a second term ….
I’m with Pelosi…
The trial comes November 3rd 2020….
Let Trump & Co. twist in the wind for the next 18 months…
Pelosi is going to do EVERYTHING she can to NOT launch a impeachment move in anyway…
You are putting forth mixed messages then.
If you just want to focus on the election, then all this stuff you keep saying about continuing the investigation or making Mueller testify is pointless. Either you build the case for impeachment or you don’t. You can’t do things both ways.
I do think the pressure on Pelosi to move towards impeachment, especially after today, is going to build and build.
NO!….
Robert Mueller CLEARLY NOW says he was just given a job to investigate the issues…
He is finished….
His immediate boss says there was NO crime…
Mueller does NOT agree with THAT…
Mueller DOES imply that other’s, being Congress CAN prosecute …
Sooooo?
I am saying as the House Speaker is saying…
Even absent a impeachment throw down?
Congress HAS the right to oversee the executive branch…
CG?
Mueller WILL be called to testify….
Nadler HAS too call him in…
He can read from his report…
Don’t matter…
Yes…
I agree she will be under pressure and Republicans see that pressure as a advantage FOR THEM…
One thing I have to admit…
Republicans have outplayed Mueller and Democrats ….
A past GOP President’s DOJ gave them the ‘trump’ card so far…
But no doubt to most of us?
Mueller and company KNEW they had a President that had broke the law…
This IS continue to be tainted as long as a Special Counsel reports to a AG and not a judge like with Bill Clinton….
This system is flawed by politics…
There is NO LAW against indicting a President of criminal actions…
Just a DOJ view…
Mueller’s job is done now. Whether he testifies or not, we know exactly what he would say.
He did the anti-Trump folks a favor by saying what he did before the cameras today.
Nadler doesn’t need him to testify. From his perspective, why let Republicans have a chance to ask questions of Mueller about “12 angry Democrats” and muddle all of this.
He clearly seemed to be implying, “my job is done, Congress should do it’s job” in terms of impeachment.
And he CLEARLY says he wouldn’t ‘CLEAR’ Donald Trump…
He CLEARLY says that the Russians effected the 2016 election…
My bet IS that Nadler WILL call Mueller in for a Q & A….
Yes…
If u agree with the DOJ call…
It is up to Congress and Mueller’s actual basis of charges are in the REPORT despite Barr’s bull shit…
This is FAR from over….
You guys are the ones who wanted the law changed after Ken Starr.
There is a widespread belief, without regard to ideology, that there are serious Constitutional issues with charging a sitting President with a crime.
If it is so crystal clear that Trump is a criminal than it’s on his party for not pressuring him to resign, on Congress as a whole for not impeaching, and potentially ultimately on the American people for not driving him out of office via their votes.
The bottom line is that a ton of people simply do not care whether he may be a criminal or not or what he lied or about or tried to obstruct as long as the economy is working for them.
We saw that in ’90s too. It was wrong then and it is wrong now. The character of the nation and rule of law must always come before the “economy.”
He’s got the Senate as his get out of jail ‘trump’ card….
Heck, even Dem Senator’s Mnuchin and Joines probably wouldn’t vote to impeach….
We already knew all this from Mueller’s report.
He did not have to go in front of a camera today, but he did, and in doing so, he did a great favor to those who want to defeat Trump. (I did not see the statement, just read the transcript. I am sure he looked and sounded credible.)
Nadler calling him now and letting Republican try to turn the thing into a circus would only hurt what you want. It’s pointless now. Either the House has the guts to impeach or they don’t.
Saying that Nadler should demand Mueller testify now, when Mueller has made it clear he does not want to, while still saying that Dems should not impeach is basically the political equivalent of a c*@k tease to your base and they won’t like it.
I do NOT see how Nadler can’t call Mueller in…
Mueller saying he would just read the report means he KNOWS there IS a good chance he’ll be called in…
He just quits the DOJ….
He’s a private citizen
I would have wanted Mueller to testify publicly as well, until today.
You may not know it james but Mueller’s statement today, without taking questions, gave you more political ammo than calling him before Congress would ever do.
That should be Mueller’s coda.
and besides, once again, calling him to testify, unless you are explicitly trying to set the stage for impeachment is counterproductive.
Nothing Mueller said has changed my view at all,nor did I find anything he said surprising.
I repeat the Impeachment process is a hybrid process ,both legal and political.
We don’t need to “ put everybody on the record.” They pretty much already are.
The Republican Senate is never going to convict Trump.They already know pretty much what evidence Muellers Report uncovered and that didn’t convince them.Certainly no “ Impeachment investigation by the Democratic House is going to change that view.
Well, Republicans knew this about the Senate and the Clinton impeachment and still felt the need to do right by the Constitution and do it.
I can definitely understand, even more so today after Mueller’s statement, why the Democrat base thinks it needs to be done regardless (putting aside the fact that about 99% of everyone in politics is a hypocrite on this.)
There is of course a different standard for the House (sort of a Grand Jury) and the Senate (the actual jury) and if the Senate votes to acquit or even never takes up a trial at all, at least the Democrats can say they did their duty.
Far be it for me to give Democrats advice, but since we all know that DJT will go down in history in shame and disgrace one way or another, it does seem a bit of a shame that our great-grandchildren , etc will one day have to wonder why he was not among our impeached Presidents.
Agreed….
Im Sure our great grandchildren will be pondering such.