The United States Congress is hearing some insight into the investigation of President Donald Trump and alleged collusion with Russia.
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who headed up the probe into whether Trump's 2016 election campaign knew about suspected Russian efforts to interfere with the election, is on Capitol Hill in Washington testifying before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. Mueller is expected to be grilled by committee members for much of Wednesday. While he is expected to keep his testimony to within the parameters of the investigation, some members of Congress believe his evidence.
According to CNN, when asked by New York Representative Jerry Nadler if his report let the president off the hook, Mueller said no. He even went as far as to state that Russia preferred Trump to win the election.
"Over the course of my career, I’ve seen a number of challenges to our democracy," Mueller told the committee. "The Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious... This deserves the attention of every American."
Mueller repeatedly told committee members that an opinion of the U.S. Department of Justice was that it would be unconstitutional to indict a sitting president, but it could happen once the president left office. Possible obstruction of justice, in which the question was whether Trump had ordered his subordinates to lie to investigators, is at the heart of that matter. This opinion had been in place since the Nixon administration.
Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed to oversee the investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and Trump's election campaign, in a probe that continued for two years. His report was publicly released in the spring. He stepped away from his duties when the report was released.
Despite his repeated assertions that Trump could not be indicted while still in the White House, it has not silenced the cries from some in Congress, mostly Democrats, to draft articles of impeachment against Trump if it is determined that he committed "high crimes and misdemeanours" once he took office. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, has stated repeatedly that impeachment is not a priority.
The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee ended shortly after noon Wednesday. The hearing before the House Intelligence Committee was due to begin in the afternoon.
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1154014238110887936
Later in the hearing, Mueller was asked if Donald Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice after he leaves office. Mueller replied that he could.
Congressman: "Could you charge the President with a crime after he left office?"
Mueller: "Yes."#MuellerHearing pic.twitter.com/ZCx89HWfE1— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) July 24, 2019
U.S. President Trump has weighed in on Mueller's testimony, quoting a commentator on Fox News.
“This has been a disaster for the Democrats and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller.” Chris Wallace @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
“Mueller was asked whether or not the investigation was impeded in any way, and he said no.” In other words, there was NO OBSTRUCTION. @KatiePavlich @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019