Trump and Barr All Out to Discredit Mueller
(100% Obvious)
Robert Mueller (full
transcript): Good
morning, everyone, and thank you for being here. Two years ago, the acting
attorney general asked me to serve as special counsel and he created the
special counsel’s office. The appointment order directed the office to
investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. This
included investigating any links or coordination between the Russian government
and individuals associated with the Trump campaign.
Now, I have
not spoken publicly during our investigation. 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. I’ll make a few remarks about the results of our work. But beyond
these few remarks, it is important that the office’s written work speak for
itself. Let me begin where the appointment order begins, and that is interference
in the 2016 presidential election.
As alleged
by the grand jury in an indictment, Russian intelligence officers who are part
of the Russian military, launched a concerted attack on our political system.
The indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cyber-techniques to hack
into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private
information and then released that information through fake online identities
and through the organization WikiLeaks.
The releases
were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a
presidential candidate. And at the same time, as the grand jury alleged in a
separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media
operation, where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an
election. These indictments contain allegations, and we are not commenting on
the guilt or the innocence of any specific defendant. Every defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The
indictments allege, and the other activities in our report describe, efforts to
interfere in our political system. They needed to be investigated and
understood. And that is among the reasons why the Department of Justice
established our office. That is also a reason we investigated efforts to
obstruct the investigation. The matters we investigated were of paramount
importance. It was critical for us to obtain full and accurate information from
every person we questioned. When a subject of an investigation obstructs that
investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of their government’s
effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable.
Let me say a
word about the report. The report has two parts, addressing the two main issues
we were asked to investigate. The first volume of the report details numerous
efforts emanating from Russia to influence the election. This volume includes a
discussion of the Trump campaign’s response to this activity, as well as our
conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy.
And in the second volume, the report describes the results and analysis of our
obstruction of justice investigation involving the president.
The order
appointing me special counsel authorized us to investigate actions that could
obstruct the investigation. We conducted that investigation, and we kept the
office of the acting attorney general apprised of the progress of our work. And
as set forth in the report, after that investigation, 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.
The
introduction to the Volume II of our report explains that decision. It explains
that under longstanding department policy, a president cannot be charged with a
federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the
charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that, too, is
prohibited.
A special
counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice, and by regulation, it
was bound by that department policy. Charging the president with a crime was
therefore not an option we could consider.
The department’s written opinion
explaining the policy makes several important points that further informed our
handling of the obstruction investigation. Those points are summarized in our
report, and I will describe two of them for you.
First, the
opinion explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting president, because it
is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh and documents
available. Among other things, that evidence could be used if there were
co-conspirators who could be charged now.
And second,
the opinion says that the Constitution requires a process other than the
criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.
And beyond department policy, we were guided by principles of fairness. It
would be unfair to potentially — it would be unfair to potentially accuse
somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge.
So that was
Justice Department policy. Those were the principles under which we operated.
And from them, we concluded that we would not reach a determination one way or
the other about whether the president committed a crime. That is the office’s
final position, and we will not comment on any other conclusions or hypotheticals
about the president. We conducted an independent criminal investigation and
reported the results to the attorney general, as required by department
regulations.
The attorney
general then concluded that it was appropriate to provide our report to Congress
and to the American people. At one point in time, I requested that certain
portions of the report be released and the attorney general preferred to make —
preferred to make the entire report public all at once and we appreciate that
the attorney general made the report largely public. And I certainly do not
question the attorney general’s good faith in that decision.
Now, I hope
and expect this to be the only time that I will speak to you in this manner. I
am making that decision myself. No one has told me whether I can or should
testify or speak further about this matter. There has been discussion about an
appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond
our report. It contains our findings and analysis and the reasons for the
decisions we made. We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for
itself. And the report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond
that which is already public in any appearance before Congress. In addition,
access to our underlying work product is being decided in a process that does
not involve our office.
So beyond
what I’ve said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not
believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation or to
comment on the actions of the Justice Department or Congress. And it’s for that
reason I will not be taking questions today, as well.
Now, before
I step away, I want to thank the attorneys, the FBI agents, the analysts, and the
professional staff who helped us conduct this investigation in a fair and
independent manner. These individuals who spent nearly two years with the
special counsel’s office were of the highest integrity. And I will close by
reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that there were
multiple, systemic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation
deserves the attention of every American.
Thank you.
Thank you for being here today.
~ end of Mueller statement
My 2 cents: Quick and thorough key points highlighted
from various sources like here from TPM
(Talking Points Memo) follow with five takeaways from Mueller’s statement (May
29, 2019):
#1: If he could’ve cleared
Trump’s name, Mueller would have:
Essentially repeating one of the most explosive parts
of his report, Mueller said that an existing DOJ’s OLC (Office of Legal Counsel)
memo precluded him from charging a sitting President criminally. But the report
noted that investigators were not able to clear Trump’s name, either. “If we had had confidence that the President
clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. Even if the charge
against a sitting President is kept under seal and hidden from public view,
that, too, is prohibited, therefore not an option we could consider” Mueller said.
#2: Mueller said there are other processes to
accuse the President of wrongdoing: The DOJ OLC memo says: “The Constitution requires a process other
than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of
wrongdoing.” That was Mueller’s reference
to impeachment.
#3: Mueller doesn’t question Barr’s “good faith”
in not initially releasing his report summaries: Mueller’s letter to Barr in March,
after Barr released a letter summarizing Mueller’s conclusions.
Mueller effectively said Barr’s summary of his
findings was a poor substitute for Mueller’s own summary sections, which were
included in the report itself saying: “There
is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of the
investigation.”
Mueller appeared to address the media coverage of his
letter saying: “At one point in time,
I requested that certain portions of the report be released
and the attorney general preferred to make — preferred to make
the entire report public all at once, and we appreciate that
the attorney general made the report largely public. I certainly do
not question the attorney general’s good faith in that decision.”
#4: Mueller doesn’t want to testify saying: “Beyond
these few remarks, it is important that the office’s written work speak for
itself.”
Mueller also said at the start of his statement
Wednesday, stressing that no one had pressured him not to testify and: “The report is my testimony,” adding: “I would not provide information beyond that
which is already public in any appearance before Congress” Mueller also added:
“I do not believe it is appropriate for
me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the
Justice Department or Congress.”
#5: He ended by focusing on election
interference: Mueller
ended his remarks with crimes his prosecutors and report did formally allege,
indicating their importance saying: “I will
close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that
there were multiple, systemic efforts to interfere in our election. And
that allegation deserves the attention of every American.”
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Finally: Right up front – I am in Muller’s
corner. He is honest, dedicated, honorable, and trustworthy.
Trump and
Barr are not: Recall
that AG Barr said in his March statement that “Muller’s hands were not tied by DOJ OLC rules stating a sitting
president cannot be charged and/or indicted” (sic). It is apparent after reviewing that Barr statement vs. Mueller today
that the Trump-Barr-GOP aim and goal is to discredit Mueller and the report. That
is totally disgusting and the public must react.
Late
Update: Mueller’s team disputed Barr with statement late today – and that
was expected by Mueller. Barr lied to the public and now must be held to
account in front of Congress and ASAP.
I post this for posterity’s sake and no other reason
with very little added except format edits.
Thanks for stopping by.
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