Pressure mounts on Mueller

Source:AFP Published: 2019/7/24 21:08:41

Taciturn special counsel to make first public statement


Pressure mounted on Robert Mueller, who headed the probe investigating Russian meddling, to spell out clearly in Congressional testimony Wednesday if he believes President Donald Trump committed a crime.

Three months after releasing the final report on his two-year investigation into the 2016 presidential election, much of the American public remains unclear about Special Counsel Mueller's findings on whether Trump criminally obstructed justice and whether his campaign colluded with Russians.

With Trump declaring he was "exonerated" in the probe and Democrats saying it supplied ample evidence for impeachment, the notoriously taciturn Mueller will answer questions for the first time in front of two separate, Democrat-run committees in the House of Representatives.

No one was certain whether Mueller, who has resisted testifying, will go beyond the cryptic, heavily legalistic conclusions presented in his report, which allowed the president and his allies to claim the investigation was a politically charged witch hunt that found nothing of substance.

"Highly conflicted Robert Mueller should not be given another bite at the apple. In the end it will be bad for him and the phony Democrats in Congress who have done nothing but waste time on this ridiculous Witch Hunt," Trump tweeted on Monday.

"Result of the Mueller Report, NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!"

Democrats meanwhile hoped Mueller would make clear to the public why he did not bring charges despite damning evidence outlined in the 448-page report.

"There was enough corruption and criminality in the Trump campaign and Administration to fill a 448-page report. Every American deserves to know the crimes and corruption exposed in the Mueller Report," said Democratic Representative Ted Lieu.

On Tuesday, Democrats were rehearsing their tactics for the marathon hearings, both to find ways to get Mueller to elaborate on his findings and to prevent Republicans on the committees from derailing the questioning. 



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