Robert Mueller has had his time before the House of Representatives. And E.J. Dionne doesn't mince any words:
President Trump and his Republican apologists — including his defense lawyer who moonlights as the nation’s attorney general — do not believe a single word they have said about former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report. The GOP has claimed that it shows “no collusion, no obstruction.” But Republicans’ behavior at Wednesday’s hearings, not to mention Mueller’s own words, prove they have been lying.
The Republicans tried to muddy the waters by attacking Mueller. But, as the day went on, Muller's answers became blunt and unambiguous:
With the passing of the hours, Mueller got increasingly steely. “It is not a witch hunt,” he snapped when asked about Trump’s favorite locution. Asked whether Trump’s answers to him weren’t always truthful, Mueller replied, devastatingly, “generally.” About Trump’s encouragement of WikiLeaks, he said: “Problematic is an understatement in terms of what it displays of giving some hope or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity.”
His steadiness in the face of repeated Republican provocations and his unwavering confirmations of his report’s genuinely scandalous findings about Trump sent a message: Only a country that doesn’t care about the rule of law, has given up on holding presidents accountable and is too cowardly to stand up to foreign interference in our elections would simply let all of this go. Wednesday provided a mandate for pressing on.
And Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) got an answer from Mueller proving the old lawyer’s rule that you should not ask a question if you are not sure you will like the answer. “You could charge the president of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office?” Buck asked. The laconic Mueller replied very simply: “Yes.”
After the hearing,Trump responded that he couldn't be indicted because, "I've done nothing wrong." This from the man who, the day before claimed that Article II of the Constitution allowed him to do, "Whatever I want."
It's clear that Republicans will back him in whatever he wants to do. The future is clear. It's up to the Democrats to make it happen.
Image: Vox
4 comments:
The only thing I'd count on the Democrats making happen is a second term for Trump. Trump's been breaking the law since the day he took office and Pelosi still can't see her way to impeachment. What will it take? Concentration camps for children? Oh wait, we've already got those. This tops the last time we saw such gutlessness when the Dems voted for Dubya's excellent adventure in Iraq.
Cap
Pelosi's in a bind, Cap. To make a case for impeachment, she needs witnesses and documents. Trump is stonewalling all requests for those. The Republican Senate clearly won't convict. If she's to get anywhere, she has to educate the public. It's clear from Trump's rallies that there's a great swath of stupid Americans. And you can't fix stupid.
Her next step is to get Don McCahn to testify. That will take some doing.
The Democrats need to present an healthy alternative, a platform that people would want to vote for. There are many issues that would make great campaign fuel. So far, with few exceptions, the Democrats still seem determined to replay Hillary's fiasco.
You're right, Toby. The lesson from the midterms is that the public really does care about policy. The Democrats need policy to win. And they need to show that Trump is lawless. In short, they must be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
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