If there is one thing former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III made clear in his Wednesday congressional testimony, it is that his investigation was not an illegal and treasonous attack on our Country, as President Trump characterized it in a tweet shortly before Mr. Muellers appearance.
On the contrary, Mr. Mueller underscored that it was Russia that attacked the countrys democracy in the 2016 presidential election through a cyber-campaign designed to help Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump, the former special counsel confirmed, welcomed that assistance. A number of his top aides lied in the ensuing investigation. Those lies, Mr. Mueller said, impeded his probe.
Perhaps most seriously, Mr. Mueller said Russias interference is continuing and will be repeated in the 2020 presidential election. Over the course of my career, I have seen a number of challenges to our democracy, Mr. Mueller said. The Russian governments effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious. He added: Theyre doing it as we sit here, and they expect to do it during the next campaign. Whats more, many more countries are also looking at election hacking
Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans ought to be alarmed by that prediction. Instead, they spent the day slandering Mr. Mueller, to little effect. As Republicans argued that the Russia inquiry was driven by corrupt intent, Mr. Mueller pointed out that the presidents statements about WikiLeaks during the campaign welcoming the leaks of Democratic emails stolen by Russia calls for investigation.
As for Mr. Trumps repeated claims that the special counsel completely exonerated him, Mr. Mueller stated: The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed.
Much of the rest of Mr. Muellers testimony reminded Americans why the president and his congressional toadies do not want the special counsels report discussed honestly.
Mr. Muellers report described how Mr. Trump several times egregiously attempted to disrupt the post-2016 Russia investigation, including by ordering Mr. Muellers dismissal. White House staff refused to follow Mr. Trumps order. Yet, as Mr. Mueller confirmed several times, attempted obstruction is still wrong: It strikes at the core of the governments effort to find the truth and to hold wrongdoers accountable, he explained.
Contrary to the spin of Attorney General William P. Barr, Mr. Mueller confirmed that the Justice Departments policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted loomed large in the special counsels thinking on whether to consider charging Mr. Trump with a crime. He also stood by a letter his office sent to Mr. Barr complaining that the attorney general misleadingly described the special counsels findings.
Near the end of his testimony, Mr. Mueller declared that his report should be a signal, a flag to those of us who have responsibility to exercise that responsibility, not to let this kind of thing happen again. This was a call for members of Congress to do more to protect the nations democracy. Yet all Americans should listen. The Mueller report lays out for those ultimately responsible in a democracy the voters what a sick presidency looks like.
