Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s mythic profile — built over a period of two years by Trump detractors hoping his investigation and later his testimony would pave the way for the president’s removal from office — took a hit Wednesday as the veteran lawman was seen stumbling through questions and at times unclear about the contents of his own report.
Now, some of President Trump’s biggest critics are turning their ire toward the legend himself, panning his performance at this high-stakes forum, even though Mueller repeatedly made clear he did not wish to testify in the first place.
“Much as I hate to say it, this morning’s hearing was a disaster,” Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe tweeted, in reference to Mueller’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Tribe is an outspoken critic of Trump who often calls for his impeachment and indictment. He noted Mueller’s appearance failed to provide the made-for-TV moment that Democrats could rally behind in their efforts to bring down the president.
“Far from breathing life into his damning report, the tired Robert Mueller sucked the life out of it.”
Democrats did get Mueller to make certain statements that were clearly damaging to the president, including refuting Trump’s claim that he was exonerated by the investigation. But Mueller largely was retreading ground already covered in the report. And his critical comments were undermined by his stumbling in the face of Republican questioning, and confusion over key details. Several on the left readily acknowledged this was not the home run for which they hoped.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin scored it as a win for President Trump.
“Look at who’s winning now, it certainly seems like Donald Trump is winning between the two of them,” Toobin said Wednesday.
NBC’s Chuck Todd noted that while Mueller did deliver some substance that benefitted Democrats, “on optics, this was a disaster.”
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who just a week earlier introduced a resolution to impeach Trump, recognized that even though Mueller “met my expectations,” others may have been disappointed.
“Some persons were hoping for a seminal moment. A ‘wow’ moment. It didn’t happen,” Green said. Green tweeted Thursday morning that this was because the report and Trump’s actions had been already been discussed “ad nauseum.”
One very important fact was proven. For two years, every time the investigation was criticized, the defense was “Mueller is a Republican”, as if that actually mattered. Well, as it turned out, it DIDN’T matter because, obviously, Mueller himself had very little practical control over the investigation. That was all left up to the almost totally partisan, liberal, Hillary-supporting, Trump-hating team that had been assembled to make sure something to unseat Trump was found. So, as asserted all along, it was a partisan leftist witch hunt which, thankfully, failed.
Far from being the end of the left’s attempt to defeat Trump outside of an election, the left has amped up their whining, as they need to create more distraction to prevent focus upon the upcoming IG report, which is going to shed more light upon this attempted coup.
Such scumbaggery.
From The Hill – Forget the spin: Five unrefuted Mueller Report revelations
What do you not understand about each of the foregoing?
Each has been established as fact. Nothing in Mueller’s report has been refuted. If you believe it’s OK for Donald Trump to get away with this, you’ve just put your personal Seal of Approval on a new set of Standards of Acceptable Behavior for U.S. Presidents. This lowering of the bar until it’s knee-high-to-a-rat is part of what you’ve done to Make America Great Again. Wear your hats proudly, and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren about the part you played.
You can also proudly tell them how the con man you elected slandered and berated a true patriot—a decorated war veteran, and it’s certainly not the first time he’s done that—who seems to have utterly worn himself out giving his last measure leading an in-depth, two-year investigation that should have woken you the hell up. That it has failed to do so is certainly no fault of his own.
After this, platoon commander Mueller deserves some lengthy and undisturbed r&r. He has more than earned it.
@Greg: Gosh Greg, I must confess, I had relations with a Russian, but I am sure her interests had nothing to do with the election. Are you still so ignorant that you can not understand that your reference was written opinion by the Hill, a left wing blog? None is fact, only insinuation/opinion. I would go over it point by point to show that most people in this country could be accused of the same things if investigated by biased people.
@Greg: 1) If you will recall, I have asked repeatedly WHAT “social media” was presented that supported Trump and attacked Hillary. I’ve yet to see an example. What was it? What did they do, post a article about Hillary abusing FOIA requirements, lying about having classified information on her private, secret, unsecured server? Report Hillary approved the sale of uranium to a company she KNEW was controlled by Russians AFTER she and Bill received millions of dollars from Russians? Remind us that she LIED about Benghazi? Where was the false, salacious accusations, fed to the media and FBI, used, without any attempt to verify, to launch investigation after investigation, spying and illegal surveillance?
Plus, until the FBI themselves examines the DNC server “hacked” and makes the determination that the Russians did it, the more credible fact is that Seth Rich stole the data and provided it to Wikileaks in retaliation for the DNC tilting the scales in favor of Hillary. After all we know about the DNC, believing THEM would be the acme of stupidity.
2) As the report says, there was no collusion or conspiracy between Trump, his campaign and any Russians. It was also determined that, no, there was no business deals underway with Russians. One had been discussed, but it was not being pursued. The IC, in fact, DIDN’T know if Russia did the hacking because they never investigated it themselves; they let the DNC tell them what they wanted them to hear, and accepted that happily. We now know the Trump Tower 20 minute meeting was set up by Hillary’s people (Fusion GPS) and the Russian participants were briefed and debriefed by her campaign and supporters. Kerry even made special arrangements to allow Veselnitskaya into the country for the meeting.
So? When Hillary did that, you thought it the very epitome of honesty.
3)The “lies” told by Trump associates were discrepancies between what they could remember and the transcripts of recorded conversations the FBI had. Those who interviewed General Flynn stated clearly they didn’t think he lied. Mueller simply needed to try and pressure him to lie for his (or, rather, his Trump-hating, Hillary-loving, partisan Democrat team’s) witch hunt. Cohen lied about what Cohen did, not Trump.
4) Mueller was specifically asked if Trump withheld any requested information or interfered, blocked or impeded his investigation in any way. Mueller said NO. End of story, case closed, settled science, end of debate. NO obstruction. THINKING something is not an illegal act. If I view an ad for a Ferrari, can I be ticketed for speeding? Trump never obstructed a single goddamn thing. Sure, he was frustrated and infuriated over the seemingly endless, pointless, politically-biased persecution of him, his Presidency, his associates and his family and he contemplated some ways to possibly end it, but NOT ONE ACTION was taken to stop the investigation. NOT ONE.
5) Prosecutors do not exonerate. They prosecute and Mueller’s report makes it clear (in a muddled, biased, partisan way) that there was nothing to prosecute. If a prosecutor cannot “find clear evidence of a crime” then, legally, there was no crime. If there was no crime, innocence remains in the vacuum. You don’t have to refute inconclusive remarks.
Sorry. You are seriously mistaken.
The liberal media certainly did not show excessive respect for Mueller after he failed to perform for them like a trained seal. If the left had such respect for Mueller, why did they embarrass him publicly in the forlorn hope he would produce something that was not in the report to destroy Trump? As I said, Mueller is either a lying, seditious scumbag or a manipulated dupe. I don’t know which right now, but he cannot hide behind his past service and escape his participation in this attempted coup.
I’ll ask again; if all the evidence is so clear, why do Democrats need to “investigate” more? Why not impeach this Russian agent? You know the answer, don’t you; your entire operation is based entirely on lies and impeachment, which without a super majority of biased, partisan, Trump-hating Democrats is out of the question.
@Deplorable Me:
“Uncle Joe”, Vlad, Fidel, and Adolf loved people like that don’t they? That’s how they got into and maintained power.
“
@Deplorable Me:
DM – That was a very informative response. Sorry to say you lost Greg at “If you will recall”
Maybe when he leaves the basement, his mother can explain it to him over the meatloaf.
“Fortuna Favet Fortibus”
@another vet: Apparently their talking points never include answers to frequently asked questions. Their instructions are to ignore questions and just pretend they were never asked, the assumption being everyone is as ignorant as they are.
@skyshark91: Greg and most other liberals seem upset that the sole purpose of Mueller’s name on the investigation, to try and hide the fact that almost the entire team was comprised of biased, partisan, Trump-hating liberals has been ignored by Republicans.
Alexander Hamilton, August 18, 1792:
Does this personal description and modus operandi remind you of anyone?
@Greg: Actually, yes Greg. Every Governor who has a sanctuary state and every mayor who has a sanctuary city. Every legislator who fails to recognize the danger posed by illegal immigration and resists every effort the administrative branch takes to protect the country. Every judge who legislates from the bench. Everyone of these people are subverting the government .
@Deplorable Me:
Apparently it hasn’t yet been made clear enough to be fully understood by Trump’s followers. They seem to be having trouble grasping such simple things as the fact that members of Team Trump had been secretly paid by foreign governments that expected something in return, and had consequently rendered themselves vulnerable to blackmail, or that his campaign manager was sharing their campaign strategies and internal polling data with a highly placed Putin associate. Even unmistakable indications that Russian intelligence was coordinating Wikileaks dumps of illegally obtained documents to maximize damage to Trump’s opponent flies by over their heads. They can’t seem to figure out that Trump has installed a henchman as head of the DoJ to protect himself and has had his full cooperation, or that he has ordered subordinates to break a law to evade a congressional examination of his secret financial dealings, which are known to have included negotiations with people in Moscow that were concurrent with his presidential campaign. They can’t figure out that remaining republican congressional leaders have pretty much sold their souls to ride on Trump’s coattails and are doing their bit to protect his as well, or that nearly all traditional conservative values and principles have been abandoned in practice in the process. They don’t seem to understand that his close associates who are awaiting trial or already in prison have actually committed serious crimes.
What should we think about people who do understand all of this, but support him anyway?
@Greg: Now Greg, please take each of your points and tell us in detail what is illegal about the things you mentioned even if they really happened. By the way, where did you get your law degree? You remind me of Wiley Coyote as he continues to experience hardship after hardship for chasing the wrong bird!
@Greg: So… all you have is the same weak, unverified garbage accusations that you think if you repeat the often enough and loud enough, they will suddenly come true.
Got it.
Those are all ESTABLISHED FACTS, which cannot be made to penetrate the Trump cult’s triply-reinforced wall of pig-headed stubbornness, willful ignorance, and natural-born stupidity. (Possibly paid for using taxpayer dollars originally intended for the Department of Defense. No doubt Mexico will reimburse us.)
@Greg: If these were facts and were crimes, then they would have been prosecuted. There sure were not any Conservative on the Mueller team. You may think they are facts, but are they crimes? You just do not get it! Stop your crying and do something for your country instead of “resist” and obstruct”!
@Greg:
Greg #10
So, they need to investigate more because “Apparently it hasn’t yet been made clear enough to be fully understood by Trump’s followers”.
Interesting, I didn’t know the presidents followers had to fully understand the Evidence, before charges of impeachment.
didn’t mueller’s appearance remind one of sleepy drunk kerry’s apprentice at his hearing investigation??
Only Greg can make a dead horse whinny and then ask what is the matter.
@Greg: This is an established fact. You and all your fellow liberals have gotten consistently more shrill and unhinged as, one by one, your little schemes against Trump have collapsed as false.
When the first information of the dossier and the “golden showers” came out, I was shocked and disgusted, thinking we had really elected a disaster. Quickly, that was dispelled as the facts of the accusation and the source became clear. Since then, every subsequent false accusation and revelation only reinforces my faith and trust in Trump because, in each case, HE is telling the truth and YOU on the left are lying.
So, the end result is, his credibility is reinforced and YOURS is destroyed.
Now, with this latest disaster to befall your hopes of a successful coup, the entire left has been driven NUTS. You are all now officially insane because all you have left is the 2020 election and, really, LOOK at your choices. Your position is hopeless and hopelessness spawns insanity.
Scream, stomp, rant, wave your arms, rave all you want. Collusion collapsed. Obstruction collapsed. Russia collapsed. The lies collapsed. Impeachment collapsed. The coup collapsed. Trump, the Constitution and the United States win. Now, the investigations and punishment for the REAL CRIMES will begin.
@Randy, #14:
How many times does Robert Mueller need to explain that DoJ policy forbade charges being brought against a sitting president? The DoJ reconfirmed the principle underlying that directive on December 10, 2018 while Jeff Sessions was Attorney General, just to make absolutely certain there could be no mistake about it.
This policy renders Donald Trump totally immune to criminal prosecution under any Federal law or statute for however long he befouls the Oval Office.
It follows that he presently cannot be indicted for using his power of office to instruct his subordinates to break federal law to cover himself, either. Consequently, he doesn’t really give a damn that it’s against the law for the IRS to refuse to provide his tax returns to Congress for oversight review upon request. Unless Congress stops him—which is a practical impossibility for so long as he controls the republican majority that controls the Senate—he can use his powers of office to conceal evidence and obstruct justice.
@Greg: You have a Russian spy in the White House. He sees the noose tightening and his enemies are on to him and closing in. The evidence is clear and obvious… a “mountain” of it at their very fingertips. The proof is readily available.
So, why do Democrats leave for vacation instead of protecting the American people from this existential threat to the entire nation? Well, the answer is pretty simple: they are all… every last single one of them… goddamn liars that traffic in lies, garbage and shit. Yours is the party of shit. Defficrats. Party of Poop.
@Greg:
Since Trump supporters (you know, those smelly Wal-Mart shoppers) do not understand was has been made clear enough to be fully understood, why don’t you cite the laws that were broken by Trump, along with a cited criminal code, that you think is prosecutorial.
We will all be waiting.
Vague references to bolster your claims do not work, Greggie Goebbels.
@Greg:
Fine. So you Socialist liberals have to wait until he leaves office. At that point, what crime, and applicable criminal code, will he be subject to?
@retire05, #21:
I have already done so on a number of past occasion, and been told on each that only lawyers are capable of reading and understanding plain English.
Here’s an actionable counter suggestion: Why don’t you stuff your MAGA hat where the sun doesn’t shine, to keep your brain company? At some point you’re going to need to hide it somewhere, like the guilty member of a lynch mob showing up for church on the following Sunday. And I say that with all due respect.
@Greg:
WOW tough guy.
Can you tell us that story again how you hid in the bunker on your 21st birthday? I bet you was so mad at the draft board.
RLTW
@Greg:
Oooo! Someone’s getting testy! I guess Greg doesn’t like “investigations” that don’t go his way, either.
@skyshark91:
I’ve grown weary of gratuitous personal insult and taunts. I get more than enough of that sort of juvenile crap just by paying attention to Donald Trump. They’re increasingly taking the place of intelligent rebuttals—the problem most likely being that genuinely rebuttals are becoming increasingly difficult. Much of Trump’s behavior is indefensible.
Nice sock puppet, by the way. They’re popular this summer. Maybe I should get one.
@Greg:
Liar.
The only code you have ever cited was the IRS code that gives Congressional oversight into tax returns. A statute, that I have told you, more than once, has never been challenged in a court of law.
That statute has not one damn thing to do with the Muller (Weissmann) report. So, if you have any criminal code that you think Trump has violated, that pertains to the Mueller (Weissmann) report, provide it. Otherwise, stop blathering vague accusations that you base your moronic comments on. Cowboy up, Greggie Goebbels.
BTW, I don’t own a MAGA hat. I do own two hats; one is a Stetson Presidential and the other is a custom made panama, both with 4″ brims. Way out of your price league, I’m sure, since trolls are not paid very well.
It is clear you have no respect for yourself, why would we take your word that you have any respect for others. You don’t. Trolls lack respect for not only themselves but others.
@retire05, #27:
That would be one law clearly broken. It remains on the books and in full effect from 1924 on, never having been struck down by any court.
Obstruction of justice would be a second, and misuse of powers of office to achieve that end would be a third. Campaign finance violations could be a fourth. (One party to that particular crime has already been convicted of it and gone to prison for it.
Who knows what else might be discovered if his financial activities were examined? I suspect he and his family have been personally put at an advantage by having advanced knowledge of policy shifts impacting various industries and markets. The guy has periodically made and then backed off on announcements that have played the stock market like a yo-yo. And very predictably, if his plays were known a bit ahead of time.
@Greg:
As Obama did with the Defense of Marriage Act, our immigration laws and laws against selling guns to known criminals, Trump is apparently allowed to violate and ignore any law he wishes. Obama set the precedent and YOU supported it. Now, just accept it.
@Greg:
Must you continually prove what an idiot you are?
It has never been struck down in court because it has never been challenge in court. Just because a law is enacted, that doesn’t mean it reaches Constitutional muster.
Obstruction how? There was no obstruction involved in the Mueller (Weissmann) report that Democrats were putting so much faith in. When the bottom fell out of that, the Democrats decided to subject the American people to yet more Congressional committees all the while the American people are being exposed to the results of the border disaster that the Democrats created.
Tell me, Greggie Goebbels, how many Americans have to die by the hands of illegal aliens before the Democrats decide to take action and do something about the border? How many young girls have to be raped before the Democrats decide to take action and do something about the border.
Gonadless Nadler the Midget stood in front of the cameras yesterday and flat out lied and all of you on the left believe his lies. People like you prove that you will believe any lies told by Democrats in spite of the fact that Democrats have never done one damn thing to make the lives of Americans better. All they want is control over our lives.
And again, you can’t back up what you claim.
@Greg: So, if Mueller finally remembers that there was no collusion with the Russians, then he was lying?There was no “inditing” a sitting president. No one said there could be no prosecuting a crime. Mueller’s mission was to identify a crime and he could not. There can be no obstruction of a justice if there was no crime. That is the whole issue here. Comey and friends initiated an illegal inquest and was found out. Remember fruit of the poisonous tree can not be used as evidence? HRC lost on her own efforts. Trump won because the American voters are sick and tired of people like you who do not represent them. People like you and your “resist” ideology are making it very difficult for the President to accomplish things that benefit all Americans. That is subversion.
Greg, you are scraping well below the bottom of the barrel. You are proving beyond a reasonable doubt that you are a fool. That statement is well past an opinion. 97% of the people agree.
@retire05:
Mueller himself, UNDER OATH, stated Trump did not impede, obstruct or interfere with the “investigation”. NOT AT ALL.
And Mueller is honest and honorable.
@Deplorable Me: @Deplorable Me: I think that Greg believes that Mueller has come under Trump’s evil spell. The Russians put a curse on Mueller. Mueller was abducted by a space alien (Another form of illegal alien). Something must have happened to such an honorable man unless his life time of evil behavior has finally been discovered by Barr. There can be no other explanations that greg can find, is there?
@skyshark91:
You don’t know the half of it. He knows more about what happened in Iraq than those of us who did multiple tours over there. He told an Army Ranger here who actually fought in Tora Bora how easy it would have been to go in there and get OBL. You see, he studied the maps on Google. The Rangers, SF, SEALS, and probably Delta Force were unable to get OBL in Tora Bora, but to him it would have been easy. You are talking the proverbial bad ass here. There is speculation amongst some of us that the Rambo character was based on his autobiography. He did a great disservice to this country by not going over there and taking out OBL after those other wimps failed.
@Randy:
Lyin’ Lieu thinks the Russians got him. There always has to be some phony explanation when someone refutes their lies.
@another vet:
Greggie Goebbels said this to me:
I understand that Greggie Goebbels is quite confused. When Greggie Goebbels goes to the doctor to get a brain scan, the doctor has to do a rectal exam.
@retire05: Greg has some of the same symptoms that Mueller has. Greg was born with blue eyes that turned brown as he failed to eliminate.
@another vet: You forgot Greg’s other achievements. He specialized in potato peeling. He was a UN inspector in Iraq where he found no WMDs and in Iran where he made sure there was no nuclear materials being generated when his idol forced the Iranians to comply by giving them 1.5 billion in cash. Greg’s PHD in racial relationships has been important. His law degree has also aided him in his consulting efforts with AOC.
@retire05: @retire05:
Despite the left claiming to be the “scientific” ones, science is not a strong suit of theirs. They surely don’t know of or believe in the scientific method as evidenced by their manmade global warming “research”. Biology is also not a strong suit of theirs as they believe there are more than two sexes and have a difficult time determining what a male and what a female is. They also believe a woman can grow an extra set of everything- lungs, appendages, central nervous system etc.
@retire05, #30:
A law that has passed in both houses of Congress and the been signed into law by a president remains fully in effect unless it has been repealed by Congress or struck down by the courts. That would be the current status of this particular law, and has continuously been its status since 1924.
It follows that the puffed up, vainglorious nincompoop currently occupying the Oval Office has, in fact, misused his powers of office by ordering his subordinates to break the law to protect his own worthless ass from lawful congressional oversight—congressional oversight being the only constitutional barrier holding him in check, now that he has demonstrated he cannot be indicted for breaking any federal law.
I didn’t realize Stetson made hats small enough not to fall down over your eyes. Perhaps it’s one of their Howdy Doody line?
@Greg: It is inconsistent with the 14th Amendment. Inconsistencies need to be vetted by the Supreme court. If Congress proves Trump committed a crime, then the Congress could request IRS data. They can not just because they are looking for a crime with no evidence. You must have been sleeping during civics class.
@Randy: @Randy:
That’s because there are so many of them I lost track. You’ll have to give me a break on that one.
@another vet: Greg is a Democrat party product . Remember when they put all of the mentally disturbed people out of the asylums who were not committed by the courts. Jimmy Carter fathered that effort.
@Greg:
Congratulations, Greggie Goebbels. After all the years you have spent here parroting the left wing talking points, you have finally learned something. So glad I could help you increase your I.Q.
Don’t worry about it. Stetson doesn’t make hats that you would be in the market for. None of them are made out of tin foil.
@Randy, #40:
No one had a problem with this law in relation to the Fourth Amendment for 95 years, until the exact sort of shady and avaricious president came along that the law was specifically enacted to guard against.
@retire05, #43:
The law HAS NOT been struck down by the courts. It remains in effect. Trump’s subordinates are breaking it, by his order. That would be a federal crime.
@Greg:
That is because it has never been exercised before.
That is because it has never been EXERCISED before. It will be challenged.
What you know of law could be put into the eye of a gnat and the gnat would never feel it.
Why are you trying to CYA? #miserablefail
@retire05, #46:
How would you know it has never been exercised before? Under provisions of the statue, such congressional committee examinations of tax returns are conducted in closed session and are confidential. You realized that, didn’t you? Or are you ranting about the law in question without having bothered to read it?
We would only hear about it if serious issues were discovered that resulted in articles of impeachment. Otherwise, it would be a crime for confidential information to be revealed by any member of Congress—and there wouldn’t be much of a problem determining who that was, because access to the returns is so limited.
@Greg:
Does it matter how I know? But in order to be in line with your support of demanding the tax returns of a sitting president, can you show where a Congressional committee has EVER demanded the tax returns of a sitting president or even demanded the tax returns of a private citizen (since Nadler wants Trumps tax returns going back to when he was NOT president)?
I’ve read the law, and unlike you, Greggie Goebbels, I understand that it violates the 4th Amendment, in spades. Also, after Nixon left office, changes were made that limited why Congress could ask for the tax returns of a president, and they ain’t what you think they are. There is NO predicate for such a demand.
The Democrats excuse is that they want to make sure the IRS is doing its job in reviewing the tax returns of a president. If that is their excuse, they should also be asking for the tax returns of past presidents, including Obama, Bush 43 and Bill Clinton (in completion, not the cliff note version that has been released)
Give it up, Herr Goebbels. You are really getting boring.
@Greg: There were patriots until now. Now there is only resistance by subversives to include you.