Veteran journalist Carl Bernstein suggested special counsel Robert Mueller should consider going on TV to address the American people about the Russia investigation.
A fight is being waged between Congress and the Trump administration over access to Mueller’s full, unredacted report and testimony of some of the key players in the 22-month long investigation.
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During an interview on CNN, Bernstein, who with Washington Post colleague Bob Woodward in the early 1970s broke a series of key stories on the Watergate scandal, said it is “essential” for Mueller or members of his team to explain their findings.
“I think it’s essential, whether he testifies before the committee or whether he chooses another venue if the president claims executive privilege before that body,” he told “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter, who asked how important it is the public hears from Mueller on TV.
“Perhaps there’s another venue that Mueller might choose, such as going on television himself or members of his staff in such a way that they don’t reveal perhaps information that shouldn’t be revealed for reasons of grand jury secrecy at the moment,” Bernstein said. “And at the same time, tell the story about what this investigation was about and what it really found. We need to hear from that investigation, those who conducted the investigation.”
[Related: Nadler: Mueller will not testify next week]
Bernstein also said it is “essential” for the American people to see the full report and that there is much more to be learned as “there is an ongoing national security counterintelligence investigation that was not part of the Mueller report that is ongoing.”
Mueller’s report, released last month by the Justice Department, shows his team was unable to find sufficient evidence to establish criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Mueller also details 10 instances in which President Trump might have obstructed justice in his 448-page report, but he declines to say either way whether Trump committed a crime, citing a Justice Department guideline that sitting presidents cannot be indicted. Although Trump and his allies say he is exonerated, Democrats have called for more investigations.
Top Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have declared the standoff with the White House a “constitutional crisis” over the refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations into Trump and his inner circle, including for access to the full report over which the president has exerted executive privilege.
Although Trump objected to Mueller testifying, the president appeared to reverse course when he said on Thursday he would leave it to Attorney General William Barr to decide. Barr has said he is open to allowing Mueller to testify.
