Former special counsel Robert Mueller admitted that he and former FBI Director James Comey were both “business associates” and “friends” during his testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
Mueller appeared before the committee Wednesday to testify about his two-year long investigation, which concluded that no member of the Trump campaign knowingly conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. However, the former special counsel refused to determine whether or not the president obstructed justice, following a Department of Justice guideline that a sitting president cannot be indicted.
Mueller admitted at the time to his friendship with Comey while being questioned by Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert.
“A 2013 puff piece in the Washingtonian about Comey said basically when Comey called, you’d drop everything you were doing. It gave examples. You were having dinner your wife and daughter, Comey calls, you drop everything and go,” Gohmert began. “The article quoted Comey as saying if a train were coming down the track and ‘At least Bob Mueller will be standing on the tracks with me.’ You and James Comey have been good friends and were good friends for many years, correct?”
“We were business associates. We both started off in the Justice Department,” Mueller responded.
The congressman followed up, “You were good friends. You can work together and not be friends, but you and Comey were friends.”
Mueller added, “We were friends.”
“That’s my question. Thank you for getting to the answer. Now before you were appointed as special counsel, had you talked to James Comey in the preceding six months?” Gohmert asked.
Mueller said he hadn’t.
