Robert Mueller defended the credibility of the 22 months he and his team spent investigating Russian election interference and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump.
Mueller, 74, was given the opportunity to push back on Trump’s attacks on the special counsel’s integrity during an appearance before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. The president has often decried the inquiry as a politically biased “witch hunt” meant to undermine his presidency.
“When Trump called your investigation a witch hunt, was that false?” House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff asked.
“I’d like to think so, yes,” Mueller said.
“Your investigation was not a witch hunt, correct?” the California Democrat pressed.
“It is not a witch hunt,” the former FBI director replied.
Mueller’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee follows his interview with the House Judiciary panel earlier in the day, with Schiff’s questioning opening the second session.
The chairman also asked Mueller to confirm Kremlin efforts to meddle during the 2016 campaigns to try and benefit Trump, and that the campaign welcomed that support. He additionally grilled Mueller on whether the president had potentially compromising financial interests in Russia, namely the prospect of a Trump Tower in Moscow, despite his denials.
Mueller’s report, released by the Justice Department with redactions in April, concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election but did not establish that any members of the Trump campaign criminally conspired with the Russians in these efforts. Mueller did not reach a conclusion on obstruction of justice, citing DOJ policy against indicting a sitting president, but Attorney General William Barr and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded there was insufficient evidence for such a crime in the summary the Justice Department released preceding the report.
Democrats argue Barr misled the public and that by laying out 10 instances of possible obstruction in his report, Mueller left it up to Congress to decide whether Trump obstructed justice.
