Republicans are eager to declare Robert Mueller’s investigation and subsequent report null and void, thereby vindicating a president they believe was wrongly targeted. Evidence certainly does suggest Trump was a political target. Perhaps this should matter, but practically, it doesn’t. The origins of the investigation won’t change its conclusions.
Throughout Mueller’s congressional testimony, House GOP lawmakers pressed the former special counsel on the origins of the Russia probe, citing the FISA warrant that led to the FBI’s supervision of Trump campaign aide Carter Page, the Steele dossier, and Fusion GPS, the political firm that hired Steele. In doing so, Republicans hoped to point out the blatant abuse of power that resulted in Mueller’s two-year investigation, which they’ve argued was nothing more than a political hit job. But Mueller refused to answer any of these questions because they laid beyond his purview. House Republicans expected this, but continued to ask regardless.
“You stated in your opening that the organizing principle was to fully and thoroughly investigate Russia’s interference, but you weren’t interested in whether or not they were interfering through Steele and you should have charged him like other people. But you say nothing about this in your report,” Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz declared. Fellow GOP Reps. Jim Jordan and Louie Gohmert continued this strategy and questioned the legitimacy of Mueller’s probe.
GOP lawmakers, like Gaetz, likely hoped to demonstrate the investigation’s faulty premises to Americans who haven’t read Mueller’s 448-page report. As the saying goes, they won’t read the book but they’ll watch the movie. But in doing so, Republicans threw away an important opportunity to use Mueller’s report to their advantage.
At this point, it doesn’t matter whether the Russia probe should have happened. It did happen. Evidence was weighed and conclusions were drawn. Republicans should have focused on what those conclusions mean for the president, since they do, in fact, favorably lean toward Trump.
In the first volume of his report, Mueller concluded there was no substantive evidence that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election. Democrats continue to insist he did. Had Republicans focused on pointing out this glaring contradiction, Mueller’s testimony might have been worthwhile. Instead, the GOP doubled down on questioning the integrity of Christopher Steele.
This isn’t to say the questions the GOP asked aren’t worth asking. But those questions should be left to the Department of Justice, which is now running a probe into the origins of the Steele dossier and the FISA warrant that enabled it.
Congressional Republicans had the chance to prove just how little evidence there is against Trump, in regards to collusion. In fact, Mueller made that exact determination, and he was sitting right in front of them.
This could have been an easy win for Republicans, but they blew it.
