Müller, for the first time, commented on the "Russian case": Democrats again threaten to impeach Trump

Special Prosecutor Robert Muller told 29 in May that his report “speaks for itself” and that even if he testifies before Congress, he will not provide any information “beyond what is already public,” writes NBC News.

Screenshot from video YouTube / Guardian News

“This report constitutes my testimony,” Mueller said during an appearance at the Justice Department, his first comments on the two-year investigation into Russian interference in the US election and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.

Mueller said during the preparation of the report on 448 pages that "we carefully chose the words, and the work speaks for itself."

“I will not provide any additional information beyond what is already public in any testimony before Congress,” Mueller said.

The former director of the FBI said he did not plan further comments on the investigation or report.

“Beyond what I have said here today and what is contained in our written report, I do not believe it is appropriate to speak further or comment on this matter,” he said, adding that he “made this decision myself” and that no one tried to prevent his appearance before Congress.

“Nobody told me if I should or could testify,” he said.

On the subject: After Muller’s report, the demand for Trump’s products rose sharply: what they buy most often

Muller, whose report does not provide definitive conclusions about whether Trump obstructed justice, reiterated his decision

“If we had confidence that he clearly had not committed a crime, we would have said so. However, we are undecided as to whether the president committed a crime,” Mueller said, implicitly refuting Trump’s repeated claims that Mueller had cleared him.

The Special Prosecutor made it clear that from the very beginning of his investigation, he felt limited by the rules of the Department of Justice, which prohibit the prosecution of the current president. According to him, the method of accusation and removal from office of the president lies outside the criminal justice system, citing the provisions of the Constitution on impeachment and condemnation of the president.

In accordance with the long-standing policy of the Department of Justice, according to Muller, “the president cannot be accused of a federal crime while he is at his post.”

“This is unconstitutional. Therefore, the option of charging the president with a crime could not be considered,” Mueller said.

During the speech, he also stated that he was retiring to return to his personal life. After his roughly 10-minute statement, Muller refused to answer journalists' questions. He said that he “spoke today because our investigation has been completed.”

Müller explained that, although the existing legal guide “explicitly permits” the investigation into the current president, the guide also says that the president’s accusation of a crime is governed by other rules.

“The Constitution requires another process outside the criminal justice system to formally charge a sitting president with misconduct,” he said.

The comment, an apparent reference to the appropriateness of Congress addressing such issues, is likely to spark a new wave of calls from Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump.

On the subject: An American found a photo of his father in a Muller report: he was used by the Russian "trolley factory"

Muller added that his report was also guided by "principles of justice."

“It would be unfair to charge someone with a crime when there can be no judicial determination on the actual charge. This was the policy of the Department of Justice. These were the principles we followed,” he said.

“And based on them, we came to the conclusion that we would not be able to determine one way or another whether the president committed a crime. This is the final position of our investigation, and we will not comment on any other findings or hypotheses about the president,” Mueller said.

When it came to Russian interference in the 2016 election, Mueller emphasized that the Russians—using “sophisticated cyber technology, such as hacking into computer networks and email accounts, and impersonating Americans on social media—launched a concerted attack on our political system."

“There have been many systematic attempts to interfere in our elections. This statement deserves the attention of every American,” Mueller said.

A senior White House official said that on Tuesday evening, the White House was notified that Muller could make a statement, but did not know the content of what the Special Prosecutor intended to say. The official added that the White House did not try to prevent Muller from organizing his speech.

A few minutes after Muller’s statement, Trump wrote in Twitterthat "the case is closed."

Screenshot from Twitter / @ realDonaldTrump

Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Judicial Committee Jerrold Nadler (Democrat of New York), whose committee has the authority to initiate an impeachment procedure against Trump, said that Congress is ready to act.

“Given Special Counsel Mueller's failure to bring criminal charges against the President, Congress must answer President Trump's crimes, lies and other misdeeds—and we will. No one, not even the President of the United States, is above the law,” Nadler said in a statement released after Mueller’s testimony.

On the subject: 'Hysteria and Russophobia': Russia gave an official response to the investigation of Muller

Müller has not commented on the investigation since he was appointed Special Prosecutor for the case in May 2017. Democrats of the House of Representatives want him to testify before Congress in the coming weeks.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• In March, Muller presented to Attorney General William Barr your report on more than 400 pages about Russian interference in the presidential election 2016 of the year, in which it was stated that the Russians had interfered in the elections, but Trump's headquarters did not conspire with the Russians, but Muller left open the question: did Trump prevent the investigation of this case?
• In addition, due to numerous allegations of data fraud to launch an investigation against Trump in mid-May 2019, Attorney General William Barr appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the reasons for the Russian investigation and determine whether attempts to gather intelligence information related to Donald Trump's election campaign in 2016 were “legitimate and appropriate”. This position was received by the federal prosecutor from Connecticut, John Durham.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Pelosi is confident that Trump wants to impeach him

Democrats want to conduct a new investigation on Russia's intervention: Trump's reaction

Secret data: the Russians wanted to organize a pan-African state in the southern United States

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.