Dems divided on next step after stale Mueller hearing
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are struggling to figure out their next move against President Donald Trump after their highly anticipated hearing with Robert Mueller fell flat, forcing some Democrats to secondguess their strategy while aggravating divisions in the party over impeachment.
Several centrist Democrats seized on the absence of a major revelation to argue it was time to end House investigations into whether Trump tried to obstruct the former special counsel’s probe and pivot to legislation.
“Anyone who was looking for the smoking gun yesterday didn’t get it,” said Rep. Anthony Brindisi, DN.Y., who ousted a Republican incumbent by fewer than 500 votes in last year’s midterm elections. “It’s time to move on and focus on getting some bills passed here that can get signed into law.”
But that plea had no effect on the pro-impeachment Democrats, who dug in, insisting that House oversight of Trump and his administration has been ineffective and pressed for launching proceedings.
In a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday night, after Mueller’s testimony, proponents tried to convince House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to move ahead on impeachment, a step she has resisted.
“There’s no question that if we’re serious about accountability, we put our strongest foot forward to get information and enforce subpoenas to shape this narrative,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who complained that the House’s current strategy was a “slow-walk.”
He said it was a mistake for Democrats to rely on Mueller — a 74-year-old reluctant witness who had made clear that he would not provide the blockbuster moment the party craved — to make their case to the public.
“We are not potted plants. We can actually shape some of this public sentiment,” Huffman said. “We’re not powerless, and I just think we’ve got to get much more serious about doing that part of our job.”
The divisions over next steps come as House Democrats face criticism over their seven months of multiple investigations that have yielded little new information that would build public support for ousting Trump. Outside liberal groups are furious with Pelosi. Other Democrats, including several who worked for President Barack Obama, have expressed frustration with the House’s inability to hold accountable what they consider a lawless president and administration.
Ninety-eight Democrats have backed impeachment, according to a count by the Washington Post. The number amounts to 42 percent of the Democratic caucus.
Mueller’s six hours of testimony did not help their case, many Democrats said privately. Some wondered whether they had miscalculated in focusing so much on the former FBI director and less on subpoenaing witnesses in Mueller’s report and asking the courts to force them to testify.
Most notably, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, DCalif., who elicited several of Mueller’s criticisms of Trump at the hearings, sharply played down the prospects of removing the president through impeachment.
“We do need to be realistic, and that is, the only way he’s leaving office, at least at this point, is by being voted out, and I think our efforts need to be made in every respect to make sure we turn out our people,” Schiff said during an interview on CNN.
Separately, other committees are pressing ahead with their investigations of the administration.
The House Oversight Committee on Thursday voted to authorize subpoenas for White House work communications sent via personal email and cellphone amid questions about whether the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, violated federal record-keeping laws.