Reality over reality show

Sure, he was halting. Yes, he stammered at times. No, he didn’t come armed with prepackaged soundbites. But Bob Mueller’s appearance before Congress demands better than a theater review. With stakes this high, the nation deserves an unflinching focus on the substance of what nearly seven hours of testimony revealed. It was far more than the nothing-to-seehere brigades would have the country believe.

Mueller repeated many times in many ways that the president was not, contrary to his NEVERENDING STRING OF ALL CAPS TWEETS, “exonerated.” His campaign indeed benefited from and welcomed Russian intervention, which was sweeping and systematic. And Trump did indeed engage in conduct that was, by any honest definition, consistent with obstruction of justice.

Both Reps. Ted Lieu and Hakeem Jeffries listed examples of those “obstructive acts”: ordering White House Counsel Don McGahn to

fire Mueller; directing a false paper trail to cover that attempt; having ex-campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski tell then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire Mueller or be fired himself.

At the heart of it all is reality-show president’s fundamental, and deeply consequential, dishonesty.

Rep. Val Demings asked Mueller whether the written answers Trump submitted to the special counsel, besides being “inadequate,” showed “he wasn’t always being truthful?” Mueller responded, “I would say — generally.” Did “lies by Trump campaign officials and administration officials impede your investigation?” Mueller: “I would generally agree with that.”

So, yes, Donald Trump welcomed Russia interference. He lied during the investigation and directed his aides to lie. And he tried and tried and tried to obstruct the investigation. Those are facts.