MUELLER TESTIFIES
Lesko decries cost of probe
Rep. Debbie Lesko took former special counsel Robert Mueller to task Wednesday for the cost of his 22month investigation of Russian interference and suggested he relied primarily on news accounts in examining possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.
Like other members of the House Judiciary Committee, the Arizona Republican didn’t extract much new
“We did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime.” Robert Mueller Special counsel in the Russian election interference inquiry
information from Mueller during his nearly four-hour testimony about his probe on Capitol Hill. Instead, Lesko, RAriz., offered thinly veiled criticism of the investigation.
“I think you relied a lot on the media,” Lesko said before citing the number of times Mueller’s report mentioned various media outlets. “I’ve got to say, (the portion of the report dealing with obstruction) is mostly regurgitated press stories. Honestly, there’s almost nothing ... that I hadn’t already heard or know simply by having a $50 cable news subscription. However, your investigation cost American taxpayers $25 million.”
Reflecting the deeply partisan view of Mueller’s report and what it found, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., praised him as a “patriot.”
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., quizzed Mueller about his meetings with toplevel Justice Department officials in the days before becoming special counsel, but quickly ran out of time to explore the subject in any real depth.
Arizona’s three members of the committee were among the last members to question Mueller.
By the time they weighed in, Mueller had long since given Democrats what they wanted most: He maintained that Trump was not exonerated of wrongdoing in the investigation.
But his terse answers and broad reluctance to comment at all gave Democrats and Republicans little more.
Biggs asked Mueller about his three meetings before being named special counsel with Rod Rosenstein, who was then the deputy attorney general and who had oversight of the investigation because then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself.
Mueller acknowledged the meetings with Rosenstein, but maintained he had
Lesko was troubled that Mueller would not explicitly clear Trump of obstruction. Mueller maintained that Justice Department policy ruled out indicting a sitting president. She said he had previously agreed that the policy had no bearing on his decision to not charge obstruction.
not discussed the probe with his friend James Comey, who had just been fired as FBI director by Trump.
Mueller told Biggs he didn’t think he would be named special counsel even the day before he landed that post.
He didn’t make clear to Biggs at what point during his investigation he determined that Trump had not personally conspired with Russians during the 2016 election.
Stanton used his time during the hearing to praise Mueller’s professionalism and allude to opening an impeachment inquiry against Trump, which Stanton has said he supports.
“The attacks made against you and your team intensified because your report is damning, and I believe you did uncover substantial evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors,” Stanton told Mueller. “The only remedy is for Congress to take action.”
Lesko was troubled that Mueller would not explicitly clear Trump of obstruction. Mueller maintained that Justice Department policy ruled out indicting a sitting president. She said he had previously agreed that the policy had no bearing on his decision to not charge obstruction.
Throughout, Mueller came across as a reluctant witness during the hearing, eager to rely on his 448-page report to the attorney general rather than explain his investigation to members of Congress.
He repeatedly declined to even read passages of the report for Democratic members hoping to have him narrate some of the more damning findings.
As Mueller spoke, politicos and others sought the rhetorical upper hand on what to make of it all.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., used the occasion to remind his Twitter followers that “Trump and his associates are a danger to American democracy.”
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., attacked the witnesses Mueller relied on and noted that after “22 months, $30 million, 500 witnesses and 2,800 subpoenas,” in Mueller’s investigation, “all lead to the same conclusion: no obstruction, and no collusion.”
Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward, who is a doctor, tweeted what verged on a medical assessment that Mueller was an addled puppet of his investigators.