MUELLER SPEAKS, BUT SAYS LITTLE

PRESIDENT NOT EXONERATED, SAYS FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL

WASHINGTON • Former special counsel Robert Mueller, in a quiet and occasionally halting manner, provided short, clipped answers to most of the questions thrown at him Tuesday, often referring lawmakers back to his report during the highly anticipated congressional hearing about his investigation of President Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Politicians and the public have waited anxiously for two years to hear Mueller describe his investigation and findings. With the first few words of his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller sought to tamp down expectations that his spoken words would go beyond what his 448-page report has already laid out.

“I do not intend to summarize or describe the results of our work in a different way,” Mueller said, a statement that he repeated in an afternoon session before the House Intelligence Committee.

As lawmakers peppered him with questions, Mueller often replied with variations of “I will refer you to the report,” or “I’m not going to get into that.”

WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump, reacting to U.S. congressional testimony by former special counsel Robert Mueller, said on Wednesday the Republican Party had a good day and reiterated his attacks on the Russia probe as a hoax and witch hunt.

Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House on a trip to West Virginia, Trump said Mueller, who told lawmakers his probe did not exonerate the president, did not perform well in testimony before two House of Representatives panels and would hurt the Democrats during the 2020 election campaign.

“So we had a very good day today, the Republican Party, our country. There was no defence of what Robert Mueller was trying to defend,” Trump said.

“Whether his performance was a bad one or a good one, I think everybody understands that. ... There was no defence for this ridiculous hoax, this witch hunt that has been going on a long time,” he added.

Trump called it a “devastating day” for Democrats, saying: “I think they hurt themselves very badly for 2020.”

He said he did not believe he could be indicted after leaving office because he had not done anything wrong, despite Mueller’s testimony that Trump could, in fact, be prosecuted after his presidency.

“This has been a very bad thing for our country,” said Trump.

He added, “Robert Mueller did a horrible job. In all fairness to Robert Mueller, he had nothing to work with.”

JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller prepares to testify on the investigation into interference in the 2016 Presidential Election in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.