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If congressional Democrats hoped to learn anything from today’s testimony from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, it was whether Donald Trump would have been indicted for the actions that Muller’s team uncovered during their investigation were he not a sitting president.
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Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) managed to coax the reluctant witness to admit as much in his questioning of the special counsel, getting Mueller to admit that the reason he did not indict the President for the multiple instances of obstruction of justice clearly laid out in his report was simply the ruling by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) that a sitting president cannot be indicted
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Rep. Ted Lieu: “The reason again that you did not indict Donald Trump is because of [Office of Legal Counsel] opinion stating that you cannot indict a sitting president, correct?”
Mueller: “That is correct” pic.twitter.com/ITR5dQOODK
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 24, 2019
Neal Katyal, former Acting Solicitor General of United States in the Obama administration, saw the exchange as confirmation that anyone other than President trump who engaged in the behavior the inquiry disclosed would be prosecuted and convicted.
, that Mueller said on May 29 that he wasn't saying we would have indicted if there was no OLC opinion.
Mueller did not take back what he said to Lieu. If he doesn't take it back, will be big news: despite all his guardrails, Mueller saying he would have indicted but-for OLC op— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 24, 2019
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The transcript even more damning:
Rep Lieu: Thank you. So to recap what we've heard, we have heard today that the president ordered former white house counsel don mcgahn to fire you. The president ordered don mcgahn to then cover that up and create a false paper trail. [more]
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 24, 2019
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of justice have been met. I'd like to ask you again the reason again you did not indict president trump is because of a longstanding tradition that you not indite a standing president, correct?
>> ANSWER BY MUELLER: That is correct. END
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 24, 2019
Mueller reached that conclusion despite the fact that — as he admitted in his answer to Congresswoman Val Demmings (D-FL) question — Trump officials had impeded his investigation into the facts of the circumstances his team was investigating.
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Rep. Val Demings asks Mueller if lies from Trump officials "impeded your investigation"
Mueller: "I would generally agree with that" https://t.co/pjOwNhYtbJ pic.twitter.com/cKEl5aAuWc
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 24, 2019
It’s difficult to argue after Mueller’s testimony this morning that impeachment is not immediately imperative. If Democrats do fail to move forward with impeachment due to political considerations — the only reason at this point for not initiating proceedings — at least we have the satisfaction of knowing that Mueller has admitted that Trump could be indicted for his crimes the minute that he leaves the office.
@RepKenBuck: "Could you charge THE president with a crime after he left office?"
Robert Mueller: "Yes" pic.twitter.com/CCT4UpzSFU#MuellerHearings #MuellerTestimony #MuellerHearing # https://t.co/21Go54yI40
— Zena Llenar (@zenallenar) July 24, 2019
All the more reason to ensure that a Democrat is elected to the presidency in 2020.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
