Robert Mueller: 'No,' Donald Trump was not exonerated

Former special counsel Robert Mueller said it was "true" that US President Donald Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office. Pic /AFP

Washington: Robert Mueller said Wednesday he did not exonerate Donald Trump in his two-year Russian meddling investigation but also told lawmakers he will not say if the president committed a crime, as he launched into a marathon day of congressional testimony.

Three months after releasing the final report on his probe into the 2016 election, much of the American public remains unclear about the former special counsel's findings on whether Trump criminally obstructed justice and whether his campaign colluded with Russians.

With Trump declaring he was "exonerated" in the probe and Democrats saying the report supplied ample evidence for impeachment, the notoriously taciturn Mueller, a veteran prosecutor and former FBI director, answered questions for the first time in front of two separate, Democrat-run committees in the House of Representatives.
Mueller - who made a few public remarks at a press conference in May but did not take questions and has resisted testifying - reiterated that he would "stay within the text" of his report, and was visibly uncomfortable once the question period began.

"Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, we decided we would not make a determination as to whether the president committed a crime. That was our decision then and it remains our decision today," Mueller said in his opening remarks.

But when asked at the start of the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee if his report completely cleared the president of wrongdoing, Mueller said "no."
"The president was not exculpated for the acts he allegedly committed," Mueller said, adding that it was "true" that Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office.

Trump insisted this week he would not watch the nationally-televised testimony but half an hour before it was to start, he let loose with an angry Twitter tirade, complaining among other things about the fact Mueller will testify with a top aide sitting next to him.

"This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it. The Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history, by far!" Trump wrote in one of a half dozen tweets.
"NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!" Trump tweeted again on Tuesday.

Democrats nevertheless hoped Mueller would make clear to the public why he did not bring charges despite damning evidence outlined in the 448-page report - and potentially offer explanations of Trump's conduct that would damage him in the run-up to the 2020 election.

tweet talk

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it. The Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history, by far!

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