President Donald Trump angrily assailed special counsel Robert Mueller’s motives on Thursday, a day after Mueller bluntly rebuffed Trump’s repeated claims that the Russia investigation had cleared him of obstructing justice.
The president also offered mixed messages on Russia’s efforts to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign. Early in the day, Trump tweeted he had “nothing to do with Russia helping me get elected.” That was the first time he seemed to acknowledge that Russia tried to help his campaign. Then on the White House South Lawn, Trump told reporters: “Russia did not help me get elected. You know who got me elected? You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia didn’t help me at all.”
Mueller’s report said Russia interfered in the election in hopes of getting Trump elected, but his findings and intelligence officials have stopped short of saying the efforts contributed to Trump’s victory.
Trump’s 20-minute eruption underscored that he remains deeply distressed over the probe that has shadowed his presidency for nearly two years, even after Mueller announced his resignation and the closure of his office. Democrats are mulling the possibility of impeachment proceedings.
Trump insisted that he’s been tough on Russia and that Moscow would have preferred Clinton as president. But that’s not what Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. When asked last year in Helsinki whether he wanted Trump to become president, Putin replied: “Yes, I did.”
On Wednesday, Mueller, in his first public remarks on the Russia investigation, pointedly rejected Trump’s claims — repeated almost daily — that the special counsel’s investigation cleared him of criminal activity and was a “witch hunt.” Mueller emphasized that he had not exonerated Trump on the question of whether he obstructed justice, but said charging Trump with any crime was “not an option” because of Justice Department rules.
“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller declared.
Attorney General William Barr, however, said Mueller could have reached a decision on whether Trump obstructed justice. Barr said in an interview with “CBS This Morning” that though Justice Department rules prevent the indictment of a sitting president, Mueller nonetheless could have decided whether Trump had committed a crime.
Trump repeated his baseless claims that Mueller is “conflicted,” contending that Mueller, who served as FBI director under President George W. Bush, wanted his old job back, but that he had told him no. He said Mueller, a Republican, was “a true never Trumper” and “didn’t get a job that he wanted very badly.”
….say he fought back against this phony crime that didn’t exist, this horrendous false accusation, and he shouldn’t fight back, he should just sit back and take it. Could this be Obstruction? No, Mueller didn’t find Obstruction either. Presidential Harassment!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
Mueller had been considered for the FBI director position shortly before being named as special counsel. But then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has said that while the White House had invited Mueller to speak to the president about the FBI and thought about asking him to become director again, Mueller did not come in looking for a job.
Trump also said Mueller should have investigated law enforcement officials who the president claims tried to undermine him. Mueller’s mandate, however, was to investigate Russian election interference, possible coordination with the Trump campaign and any obstruction of that investigation.
The Greatest Presidential Harassment in history. After spending $40,000,000 over two dark years, with unlimited access, people, resources and cooperation, highly conflicted Robert Mueller would have brought charges, if he had ANYTHING, but there were no charges to bring!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
Robert Mueller came to the Oval Office (along with other potential candidates) seeking to be named the Director of the FBI. He had already been in that position for 12 years, I told him NO. The next day he was named Special Counsel – A total Conflict of Interest. NICE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
Among those whom Trump says Mueller should have investigated were members of the special counsel’s own team, including Peter Strzok, a former FBI agent who helped lead the investigation and exchanged anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 election with ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
Strzok was removed from Mueller’s investigative team following the discovery of the texts and later was fired from the FBI. Page has left the bureau. Strzok told Congress that there was “no conspiracy” at the FBI to prevent Trump from becoming president.
Trump, asked about impeachment by Congress, called it a “dirty word” and said he couldn’t imagine the courts allowing him to be impeached. “I don’t think so because there’s no crime,” he said.
Mueller made clear that his team never considered indicting Trump because the Justice Department prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president. He and others have indicated that the next move, if any, is up to Congress, which has the power of impeachment. Trump has blocked House committees’ subpoenas and other efforts to dig into the Trump-Russia issue, insisting Mueller’s report has settled everything.
How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats? WITCH-HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
President Trump: "Russia did not help me get elected. You know who got me elected? You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia did not help me at all." pic.twitter.com/B7Bb2M32Sq
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 30, 2019
(AP)
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12 Responses
Trump’s outburst would be laughable if it wasn’t him giving it. As if he’s never unbiased, never makes daft almost unhinged comments.
Thank goodness the USA limits presidents to a maximum of 8 years!
Are you having the same laugh about the MP’s in the UK?
Trump is pathetic. Now his staff will have to cover the name Mueller on all boxes of macaroni and lasagne.
His ill informed and childish comments are merely distractions. It is incumbent that our electeds do the work necessary to secure an untainted election process come 2020. Certainly this is something that both sides of the aisle should work towards.
I wish someone would come & drag the guy to a psychologist,
America had more than enough,
We’ve had enough of his rhetoric & name calling, what a slime ball,
If he was prohibited to indicting, he should not have investigated. There was nothing in his mandate for this.
Trump is right, he is basically a Democratic mole.
All you doofs i want to see you live 2 years with a lynching crew of investigators looking at thousands of documents destroying people’s lives…then that Mueller is done and here we go again with his pathetic news conference ..in spite of all this nonsense he’s posting amazing numbers on the economy he’s dealing with China… iran ..Mexico with a tough hand and has been the best friend of the Jews… what do you want a subdued proper anti semitic liberal???
AviLondon, crazykanoiy, chymee, Trump is 100% correct in his response to corrupt sleazy dirty cop Robert Mueller. Your sad and hysterical comments prove this. You are all angry because Mueller dashed your hopes of removing Trump from office.
The picture at the top speaks for itself, the one on the right is obvious a sore looser!
Instead of moving on he basically showed everyone who he really was all along – deep state operator 101 that deserves zero credibility!
Another top FBI “Sterling reputation” down the toilet!
Who’s next?
Notorious M.I.G.-
Why do you attempt to defend a 4th grade schoolyard bully who never grew up? Was it his toxic descriptions of assaulting women that appealed to you? Or perhaps you admire his ongoing feud with a dead american war hero? Or that he, in his own words,”fell in love” with a mass murderer who just executed his entire negotiating team?
Perhaps all of the above, and many more “good midos” that you “Toirah”chinuch has left you with.
chareidi amiti, with all the faults you pin on Trump he is still 1000% preferred to any members of your Marxist cult of death called Democrat party, party of baby killers, sexual perverts, Socialist crazies , party of jihady
Muslims lovers,, party of Jew-haters and America haters. You or any other Democrats are not in position to preach about “Torah values”. Besides what your hysterical anti Trump rant has to do with Mueller probe?
It was Sessions’ choice and it was brilliant. Had a Trump-appointee (lackey, friend, whatever) announced no evidence of collusion (which Mueller did, the debate is over “obstruction of justice”, not over “collusion”), no one would have believed him. Trump should politgely extend sympathies since for no prosecutor is anything sadder than having to “let one get away” since the investigation proved the person being investigated to be innocent.