Special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s first and possibly last public statement on the Russia investigation is fueling fresh calls on Capitol Hill to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, a step that Democratic leaders have so far resisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surprising Washington with brief remarks Wednesday, Mueller indicated it\u2019s up to Congress to decide what to do with his findings. The special counsel reiterated that, bound by Justice Department policy, charging a sitting president with a crime was \u201cnot an option.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he also stressed he could not exonerate Trump. Instead, he cited that same policy to say, \u201cThe Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system.\u201d With Mueller closing his office and not expected to comment further, it all amounted, for some, to an open invitation for Congress to launch impeachment proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They prefer to continue the work of investigating the president and building, as Pelosi said Wednesday, a case that\u2019s \u201cvery compelling to the American people.\u201d \u201cWe are legislating, we\u2019re investigating and we are litigating,\u201d Pelosi said at an event in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNothing is off the table,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to do what is right and what gets results.\u201d Staying the course, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, at a news conference in New York stopped short of calling for an impeachment inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have one remaining path to ensure justice is served,\u201d said Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democratic presidential candidate. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that the House must begin impeachment proceedings. No one is above the law.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But top Democrats, with almost no support from Republicans, are hesitant to go it alone on an impeachment inquiry that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned would be divisive for the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nadler\u2019s committee is among six in the House that are conducting dozens of probes in the Democratic-controlled House into subjects such as Trump\u2019s tax returns, the handling of the Russia probe and the running of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven that special counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the President, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump and we will do so,\u201d Nadler said in a written statement issued immediately after Mueller\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before Mueller\u2019s unexpected appearance, Democratic leaders had tamped down increasingly vocal voices calling for an impeachment inquiry. Pelosi sent lawmakers home for a weeklong recess brushing back the pro-impeachment faction, urging her caucus to stick with the step-by-step approach of investigations. They hoped to hear directly from Mueller in a high-profile hearing that could help focus public attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now that Mueller has made clear the work ahead won\u2019t likely include him announcing his office is closing and he\u2019s resigning his position it\u2019s igniting new urgency on Capitol Hill to pick up where the special counsel left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, another Democratic presidential hopeful, said, \u201cMueller did his job. Now it\u2019s time to do ours. Impeachment hearings should begin tomorrow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While some Democrats want to focus on investigating Trump, building the record in the public, as happened during the Watergate era with Richard Nixon, others, including some new voices Wednesday, say Mueller has all but punted the issue to Congress. They believe opening a formal impeachment proceeding would strengthen their hand in the legal battles over documents and testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI fully expect the responsible House committees to expedite their investigations and, as soon as possible, formally draft articles of impeachment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mueller\u2019s report did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in Trump\u2019s favour. Investigators examined nearly a dozen episodes involving the president for potential obstruction of justice but ultimately reached no conclusion on whether Trump had illegally tried to stymie the probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mueller made clear his desire to avoid testimony, declaring the report his final word on the matter. He said it wouldn\u2019t be \u201cappropriate\u201d for him \u201cto speak further about the investigation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nadler would not say whether he would compel Mueller to testify, as he has threatened to do. But he hinted that he may not pursue an aggressive approach against the special counsel, saying, \u201cMr Mueller told us a lot of what we need to hear today.\u201d Republicans, as they have done since Mueller\u2019s report was released, called for Congress to move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The GOP chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said that Mueller \u201chas decided to move on and let the report speak for itself. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s first and possibly last public statement on the Russia investigation is fueling fresh calls on Capitol Hill to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, a step that Democratic leaders have so far resisted. Surprising Washington with brief remarks Wednesday, Mueller indicated it\u2019s up to Congress to decide what to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62475,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62473\/revisions\/62475"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}