Rep. Val Demings Questions Robert Mueller About the President’s Honesty

In one of the most pointed and stunning exchanges during former special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s testimony during two Congressional hearings today, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings queried Mueller about the written answers President Donald Trump submitted to the Department of Justice investigative team looking at allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign and Trump’s alleged collusion and obstruction of justice.

Demings asked Mueller, “Director Mueller, isn’t it fair to say the President’s written answers were not only inadequate and incomplete because he didn’t answer many of your questions, but where he did, his answers showed he wasn’t always being truthful?”

The former FBI director replied, “I would say generally.”

Mueller explained the cost-benefit analysis he employed when deciding if Trump should be subpoenaed to testify in person.

“We had to make a balanced decision,” Mueller remarked. “We negotiated with him for a little over a year…finally, when we were almost towards the end of our investigation, we decided we did not want to exercise the subpoena because of the necessity of expediting the end of the investigation.”

In the end, Mueller and his team permitted the President to submit written answers to their questions.

With more than 15 months until the 2020 Presidential election, Mueller emphasized the aggressive election tampering threat the country still faces.

“I hope this is not the new normal, but I feel it is,” Mueller stated when questioned about the possibility that other governments will attempt to interfere in upcoming election cycles. “Much more needs to be done to protect against this intrusion and not just the Russians but others as well.”

Mueller’s testimony provided an opportunity for Americans to hear him explain the 448-page report he and his team presented earlier this year detailing the investigation that led to 35 indictments which included two high-profile associates of Trump’s, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

The investigation revealed a Trump campaign determined to win the White House in 2016 even if it meant welcoming foreign assistance. Mueller’s report failed to link President Trump directly to efforts to work with the Russian government or to obstruct the investigation into the allegations. However, Mueller said the President had not been “exonerated” and that the investigation was not a “witch hunt” as the President repeatedly claimed.

Illinois Congressman Mike Quigly queried Mueller about then-candidate Trump’s gleeful approval of emails damaging to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton which were leaked by Wikileaks’ Julian Assange who has consistently denied any connection to Russian.

Mueller responded, “Problematic is an understatement.”

With some members of the Democratic Party calling for impeachment, attention now turns to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders who have not supported impeaching Trump. Today’s hearing will help determine the next step.

President Trump considered the day a success, saying “I think today proved a lot to everybody.” And, Republicans were pleased with Mueller’s performance, describing the day as “the death rattle for impeachment.”