Russia Investigation
On Wednesday, Mueller gave a public statement at DOJ saying that his special counsel office is closed and he is resigning. Some key quotes:
“it is important that the office’s written work speak for itself.”
“When a subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government’s effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable.”
“if we had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the President did commit a crime.”
“under long-standing Department policy, a President cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. “
“the opinion explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting President because it is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh and documents are available. Among other things, that evidence could be used if there were co-conspirators who could now be charged.”
“the opinion says that the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrongdoing.”
“We appreciate that the Attorney General made the report largely public. I do not question the Attorney General’s good faith in that decision.”
“I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments—that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American.”
While Mueller was measured and did not call for impeachment, many in the media interpret his statement (and report) as an impeachment referral to Congress. Dan Balz: Mueller’s appearance now leaves House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with an unpalatable choice. She can authorize a politically explosive impeachment inquiry opposed by a majority of the American people — and one that surely would die in the Republican-controlled Senate — or appear to abdicate in the face of the evidence of obstruction contained in the Mueller report.
Wittes after Mueller spoke–he does not call for impeachment but he does think Congress needs to get a better strategy in how it is investigating Trump: “A big part of the story here is that key committees are just not pursuing a focused oversight agenda involving live testimony by the key witnesses in a fashion that is likely to prove effective. Congress has so far sought the testimony of relatively few people named in the report. It has not so far moved aggressively against anyone who has resisted.”
Frum makes a strong tactical case against impeachment: Right now Trump is fighting on many fronts to suppress many investigations of many different forms of alleged wrongdoing. He must plug more holes in the dike than he has fingers. But submerge all those many stories into one big question—“remove or don’t”—and the impeachers will have to focus their energy on the most salient allegations. The battlefront will narrow, and as it narrows, the unity of the executive branch will confer a tactical advantage… focus on the discovery of facts rather than arguments over consequences: “What wrongs did Trump do?” rather than “Is removal the right remedy for these wrongs?”
In Other News
New documents reveal that the Census Citizenship question was advocated by a Republican operative who said it would explicitly help the GOP create stronger gerrymandered districts.
News broke that during Trump’s visit to Japan over Memorial Day weekend, the White House had the USS John McCain cover the name of the ship with a tarp, and turned away sailors with the name of the ship on their uniforms from Trump’s speech.
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Trump’s Job Approval: 41.2%