Update at 3:15pm:
Former special counsel Robert Mueller has finished testifying before Congress.
Mueller testified before two committees on Wednesday for more than six hours on his 448-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Mueller said the interference was not a hoax, and it was not an isolated episode. He warned that there should be a more robust effort to guard against future interference.
House intelligence committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the Democratic investigations will continue.
Mueller answered most questions in short sentences, referring Congress members to his report and choosing not to read his report aloud.
Mueller had made clear in his report that he could not exonerate President Donald Trump on obstruction of justice in the probe. But investigators didn’t find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Update at 2:30pm:
Former special counsel Robert Mueller has clarified that he did not consider bringing criminal charges against President Donald Trump as part of his Russia investigation.
Mueller in his congressional testimony Wednesday morning seemed to agree that he did not charge Trump with obstruction of justice because of Justice Department guidance saying a sitting president can’t be indicted.
Democrats seized on that answer, but when testimony resumed in the afternoon, Mueller clarified. He said “that is not the correct way to say it.”
Mueller said his team “did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime.”
Mueller had made clear in his report that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. His 448-page report also said investigators didn’t find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former special counsel Robert Mueller is affirming that a president can be charged with crimes after leaving office.
He says Justice Department guidelines prevented him from considering charges against President Donald Trump while he is in office.
Because of the longtime Justice Department guidance that a sitting president cannot be indicted, Mueller says “one of the tools a prosecutor would use is not there.”
Mueller has said his investigators could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. His report said they did not find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Mueller is testifying Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee about his Russia investigation.
President Donald Trump’s sons and advisers are weighing in on the testimony.
Donald Trump Jr. is calling the hearing a “disaster” for Democrats. He says Mueller claims he can’t understand the Republicans’ questions, but totally gets the ones from Democrats.
Eric Trump says GOP Rep. Jim Jordan’s comments at the hearing were “spot on.” Jordan says Democrats should be investigating what he says are “false accusations” that started the Russia probe.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says the hearing shows the Russia probe was run by Democrats wanting to destroy Trump.
(Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
