Trump portrays Mueller testimony as a victory as Pelosi keeps impeachment on hold
David Knowles EditorYahoo News•Don Jr. and Lara Trump repeatedly misspell Robert Mueller’s name
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress disappointed Democrats who continue to grapple with whether to pursue impeaching him.“They are devastated, the Democrats lost so big today,” Trump told reporters gathered on the White House lawn.Trump, who had tweeted angrily about Mueller’s appearances before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, also took aim at the man who had investigated his 2016 presidential campaign’s ties to Russia.“This was one of the worst performance in the history of our country,” Trump said of Mueller.He added: „This was a very big day for our country. This was a very big day for the Republican Party. And you could say it was a great day for me, but I don’t even like to say that.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the media following Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)Shortly after the president spoke to reporters, however, House Democrats offered a decidedly different assessment of Mueller’s testimony. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was a “historic” day, and that the country was “crossing a threshold” in its understanding of the findings of the Mueller report.While Pelosi did not commit to opening an impeachment inquiry based on what she heard Wednesday, she said it remained a possibility depending on what a trio of House committees found in ongoing investigations.“The Mueller investigation was prohibited from looking into the president’s finances, and that is what our committees of jurisdiction have been doing,” Pelosi said.Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said, “Mueller made clear that the president is not exonerated.”“The report said the president could be indicted for obstructing justice after he leaves office,” Nadler said, adding, “President Trump went to great lengths to obstruct the special counsel’s investigation.”Nadler also said his committee would enforce its subpoena issued to former White House counsel Don McGahn.Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday’s hearings showed that Trump’s actions since being elected had left American elections less secure.
Four House leaders: Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)“We go into this next election more vulnerable than we should be,” Schiff said.But the most impassioned remarks at the Democrats’ news conference came from Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.Lauding his fellow chairmen, Cummings called Mueller’s testimony “a giant step in making sure that the American people got a picture of all of this.”On Trump’s denials of wrongdoing, Cummings said, “We refuse to accept it.”“I’m begging the American people to pay attention to what’s going on,” Cummings added.Pressed by reporters whether she was comfortable pursuing impeachment because it faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Senate, Pelosi argued that Democrats would continue to build their case against the president. But she said the endeavor would not be “endless.”“If we have a case for impeachment, that’s the place we’ll have to go,” Pelosi said.Trump says he and country had a ‘very good day,’ calls Mueller testimony ‘horrible’
JORDYN PHELPS and MERIDITH MCGRAWGood Morning America•Trump says he and country had a ‘very good day,’ calls Mueller testimony ‘horrible’ originally appeared on abcnews.go.com President Donald Trump declared it to be a „very good day” shortly after former special counsel Robert Mueller finished answering questions for more than six hours before Congress on Wednesday about whether he had obstructed justice.„There was no defense for this ridiculous hoax,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a GOP campaign fundraiser in West Virginia. „So, this was a very big day for our country, this was a very big day for the Republican Party. And you can say it was a great day for me but I don’t even like to say that,” Trump said.(MORE: 5 key takeaways from Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress)He said Mueller did a „horrible job” in his testimony and how he handled the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government and individuals tied to the Kremlin, but offered a backhanded defense of Mueller by arguing he had no material to work with.”Robert Mueller did a horrible job today and with respect to the investigation. But in all fairness the Robert Mueller, he had nothing to work with, you know, you can be a builder, but if they don’t give you the right materials, they’re not going to build a very good building. Robert Mueller had no material,” Trump said.
PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks to the media about the testimony of White House Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Congress, July 24, 2019, outside the White House. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)(MORE: Democrats call Mueller testimony ‘historic day’ for Americans in understanding probe)The president was defensive when asked about Mueller, who said on Capitol Hill that he had not exonerated him as Trump had often claimed.”So there is no such a thing. He didn’t have the right to exonerate. And you know it is very interesting, people mention exoneration, that was something where he totally folded. Because he never had the right to exonerate,” Trump said.He called it a „devastating” day for Democrats. „They are devastated, the Democrats lost so big today.””The Democrats had nothing and now they have less than nothing,” he said. „They should be ashamed of themselves.”(MORE: Report doesn’t exonerate Trump, Mueller testifies, and he could be charged after leaving office)
PHOTO: Former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, in Washington, D.C., July 24, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/AP)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , in a news conference held after Trump left the White House, called Mueller’s testimony a „historic day” for the American people in understanding the significance of his investigation and whether the president obstructed justice. She added that it crossed „a threshold in terms of public awareness of what happened.”Ahead of Mueller’s testimony on Capitol Hill, Trump launched into a series of attacks on Twitter of the former special counsel, the hearings and the investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed justice.(MORE: For Democrats and Republicans alike, Robert Mueller proves a frustrating witness: Analysis)In a series of eight tweets, the president accused Democrats of trying to „illegally fabricate a crime” on a „very innocent President” and questioned why Mueller’s investigation did not focus on his political opponent Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, or „the investigators.”
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
So Democrats and others can illegally fabricate a crime, try pinning it on a very innocent President, and when he fights back against this illegal and treasonous attack on our Country, they call It Obstruction? Wrong! Why didn’t Robert Mueller investigate the investigators?
