In his only public statement since the start of the Russia probe, special counsel Robert Mueller explained that he had decided not to charge President Trump with obstruction of justice because of the Justice Department’s policy about indicting a sitting president.
As The Washington Post reported, in a statement that is being interpreted as an implicit call for impeachment, Mueller said that “the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.”
“What Robert Mueller basically did was return an impeachment referral,” Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said, echoing statements from other Democrats. As The Hill reported, presidential candidates Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Beto O’Rourke have all made similar remarks.
Key House Democrats are also calling for impeachment, according to Politico . David Cicilline, a member of the Judiciary panel and Democratic leadership, explicitly called for an impeachment inquiry. Other Democrats in the lower chamber of Congress suggested that impeachment proceedings begin as well, as did Republican Justin Amash.
Although Robert Mueller’s public statement may have reignited calls for impeachment, broad support for an inquiry comes as no surprise.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , more than 30 House Democrats, many of them top committee members, have publicly called for impeachment proceedings to being. The number has only gone up, but standing in the way of an impeachment inquiry is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi reacts to Mueller statement https://t.co/pw4TnALeOJ pic.twitter.com/Jc0hX6G6Pl
— The Hill (@thehill) May 29, 2019
In a statement about Robert Mueller’s brief press conference, Pelosi “held firm on her impeachment stance,” as Politico put it, once again withstanding pressure from her own caucus and the public alike.
Pelosi did not even mention impeachment, echoing many of her previous statements and suggesting that Congress should continue legislating and investigating President Trump.
“The Congress will continue to investigate and legislate to protect our elections and secure our democracy. The American people must have the truth,” she said.
The top Democrat has repeatedly and continually argued against impeachment, so this hardly comes as a surprise.
Although opposed to impeachment, Pelosi has long accused Trump and his allies — Attorney General William Barr, in particular — of covering up the president’s crimes. Other top Democrats frequently repeated such claims, suggesting that Barr had misinterpreted the Mueller report.
As The Washington Examiner reported, during his press conference today, Mueller revealed that it was Attorney General William Barr who pushed for the publication of the full report. Mueller, he explained, wanted certain portions of the report released, and Barr wanted the public to see the document in its entirety.