Thursday, July 25, 2019
PMT: The Mueller Testimony
Wow, that was a long day-- especially for Robert Mueller! Here are some of my observations after watching or listening to much of the testimony:
1) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York seemed to actually use the template I offered here on the Razor! You can see his questioning here, and note how it tracks my suggestions-- even including Mueller's "I would refer you to my report" almost exactly when he said that. I'm not saying he actually saw it-- who knows?-- but I did tweet it to him on Tuesday.
2) Robert Mueller is a distinguished public service with a career that should be inspirational to all of us. But he is also 74, and one thing I am seeing overall is the problem with leadership by elderly people like Trump and Mueller. He seemed distracted, at times confused, and certainly not happy to be there.
3) The "bombshells" people are citing from the testimony (ie, that he decided not to subpoena Trump in the interests of efficiency, his emphasis on the Russian interference, his statement that the report did not exonerate Trump) weren't new-- they were all in the report in the first place. I read the report, and I found myself rolling my eyes at the questions from people who obviously did not.
4) One thing is clear from all of this: Robert Mueller thinks his report is primarily about Russian interference in the election and the problems that presents. He's right about that. The only member of Congress who seemed to genuinely grasp that was Republican Will Hurd of Texas, a former CIA officer. I thought his line of questioning was excellent, and went right to what really matters: the threat to our nation presented by foreign interference in the operation of democracy. Hurd is a fascinating figure who confounds our easy categorizations: a black Republican in a 2/3 Hispanic district, who speaks Urdu and was student body president at Texas A & M. In a more normal democracy, I would think Republicans would see his experience, talent, and ability to win over diverse voters and promote him for a higher office. But, it seems, these are not normal times.
1) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York seemed to actually use the template I offered here on the Razor! You can see his questioning here, and note how it tracks my suggestions-- even including Mueller's "I would refer you to my report" almost exactly when he said that. I'm not saying he actually saw it-- who knows?-- but I did tweet it to him on Tuesday.
2) Robert Mueller is a distinguished public service with a career that should be inspirational to all of us. But he is also 74, and one thing I am seeing overall is the problem with leadership by elderly people like Trump and Mueller. He seemed distracted, at times confused, and certainly not happy to be there.
3) The "bombshells" people are citing from the testimony (ie, that he decided not to subpoena Trump in the interests of efficiency, his emphasis on the Russian interference, his statement that the report did not exonerate Trump) weren't new-- they were all in the report in the first place. I read the report, and I found myself rolling my eyes at the questions from people who obviously did not.
4) One thing is clear from all of this: Robert Mueller thinks his report is primarily about Russian interference in the election and the problems that presents. He's right about that. The only member of Congress who seemed to genuinely grasp that was Republican Will Hurd of Texas, a former CIA officer. I thought his line of questioning was excellent, and went right to what really matters: the threat to our nation presented by foreign interference in the operation of democracy. Hurd is a fascinating figure who confounds our easy categorizations: a black Republican in a 2/3 Hispanic district, who speaks Urdu and was student body president at Texas A & M. In a more normal democracy, I would think Republicans would see his experience, talent, and ability to win over diverse voters and promote him for a higher office. But, it seems, these are not normal times.
Comments:
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1. Well done, Mark. Well done, Representative Jeffries. Remarkable! Also, I suppose, a lesson in how messy life is and an illustration of all those axioms discounting well laid plans. Well designed and well-executed--but, in the end, not very clean or satisfying and not exactly determinative in real time.
2. Bad TV. Maybe even Sad TV. Robert Mueller seemed to understand his own limitations on all this. Nevertheless, partisans pushed him to come and perform out of desperation. Tough capstone to an estimable public life. Not enough gained for too much sacrifice.
3. Yes. Nothing new.
4. Agreed. God bless Will Hurd. Another distinguished character in our American drama. And, perhaps a silver lining, his performance seemed to resonate in lots of quarters.
2. Bad TV. Maybe even Sad TV. Robert Mueller seemed to understand his own limitations on all this. Nevertheless, partisans pushed him to come and perform out of desperation. Tough capstone to an estimable public life. Not enough gained for too much sacrifice.
3. Yes. Nothing new.
4. Agreed. God bless Will Hurd. Another distinguished character in our American drama. And, perhaps a silver lining, his performance seemed to resonate in lots of quarters.
Robert Mueller is probably a very good man. He will not go down in history as being the right man in the right place at the right time. It just wasn't in him to risk his reputation at a time when we needed someone that was driven by civic duty to fall on their sword when they saw injustice in our system. He isn't alone in treading lightly when the stakes are highest and ones actions can be faulted. Mark, he answered "correct" to all the questions that you suggested. He agreed that, yes, Donald Trump committed all the three required acts to have obstructed justice. He finished with a statement that he could not, however, find him guilty of obstruction of justice. That was that.
Robert Mueller constantly ducked his responsibility to state his honest opinion. He didn't rise up and defend himself, his coworkers or the integrity of our legal system in the face of withering attacks by Republican Representatives. He countered the lies of William Barr and Donald Trump with "I can't say". He will remain a good man when we most needed a patriot.
Robert Mueller constantly ducked his responsibility to state his honest opinion. He didn't rise up and defend himself, his coworkers or the integrity of our legal system in the face of withering attacks by Republican Representatives. He countered the lies of William Barr and Donald Trump with "I can't say". He will remain a good man when we most needed a patriot.
John I agree with you. Mueller is truly weary and it showed. I kept thinking he would have benefited from a hearing aid. He is now a private citizen and I found him to be far to cautious and had hope that he would speak more freely. At 74 he really can't damage his reputation as a patriot and statesman. I hope he writes a book, but find that doubtful given he wasn't willing to speak more freely during the hearings.
One thing I found interesting. It was in the second hearing toward the end. Someone was asked him about Trump and the adequacy of his written answers. His answers were in incomplete and insufficient. Could they have subpoenaed Trump to appear and answer questions? He said yes but implied it would have been tied up in court for years. That is the game that Trump plays. He is a master of using the courts to stall and therefore to his advantage. The person on the other side of the lawsuit usually gives up due to investment in time and cost. At that point Mueller was tired. He and his investigative team have gathered more than they will ever need and I sense it has been passed on to the Southern District of NY and points unknown to be researched and pursued at an appropriate time.
I feel at this point we should focus on the Russian interference which is very relevant to future free and fair elections and move forward. Who ever finally gets hold of his tax returns will have a field day.
One thing I found interesting. It was in the second hearing toward the end. Someone was asked him about Trump and the adequacy of his written answers. His answers were in incomplete and insufficient. Could they have subpoenaed Trump to appear and answer questions? He said yes but implied it would have been tied up in court for years. That is the game that Trump plays. He is a master of using the courts to stall and therefore to his advantage. The person on the other side of the lawsuit usually gives up due to investment in time and cost. At that point Mueller was tired. He and his investigative team have gathered more than they will ever need and I sense it has been passed on to the Southern District of NY and points unknown to be researched and pursued at an appropriate time.
I feel at this point we should focus on the Russian interference which is very relevant to future free and fair elections and move forward. Who ever finally gets hold of his tax returns will have a field day.
Not sure I get the criticism of Mueller in the comments. I understand that folks are disappointed with the results of the investigation, but that, by itself, is not a basis for questioning Mueller's virtue as an investigator or a prosecutor.
First, prosecutors are--and should be--constrained by a litany of legal and ethical responsibilities. Those limitations include such duties as respecting the rights of citizens not formally charged with or convicted of a crime, and giving deference to DOJ policy (including with respect to prosecuting a sitting president). Honoring those boundaries, and the principles of liberty from which they emanate, is patriotic. Second, Mueller was hardly working or making decisions alone or in a vacuum. His team consisted of experienced, aggressive prosecutors and investigators who gave every impression of trying to build a case against Trump. That they did not charge him--under extreme public scrutiny and facing massive legal hurdles--does not mean that they simply chose their reputations over their country. Not even close.
My point of view since the 2016 election has been that the allegations against Trump--all of them, from collusion to obstruction--are inherently political, and can only be resolved politically. The president is the constitutional Executive, and personally, himself, holds all of the authority and power granted by Art. II. That power includes the virtually unrestrained authority to, in normal circumstances, fire FBI directors, direct investigations, demand action of his subordinates, etc. That presidents have by tradition walled themselves off from the day-to-day business of the Justice Department does not mean that they don't have the constitutional authority to intervene in its work. Of course, all of that gets extremely complicated when the president himself is the subject of an investigation, or is otherwise accused of a crime. Constitutionally, he would have to investigate and prosecute himself, or delegate the authority to do so by consent. If the precedent of presidential crimes tells us anything, it's that the applicable principles of law in this situation are as clear as mud.
What is clear is that Congress can do something about it. With enough political will, Congress can remove the president at any time for virtually any reason. That they have not done so here (at least not yet) is much more a reflection of the politics of the country--i.e., the People--than it is of Robert Mueller's character.
Yes, Mueller appeared at times to be a man of exactly his age. And yes it was a bit surprising to see how seemingly unfamiliar with his own report he occasionally was. But I know I can't memorize the contents of a 400 page document. And I have no reasons to doubt Mueller's integrity, even if I would have made different choices at any one of the million decision points involved in his two-year investigation.
First, prosecutors are--and should be--constrained by a litany of legal and ethical responsibilities. Those limitations include such duties as respecting the rights of citizens not formally charged with or convicted of a crime, and giving deference to DOJ policy (including with respect to prosecuting a sitting president). Honoring those boundaries, and the principles of liberty from which they emanate, is patriotic. Second, Mueller was hardly working or making decisions alone or in a vacuum. His team consisted of experienced, aggressive prosecutors and investigators who gave every impression of trying to build a case against Trump. That they did not charge him--under extreme public scrutiny and facing massive legal hurdles--does not mean that they simply chose their reputations over their country. Not even close.
My point of view since the 2016 election has been that the allegations against Trump--all of them, from collusion to obstruction--are inherently political, and can only be resolved politically. The president is the constitutional Executive, and personally, himself, holds all of the authority and power granted by Art. II. That power includes the virtually unrestrained authority to, in normal circumstances, fire FBI directors, direct investigations, demand action of his subordinates, etc. That presidents have by tradition walled themselves off from the day-to-day business of the Justice Department does not mean that they don't have the constitutional authority to intervene in its work. Of course, all of that gets extremely complicated when the president himself is the subject of an investigation, or is otherwise accused of a crime. Constitutionally, he would have to investigate and prosecute himself, or delegate the authority to do so by consent. If the precedent of presidential crimes tells us anything, it's that the applicable principles of law in this situation are as clear as mud.
What is clear is that Congress can do something about it. With enough political will, Congress can remove the president at any time for virtually any reason. That they have not done so here (at least not yet) is much more a reflection of the politics of the country--i.e., the People--than it is of Robert Mueller's character.
Yes, Mueller appeared at times to be a man of exactly his age. And yes it was a bit surprising to see how seemingly unfamiliar with his own report he occasionally was. But I know I can't memorize the contents of a 400 page document. And I have no reasons to doubt Mueller's integrity, even if I would have made different choices at any one of the million decision points involved in his two-year investigation.
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I did not criticize Robert Mueller and his fellow prosecutors for the professional job that they did. I was hoping for more from him as a respected private citizen.
I have personal heroes who having served as prosecutors, who were constrained by a litany of legal and ethical responsibilities in their jobs. have later as concerned and less constrained private citizens worked to bring light and clarity to problems in our laws. Over 1000 other former prosecutors, both Republican and Democratic, saw as that it was their civic duty to speak out.
Robert Mueller sought to forgo testifying free of the DOJ constraints when he insisted on being subpoenaed. This was his decision.
He opted out of entering the fray.
You are right that public opinion will decide this. I would just rather have had someone whom I respect like Robert Mueller inform the decision.
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I did not criticize Robert Mueller and his fellow prosecutors for the professional job that they did. I was hoping for more from him as a respected private citizen.
I have personal heroes who having served as prosecutors, who were constrained by a litany of legal and ethical responsibilities in their jobs. have later as concerned and less constrained private citizens worked to bring light and clarity to problems in our laws. Over 1000 other former prosecutors, both Republican and Democratic, saw as that it was their civic duty to speak out.
Robert Mueller sought to forgo testifying free of the DOJ constraints when he insisted on being subpoenaed. This was his decision.
He opted out of entering the fray.
You are right that public opinion will decide this. I would just rather have had someone whom I respect like Robert Mueller inform the decision.
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