Today, Robert Mueller — Special Counsel for the Investigation into Russia’s Interference in the 2016 Election — spoke publicly for the first time since his appointment to that position. Some critical takeaways include:
- “Russian intelligence officers who were part of the Russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system.”
- “The releases [of hacked documents] were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate.”
- “…a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election.”
- “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 had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so.”
- “The Special Counsel’s Office is part of the Department of Justice, and by regulation it was bound by that department policy. Charging the president with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider.”
- “…the [same Justice Department] opinion explicitly explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting president because it is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh and documents available. Among other things, that evidence could be used if there were co-conspirators who could be charged now.”
- The Constitution provides an alternative route for adjudicating and punishing wrongdoing by a sitting president.
