It is easy.
Russia attacked us, trump went along and welcomed it.
trump is a liar and in the job for personal gain at the expense of our democracy.
Repubs are complicit.
But even before the hearing emphasized these points I felt that this person has not fulfilled his oath, is a pretty disgusting human being and should not be prez, so impeach him already.
21
Puh-leese. I think the congressman wrote his opinion piece before Mueller testified. Trump would be under indictment (or already convicted) but for the fact that he is sitting 'president.'
20
Trump and his campaign met with Russians involved with Putin's regime many times over a long time. They knew what the Russians intended to do and saw definite proof of their doing what they intended. They uttered not one word to the F.B.I. nor to anyone that might interfere. Not criminal but not honest.
He tried many times to interfere with the investigation despite knowing that he should not. There is still probable cause for investigation into that. But lets face it, he's a truly graceless low life who has never not cheated at anything in his life. His self esteem is basically non-existent. That probably would not be sufficient to sustain a conviction for impeachment on those grounds.
The President conducts his private businesses in office and make decisions which are bizarre but reasonable if they serve his private business interests. His decisions are not clearly discernible and they really seem possibly motivated by greed and self interest rather than the interest of the people. This is an area which the Congress ought to investigate.
6
The Mueller report indicates that Trump may have committed high crimes and misdemeanors. When the investigation started, he really feared that it would result in his removal from office. Was that evidence of guilt or just mindless fear? Who knows? But the Congress still has an obligation to go over all of this with care.
Trump has not done a good job, he's done a poor one which this country will have to spend a long time restoring it's reputation with the rest of humanity as the result. But being a jerk is not a high crime nor misdemeanor. An even his attempts to obstruct investigations many not be sufficient to justify impeachment. But his conduct of private business while in office and possibly making policy decisions to advance his own private interests could be. That needs to be investigated.
3
Donald Trump keeps asserting that he was “totally exonerated” by the Mueller report, according to AG William Barr. “No collusion, no obstruction, total exoneration” is the way Trump tweets that.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio 10th) made a big deal about the idea that there is no Office of Exoneration, and that neither Mueller in his report nor AG William Barr had the power to exonerate ANYONE.
He just made the argument that the Mueller report COULD NOT exonerate Trump, for anything.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio 10th) just blew up Donald Trump’s assertion that he was “totally exonerated” by the Mueller report, according to AG William Barr.
REPUBLICAN Representative Mike Turner did that. (He must be a REALLY smart guy, and a BRILLIANT lawyer.)
6
Where are those who sold out this country to its most formidable
sworn enemy? Sitting in The White House. Where are those whose complicity and complacency enabled the destruction of our democracy? Holding court for the Trump Party in both houses of Congress.
Where are the heroes and heroines? AWOL.
Vote.
8
If Obama had done one tenth of what the current president has done.........well you know the rest. History will not be kind to the President or his supporters in Congress when all is written.
9
Impeachment is futile. Wait for Tish James to do her work. That is the best hope.
2
Sure. Time to move on from Trump's conspiring with our oldest enemy to tilt an election, time to ignore the lying to Congress and the FBI about the Russian connections, time to forget about the obstructions of justice verified in the report, time to ignore the racism, the incompetence, the outright ignorance of Trump so we can investigate Benghazi one more time. Sure. Lying GOP hypocrites now band together to destroy Democracy.
7
Trump and his coterie welcomed Russian help hoping to make money then lied to cover their tracks. Let's Move On and get rid of this band of grifters. I mean, the remaining who are not in jail or on trial.
4
It is false to say that nothing curtailed or hindered the Special Counsel's investigation. President Trump's refusal to be interviewed in person, his incomplete, inadequate, written responses, and his outright false written responses to written questions are major hindrances to a full investigation. And, Mueller today clearly stated that Trump may be prosecuted for obstruction upon leaving office. Therefore, there is sufficient evidence to underly said prosecution. In no way is the case closed. And, yes, am I disappointed that Mueller wasn't a polished, dramatic TV star today? Of course, but he's not supposed to be a TV star--his long record of service, the thoroughness of his investigation and report, his integrity, his refusal be a circus act together make him a hero in my book. We need--and we got-- a good investigator, not a TV act.
7
It's fair to say to say that most Americans have not read the report and heard only the sound bites from both Democrats and Republicans. Today's hearing is to bring out all the details that support Muller's team's findings for the American people to digest. If Trump's actions cannot be characterized as obstructionist, then what is the proper label for them? The hearing today imho showed the intent to obstruct.
7
Sadly, I will use Secretary Clinton as a parallel. How many investigations were had into Benghazi? Did she testify under oath in re investigations into emails? When is it time to move on? President Trump continues to trot Mrs. Clinton our whenever he feels like it. Move on - move on to infrastructure, move on to the deficit, move on to a comprehensive immigration bill, move on to addressing climate change, move on to addressing economic inequality, move on to using non-divisive language, move on to being a leader, move on to speaking the truth; move on to speaking the truth, everyone, please.
9
Here we can hear and read the ambiguity of the english legal language and of the US justice.
Double negations. Presumption of innocence in a crime investigation, obstruction of justice not punished.
It all looks like life in the USA, high crime, high inequality, rampant poverty, general lack of education, corruption in the universities, corruption of political representatives and politics. lobbying from private firms. no global health system, highest incarceration rate in the world by almost 10 times the average european, etc...etc...
1
I've skimmed the recent comments. Let's get something clear. We're not playing a political game. We're saving our democracy. So for all of you looking at who scored points, or had a dynamic moment, please just shut up. Make this a teachable moment. Come back to our shared values.
The Russian Mafia State attacked our country, and is doing it again now. Their attacks are proceeding with more sophistication. If you do not care about this as an American, I ask you: When did you decide that you no longer cared about our Constitution, Bill of Rights?
21
It's just a political game. Trump is just a temporary distraction. He'll be gone in 2024.
1
@Mark Simmons
Firstly I agree that Russia is a Mafia state but their actions in 2016 is a way more sophisticated disinformation campaign. They are getting Americans to attacje each other and paralyzing the government. Both the democrats and republicans are complicit in this. 2016 was a perfect storm of fertile ground, a boirdeline corrupt and disageable candidate in Hilary and an inept and morally challenged Trump. No wonder we are so vulnerable to attack. The partisan divide is our achiiles heel. The Chinese will have taken notice.
1
@BorisRoberts
You are mistaken.
Either he is gone on January 20, 2021 or on January 20, 2025.
I will vote on November 3, 2020 for making him gone on January 20, 2021.
The reality tv presidency is getting old and tired, not to mention toxic.
2
Respectfully GOP Senator Collins from Georgia, Your “It’s time to move on” carries no credibility from someone whose party continues to use the post emancipation southern politics of ‘God and Country’ misogyny and racism to divide the US, repress equal rights, voters rights, and democracy, in order to promote the arrogance of evangelical white supremacy.
25
How about we agree: from now on, a sitting president can be indicted by a special prosecutor.
19
I interrupted my daily Spongebob and Family Guy shows to watch this bunch of "grownups" attack Mr. Mueller. What a complete waste of time. I felt sorry for Mr. Mueller, and there was no legitimate reason that he had to testify.
Mr. Collins summed it up very well. Time to move on.
Nancy Pelosi is also correct in saying that it's time to move on. Let's focus on positive things for a change.
3
We are positive Trump is a criminal with connections to the Russian mob. How's that for being positive?
6
Move on from unfinished? Move forward, Congress, with the plate of evidence you have. Do your job. We pay you to serve us, all of us. You're not paid to obstruct, favor and profit.
I play by the rules, pay my taxes and work hard at citizenship.
Our elected leaders should try the same. Not a bad way to live.
10
The only thing scarier than Trump being re-elected in 2020, The Republicans losing the Senate, and the House retaining a Democrat majority, is Trump losing his re-election bid and having a radical Democrat from president, and Democrat controlled congress. Trump is clearly the lesser of two evils. Could you imagine a government controlled by this current crop of Democrats? Open borders, Free College for everyone, complete forgiveness of student loans, benefits for illegal immigrants, pure socialism disguised as capitalism? The list can go on and on. The thought of it makes me shudder. All this talk of Trump is all bad, has distracted people from recognizing that the left has become radicalized.
2
@Eric
It's too bad you have no real idea of what Democrats envision for this country. But all that Fox viewers know and believe is that we are somehow threaten by the idea of a more equitable and just system for all Americans.
The fear of your tax dollars be used to help freeloaders is sad, given the freeloading of the wealthy and the corporations. Anyone making less than millions of dollars a year would benefit far more in health care, infrastructure, and a clean environment than in the slight reduction in disposable income.
15
@Eric
Trump is simply, a dishonest and incompetent person in the most important office in our government. He is so poor at his job, that any intelligent conservative Republican should want him replaced. Not any person can be said to be worse than is he. But someone as bad has he could be offered up. Party does not affect incompetency except to hyperbolic partisan media personalities.
11
There is no radical left in America. Only the center trying to keep its head above the rising tide of the radical racist pseudo-religious right.
5
Is everyone blind?? The Mueller report positively defines illegal activity and obstruction. This is absolutely unacceptable for any candidate from any party. Why is the author of this article, as well as many of the people posting here oblivious to that?? Also, for the record, I am a lifelong conservative (once thought to be Republican. Clearly, many people don't care about truth or justice as much as politics.
13
Is everyone blind?? The Mueller report positively defines illegal activity and obstruction. This is absolutely unacceptable for any candidate from any party. Why is the author of this article, as well as many of the people posting here oblivious to that?? Also, for the record, I am a lifelong conservative (once thought to be Republican. Clearly, many people don't care about truth or justice as much as politics.
8
I have no doubt that Trump colluded and obstructed. The wise move for Dems now is to leave the next phase to the American people, let the people sleep on this a while.....let them live with knowing they cannot trust the executive branch anymore.....let the American people realize what happens when they don't even read the reports. The Dems should just move to the election in 2020 and let the people take the consequences of their own indifference. Time will reveal more if we just keep our cool.
3
The Democrats need to move on but they may not be able do so. You can be quite sure that the four squad members will want investigations to be ongoing. They have even said this in public. Will the more moderate Democrat members go along to the detriment of their party. They have already lost two rounds and the third will not be the charm. People are getting very impatient with these investigations and will not be forgiving if they continue down this road.
President Trump's chances of reelection right now are very good and if they do more investigations they will be even better. They better stop now and concentrate on serving the people. They have wasted enough time and money. People want them to get to work immediately.
2
Benghazi.
1
The Republican Doug Collins writes: "... on April 8 I asked Chairman Nadler to bring Mr. Mueller in to testify later that month ..."
Collins implies here that Nadler asked Mueller to testify only and simply because Collins asked him to do so. I believe we must assume that is a lie. Just like his other more significant bald-faced lie:
"House Republicans, though, have been busy introducing bills with bipartisan support -- like the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act and the Defending Elections Against Trolls ..."
The House Republicans have done nothing but protect Mr. Trump, and have lied countless times in order to do so.
Neither they nor Trump have done squat to protect our democratic elections.
16
The report outlined 10 instances of obstruction that over 1000 experienced prosecutors say would cause Trump to be indicted were he not a sitting president. How you can say there was no obstruction is pure fiction. An attempt to obstruct is still a crime, and there needs not be any underlying crime against the attempt is aimed. An attempt to obstruct a criminal investigation is a crime, so stop making stuff up. You either did not read the report or did not listen to today’s hearings.
11
I guess I am not an American. I am a believer in truth and reconciliation and you should not move on until the house you are leaving is taken care of.
American will not work until Iran-Contra undergoes the scrutiny that establishes truth.
I am not an American. Truth is not subjective regardless of which White House says it is.
Canada has already printed postage stamps recognizing truth and justice are the Canadian Way. Where there is no truth there is no justice.
When lies are your foundation building on that foundation is suicidal.
Mr Collins is indeed a Republican congressman in a congress in need of American congressmen.
3
This is all moot.
As soon as Trump leaves office, he and his entire family will be indicted by NY State for tax fraud.
And that will only be the start of it.
8
I do not believe today's hearing is the end of matters. While you seem to think that Americans' leaders are not aiming against each other -- they are in fact doing that. Mr. Mueller DID NOT EXONERATE the president. That speaks volumes. So does the fact that Mr. Mueller very clearly stated that the Russian's have hijacked our democracy and our president has done NOTHING to ensure that it doesn't happen again. So, while there is no smoking gun or damaging tapes to prove that the president is guilty, there are many instances where the president has surrounded himself with the filth that is a swamp. It's unfortunate that this country is hellbent on taking a side without recognizing that what we hold dear is at stake. Fine, do not impeach. But ALL of our elected officials should be looking to uphold our democracy. Keep crooks from the ring of power.
9
We better start hearing how this administration plans to protect our future elections.
7
What really need to come to a close are this farce of a presidency and the odd, shameful era of Republican anti-democracy that seeks to prop it up. Meanwhile, go after Trump like the Energizer Bunny. Republicans say over and over, it's time to close this chapter, oh, the pain, make it stop! So stick it to them. Remember the unending, spiteful votes to destroy Obama's healthcare successes? Remember the unceasing efforts to question his citizenship? The reiterations every five minutes on Fox about Hillary's supposed illness? Whitewater? Repeated refusals to accept the truth about the Central Park Five, and about how dumping trillions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere might possibly affect it somehow? Act accordingly and stick to them until they scream, then stick them some more. There is one way to fight a bully, and that is fight back hard, early, and often.
10
Benghazi. Herrick Garland.
2
I can wait for President Trump to be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he's out of office.
6
Since Collins and other Republicans will not stand for the rule of law, let’s hope the Justice Department will eventually hold Trump accountable after he leaves office as Mr. Mueller suggested today.
3
I'm angry that Russia Tricked me into voting for Trump in 2016.
I am terrified Russia will trick me into voting for Trump again in 2020!
5
Republicans have such contempt for the intelligence of Americans. We Americans can never move on from this appalling trainwreck that is Trump and the Republican party. Never.
6
@Richard M. Braun Speak for yourself. I plan to vote for Trump again, in 2020.
We're in a full-blown constitutional crisis. The President is a crook, liar, charlatan. And the Senate GOP has gone awol in pursuit of short-term political gain. Sad, sad. We are witnessing the end of the American era. What comes next?
10
Don’t give up on us yet. This tough country has lived through dire straits before. We, the majority, will survive. We the people, by the people.
2
Doug, the president you defend disagrees with you. He doesn’t believe the Russians interfered!
Funny that.
You know you’re defending a crook but have calculated that your political future is more important than your country.
Shame on you!
13
@trblmkr
every journalist who confronts trump should ask him if he believes putin over mueller.
I think he scared to death of putin and won't admit to the interference.
3
Russia tried to turn our democratic government into a circular firing squad, and we can’t let them succeed any longer. ... so time to get your buddy Mitch to vote on the bill for election security. But you are not going to do that, are you?
7
This was a damning hearing not only to Trump the illegitimate president but also to his enablers in crime like the author of this self-indicting article.
Impeachment and jail for trump after he leaves office surely must follow.
One does wonder though how can a person of such low morality, a liar and possibly a criminal stay in office any office in America.
Very disturbing.
9
No country is immune to corruption and tyrants, even us. But we have lived through very bad times before. We Americans are a tough people with good hearts and we, the majority, will preserve. (So nice to hear from Slovenia. Thanks!)
1
He was put too high on a pedestal. Instead of just 1 prosecutor, there should be more than 1 party to prosecute, and be evaluated independently. Maybe FBI has been given too much singular power.
nope. impeach.
3
Mr. Mueller and his team diligently gathered damning facts and that's as far as he's willing to go. Let's just accept Mr. Mueller's no Sally Yates and move ahead.
During his testimony, Mueller stood by the Muller report. He reiterated that he did not exonerate the president or conclude that the president committed a crime. But the major takeaway is that Mueller clarified that the Office of Legal Counsel’s policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted was not the reason he did not conclude the president committed a crime.
Democrats spent most of their time focused on instances that the Muller report cited as incidents they might be construed as obstruction, but the Mueller report offers exculpable as well as culpable evidence for each incident. This is why the Justice Department concludes that evidence of obstruction do not support prosecution.
1
Lies.
1
Collins asserts that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Actually, that is not a correct statement. Everyone is PRESUMED innocent until proven guilty.
Mueller was clearly uncomfortable in the Judiciary Committee hearing, I believe, because he did not want to be in the position of accusing someone he could not charge with a criminal offense, especially the President of the United States. He was significantly more forthcoming in the Intelligence Committee hearing, where he could confidently agree that a foreign power had interfered in our election. As to what to do about it, Congressman Collins neglects to mention the massive bipartisan election security bill that was a priority for the new House majority in January, that the House passed, and that Mitch McConnell has refused to even bring up for debate in the Senate. We can't move on until action is taken. The ball is in Mitch McConnell's court.
6
Mueller put the nail in it. Crime occurred. The reason he did not indict Trump was the DOJ rule that said he could not indict a sitting president. Period.
6
It really all depends on whether FOX news and radio pundits can spin the heads of their voting listeners and protect them from the light of truth, because very few who continue to support Trump will read the report or listen to Mueller directly.
4
You should have waited until the end of the day before writing this piece. What I heard today, especially this afternoon, is about a President who welcomed the assistance of a foreign power in the election, who lied to the American people about what he knew and when he knew it, and then did everything he could to thwart the investigation of himself and his administration. I heard Robert Mueller say that the President was not exonerated, and might have been indicted but for DOJ policy, and may well be indicted after he leaves office, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later.
14
What is crystal clear is the Mueller report did not exonerate Trump. The American people will need to decide how they feel about his behavior.
9
Just because we do not have the votes to impeach does not mean we should let this go -- that would be immoral. We need to win this at the polls. The Democrats need to start compiling video clips of Trump's statements during the campaign and after the election. I would like to see a clip of Trump on the campaign trail and immediately thereafter a list of facts and a drum beat of questions: How did you clean the swamp? Where is that beautiful health plan? Where are your taxes, Mr Trump? How much does it cost the tax payer to shuttle you to your golf courses and provide security at these? Why do we have a deficit? On whose backs will you balance this budget? Whether he has committed an impeachable offense is less important than whether he is capable of speaking the truth. The question should be: What has he said that is the truth? And what makes his base think that he cannot speak the truth to the rest of us but can to them -- and even after he does not need their votes for another election !!!
4
"It's Time to Move On From Robert Mueller"
I just watched the coverage of the hearings on FOX news. They are celebrating them as a complete vindication of their hero. The president will inevitably do the same in order to optimize his mantra of "NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!" in his campaign rallies from here until re-election.
The author writes that "it's time to move on." There is no need to do so as Muller's report already has a life of its own. The constant propaganda of the "hoax" repeated thousands of times by the president to his supporters and political sycophants serves to bolster his "innocence" as a unfair victim of a "witch hunt." Chosen words in the report will undoubtedly live on in their minds as supported by FOX. In the process. Mueller will inevitably be perceived as the primary "witch" who falsely attacked their aggrieved hero in his report. He will not be easily forgotten.
The question remains as to whether the report will be a factor in the decisions of undecided Democratic and independents voters in swing states in 2020. The Democrats should continually keep the report in the eyes of the electorate long-term. Unlike the author's opinion, they should not "move on."
6
Republicans want to move on because the Republican Party is complicit in Trump-Russia; the collusion (in the normal, everyday human being meaning of language sense), and obstruction.
5
I've read the book and have little interest in watching the movie. As is sometimes the case, the book makes the relevant points in ways a movie simply cannot.
A couple of conclusions.
First, the Trump campaign team committed treason by encouraging, accepting, and then profiting from a foreign government's attempt to subvert the American political process. Mueller's team may not have been able to construct a case to support a "beyond a reasonable doubt" conspiracy, but only because the Trump campaign team is so well versed in the art of obfuscation and obstruction that they were able to obscure their malevolence behind a smokescreen of lies and misdirection.
Second, that Trump and his minions obstructed justice is beyond question. No amount of chanting or yelling or repeat to the contrary they and now, their sycophants in Congress - (like Representative Collins) spew into the public arena can alter that basic fact. They Trump administration is a criminal enterprise. All that's missing so far is a RICO investigation and the lot of them, and many GOP congresspersons could be in orange jumpsuits.
Now, back to the treason charge. Trump may have been able to successfully hide the conspiracy from Mueller and co, but in doing so he has made the treasonous aspect of his behavior all the more obvious.
There is still a lot of evidence that forms the rationale behind the "harm to ongoing matter" redactions.
12
Democrats keep hoping the same thing, hoping for a different result.
They should have moved on long ago.
Now the president has double the ammo: ‘they did not find a thing the first time, and they found nothing the second time, it’s all a witch hunt the Democrats won’t give up, just take a look’
That is all that you accomplished, solidified his base, and reload his guns.
Good going Democrats. Reelection is now almost a given thanks to your own efforts.
5
Clearly the GOP is comfortable with a great many shocking things:
1) Russians supporting GOP candidates (if they win)
2) Taking help from foreign nations (if they drive and you don't)
3) Trashing your own FBI, and other intelligence agencies
4) Trashing Patriots like Mueller
5) Witnesses lying to investigators
6) Intimidating witnesses in an investigation
My how far the Party of "Family Values" has fallen. Or maybe, just maybe, they haven't been that Party for some time now.
18
I find these legalistic defenses of Trump disingenuous at best. Mr. Collins picks at things on the edges so as to obscure the main point. The party that was nearly unanimous in appossing the ne'er do well trust fund cripple and so called real estate developer in the primaries have now resorted to turning on our own FBI, CIA and government. Anything to defend Trump the mean spirited bully as a poor hapless victim of justified investigations of government agencies into threats to our democracy. That Mr. Collins would seek to defend the mindless mantra of "no collusion" is as pathetic as it is disgraceful. The convoluted nature of these white washes should alert everyone to how far they have abandoned their own principles or values. It is Trump and Collins who are "disgraceful" to use one of the few words Trump has in his very limited vocabulary. Republicans like Collins don't try to defend his dubious conduct, they merely want to argue the slender thread of no incontrovertible proof against this president. That is hardly a ringing endorsement of his behavior, his character, or his policies. We have never seen such an insolent, arrogant, and disrespectful man in the WH ever before. Yet the GOP chooses to investigate the investigators instead of looking at what's right in front of their face. Maintaining power and control seems to be all the republicans really care about anymore.
5
This is just the beginning. Not even close to the end.
An enormously successful investigation that resulted in five high level associates of Trump being sent to jail, with more indictments outstanding as well as a net financial gain to our government.
The pathetic joke versions both belong to the GOP - Benghazi and Whitewater.
5
Closing arguments when Trump, trump Jr and the rest of the criminals won’t testify before Congress. Democracy and American justice at work.
Smear smear smear, lie lie lie, obstruct obstruct obstruct, race bait, race bait, race bait, divert divert divert, repeat. Above all count on GOP to hold nose, close eyes, stream Trump music and defend. With all due respect (which isn’t much) good luck sir.
4
Once we get the full unredacted Mueller report and Barr is impeached, maybe it will be time to get started.
2
"With no foundation for impeachment ... " The GOP is confident in the willingness of their base to accept "alternate facts", something invented for Mr. Trump and his minions. This is yet another one.
1
Collins spins Trump's malfeasance per the Fox News talking points. His dribble is right out of Sean Hannity's mouth. All of his fulminating changes nothing about Trump's criminality. The man is a corrupt, predatory, malignant narcissist who is an ongoing threat to the Republic and nothing Collins says changes any of it.
6
Enough Doug, enough. Move on? Are you serious? If you saw someone/anyone commit a robbery in front of your face, you'd simply throw your hands up in the arm and walk away. Give us a break. If you saw a democrat commit a crime, you'd report it, right? But see a fellow comrade Republican commit multiple offenses (the kind that got Bill Clinton impeached) and you look the other way. Move along??? You are clinging to your tribalism - - - instead of being an American and you know it.
9
Mr Collins knows he is lying. All elected Republicans have been acting with intent to defraud the American public, for 2.5 years. They’re intent on enforcing Minority Rule. If we don’t defeat them it’ll mean destruction of our democracy.
8
I don't think so, Congressman. The Mueller evidence will likely be the basis of indictments against the current president by state AGs, including NY, CA, and others -- and the US AG of a Democratic administration -- after the current president is out of office. His sons and daughter may also face the same when their father can no longer pardon them. Move on? This is just getting started.
6
Dream on. The president is a criminal, just as surely as the emperor was naked. The three most significant takeaways are: 1. Mueller's report most definitely did not exonerate the president, 2. Mueller was advised by the powers that be that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, and 3. He can most definitely be prosecuted when he leaves office (and IMO should be, the sooner the better).
6
Dear Mr. Collins, The DOJ has a standing policy that you can't prosecute or indict a sitting president. Well his day will come. Once he is a citizen he can be indicted and possibly tried. In the mean time while you and your colleagues have watched and supported either in absentia or verbally the mores of the this country have dropped to the lowest in its existence. And let me remind you that a few short years ago you and the same colleagues couldn't accept that Hillary Clinton wasn't the cause of Benghazi. The american people are watching and while some of us would love to see any politician accused of illegal activity and go to trial this charlatan will truly test the fabric of this nation. And you will sit ideally by because he is a supposed republican.
3
"Move on"?!
We've never seen it. You might personally want it to "go away now", but the American people have nothing to move on from except a convoluted pile of conjecture based on what everyone already believes, based on . . . what they already believe.
2
I hear “The Twilight Zone” theme in my head after reading this. Mr. Collins exemplifies in this piece the idea of “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.”
7
Time for all those Dems who questioned Nancy Pelosi's judgement to rethink their positions.
3
Mr. Collins, I disagree with you. The Russia investigation and Trump's obstruction of justice are extremely important to the democracy of the US. Otherwise let us coronate Trump for his lifetime and forget about people power. Trump is corrupt and he did obstruct. However, his supporters will not be swayed by anything he does. They are blind followers of this guy. That does not mean that there is visibility for the rest of the population on what Trump and his cohorts/family members engaged in. He brought his business shenanigan techniques into winning the election. He is destroying the country, killing his own supporters by pulling out healthcare options, loosening gun laws, making education a joke, and now denying food stamps for the needy. No end to the cruelty and injustice that are the hallmark of Trump and supporters like YOU, Mr. Collins! Shame on you for licking his boots instead of working for the common good!
5
Dont you dare give up now, its just around the next curve
1
He has said nothing. He was never going to say anything. “It’s” all in the report. “Oh, my god, we have to read something”? Only if you want to learn anything. Volume II! Everything needed to secure an indictment is found in Volume II. The OLC prohibits...who died and left them in charge. If the president is untouchable, then somebody is obviously above the law.
2
And time to look at what Putin told Trump to do for him in their one on ones without US representatives present. And to confirm if that's Treason.
3
The shame of this entire scenario is that the Dems shave squandered any opportunity to influence this president to support legislation that I beneficial to their constituents. Instead of looking for revenge for Hillary's loss for four years, they should have immediately moved on. It is not difficult to discern that Trump can be influenced to make the right decision if the approach is correct: a good example is the attribution of his decision not to attack Iran to Tucker Carlson's influence. The Dems could likely have gotten trumps support for progressive legislation, if only they didn't just fall back onto partisan politics.
2
Mr. Collins, you represent my state but not me.
You are conveniently ignoring the elephant in the room: Trump attempted, on a dozen occasions, to obstruct the Mueller investigation. Mueller wouldn't indict him as a sitting president. It's up to Congress to decide.
12
The Dems are making a valiant and necessary examination of the redacted Mueller Report. With the obstruction by Barr to limit their view of the entire report, and the obstruction of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to deny their access to Trump tax returns (Follow the Money), and the obstruction by Mitch McConnell to shield Trump from any accountability to our laws and the Constitution, the Dems are doing their jobs as elected officials and defenders of our Democracy. This article makes it seem like the Dems should give in / give up when the GOP has been stonewalling lawmakers' access to the full truth. This is a Russian Roulette game where the GOP will someday pay.
5
Hmm... First, the GOP spends all morning attacking Mueller, accusing him of being a shill for the Democratic Party, while at the same time stating that the Mueller report proves that Trump is innocent.
The GOP wants its cake, and to eat it too.
Never mind that Mueller stated that his team was repeatedly lied to, in an effort to thwart the investigation. Never mind that he said the President might be indicted once a private citizen. Never mind that Trump tried to fire him, even though he was the chief one investigating Russian interference with the election. Never mind that he concluded that the Russians were trying to help Trump win, and that the Trump campaign was leaning into that help.
Yes, let's let this go so that the Russians can help Trump in 2020. No doubt, the GOP will do nothing to stop that, and everything to make sure it happens again.
8
Like President Nixon, Donald Trump is stonewalling the investigation into his actions during and after the 2016 election. Nixon failed in his attempts. It looks to me like the Congress is going to let Trump off the hook. This is a sad day for justice and the Constitution,
11
“Yet these investigators didn’t conclude that the president conspired or obstructed justice.”
This is not an accurate statement. The investigation concluded that they could not find sufficient evidence that Trump worked with Russian intelligence to swing the election. Other investigation did conclude that Russia tried to influence the election in favor of Trump.
Mueller investigation did and did not conclude that the president did or did not obstruct justice. Because Mueller believed it was up to Congress to make that decision. What is becoming evident is that if Trump was an ordinary citizen he would be indicted for obstruction of justice.
3
I think if we take a moment to look at our emotions, we will understand how much of our reactions to Mueller have to do with what we wish for vs what we should do.
It is simple.
Are you comfortable with the ties between Russia and Trump?
Are you comfortable with the removal of sanctions?
Are you comfortable with the business ties?
Are you comfortable with all the ways Trump has undermined NATO?
Are you comfortable with the many steps he took to squelch this investigation?
I am not.
#IMPEACH
18
@Gwe I am actually comfortable with all of the above and I didn't vote for Trump. Ask yourself, would you be comfortable with all of the above if it was someone other than Trump?
Treason, racism, conspiring with the enemy, violating the Emoluments clause are not partisan issues. The are issues of Democracy regardless of party. The reason the opposition looks partisan to you is the no Democrat has ever violated the laws, the norms, and the morals of our Democracy the way Trump and the Republicans have.
1
As New York Judge Sol Wachtler said in 1985, “If a district attorney wanted, a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich.” Try proving Pres. Trump did not have a legal "intent" when he took steps to limit Mueller investigation i.e., a knowingly unwarranted action that was limiting his ability to fulfill his oath of office, as he saw it.
I used to be an independent voter. Not any more. The GOP has debased itself beyond recognition to a serial fraudster, misleading millions of loyal Republicans and creating needless divisions among our citizenry. Reading this piece from Rep. Collins literally makes me sick. The report and Mueller's testimony which I read and which I watched, makes it clear as day that Trump Obstructed Justice, tampered with witnesses, and at least coordinated with Russia in multiple ways, telling hundreds of lies in the process. Who cares what the political persuasion of Mueller and his staff are, or if the FBI used the Steele dossier as part of its inquiry? It's absurd to even bring it up because it doesn't influence or excuse Trump's multiple crimes and unacceptable behavior, which were documented thoroughly in the report, in any way whatsoever. Rep. Collins, if you witnessed a robber murder a victim in cold blood would you really check to see if the killer was a Republican or a Democrat before deciding to report it to the police? I guess you would because that is what you and your Republican colleagues are doing by choosing to ignore the hard evidence of the report while irresponsibly working to let a criminal go scot free just because he's a Republican. A crime is a crime, no matter who reports it or how it came to be witnessed. You are doing the country and your constituents a gross disservice by continuing to disgrace your office with your falsehoods. Shame on you.
16
The report--by itself, without testimony from anyone--establishes grounds for impeachment: (1) collusion (if not conspiracy provable beyond a reasonable doubt) with a hostile foreign government to affect our election; (2) multiple instances of obstruction of justice. However, it is clear that, despite the report, the Senate will not remove Trump from office. The House should pass a resolution saying that ---with details of all the impeachable offenses--- and leave it to the voters to remove him from office and the justice system to try him for his crimes once he leaves office.
4
Everything Collins says about the Russian investigation is true. Bravo.
Another true statement is: Obstructing investigations is illegal.
Trump obstructed an investigation he was innocent of. While the question of "But Why?" is enticing, it doesn't really matter. Most likely it is no grand conspiracy, rather he was making sure trivial personal details he finds embarrassing stay hidden.
The fact of the matter is, he attempted to an obstruct an investigation into something he was innocent of. This not only shows how incompetent he is, it was also illegal.
That's the issue at hands Mr. Collins.
5
@Justaguy: I don't see how anyone could think Trump is innocent.
3
@bustersgirl Personal opinions really don't matter. There isn't any concrete evidence he actively conspired with the Russian government, unless you have something the Mueller report doesn't have. There is however, concrete evidence he obstructed the investigation, that is a crime.
1
Multiple indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions of people in Trump's political, personal, and financial circles for cooperating with the Russian enemy and lying about their cooperation and Trump's knowledge of it under oath would seem like plenty of evidence of Russian collusion to me. But I'm just a reasonable, intelligent observer, not a GOP conservative Trump apologist like Collins here.
1
And among the dozens of obstructions of justice that Trump has committed SINCE Barr released and spun Mueller’s Report, there are the subpoenas from Congress that he has quashed. In particular, the subpoena requiring testimony of Don McGahn.
4
Well, duh!
What possible effect did Mr. Trump's detractors ever expect from anything Mr. Mueller could or would be willing to do?
Every news story and tweet about Mr. Meuller revealed the pathetically effete nature of those who hoped some white knight in the end would come to rescue us from Trumpery.
The problem is not in the Mueller or in the stars, the problem lies with fantasizing chatterers who do not want to face the truth that Trump will not be defeated by an inside game.
May I suggest Congressman Collins read the entire Mueller Report and the archive of trump tweets and comments
6
Like those old tours of the USSR, when the gov't minder/tour guide would say "Now over there.. (everyone looks in opposite direction to see what it is the minder wants to distract them from)...No, not there. Over here."
I hope some Squad member says "Yes, for once I agree with the GOP. It *is* time to move on...to impeachment"
(Funny how it was never time to "move on" from emails, Benghazi, Whitewater, etc etc. It's as if they don't care about looking like hypocrites).
4
I wonder when and if the country's attention will ever turn to those, like this congressman, who have totally abdicated their sworn constitutional obligation to uphold the laws of the land.
Should we survive this, the most disastrous presidency in the country's history --and, in a nuclear age, I stress the conditional survival-- those like Doug Collins who chose the easy path of appeasement over engagement, of carrying water for a man guilty of everything from crimes already committed before taking office(five before taking the WH) to breaking the Emoluments Clause, to selling access to the WH (his hotels) rather than examining the well, and of deriding a true American hero (Mueller) should be investigated for their role in imperiling this nation. Aiding and abetting someone who has done just the little we know of is a serious matter.
Mr. Collins, you took an oath to defend this nation, not to carry water for criminals. You and your GOP colleagues might consider doing your jobs. It will be too little too late, but it's preferable to this contemptible morass you have created.
Or did those of you in the GOP think your title was Swamp Masters in Residence? You may think you've "won" in the moment, but you did so by selling out the country, and history has a habit of taking a very dim view of that transaction.
5
Collins says "Russia tried to turn our democratic government into a circular firing squad, and we can't let them succeed any longer." Yet he makes no reference to Trump who continues to spew misinformation/untruths for personal survival thus rebuking the very thing you decry and that very finding Mueller lays out very clearly.
3
Democrats must shake off the upset and rude disappointment of 2016's presidential election and move forward, maybe even lead the nation by good example, although that may be too much to ask considering they are a party of the past.
1
And the racist sons of the Confederacy, the GOP, are the forward-looking party of the future? A future without healthcare, without Social Security, without jobs, without control of your own body, without hope. But at least it will be without non-whites and without taxes. I'm not willing to bet my future to see how conservative dystopia plays out. I've already seen it in the south and the midwest, who have voted Republican for 50 years as they have watched their quality of life plummet directly. No thank you to Republican one-party rule.
1
Irregardless of anything Mueller says or doesn't say, Trump obviously obstructed and republicans just can't wrap their heads around that fact. Democrats on the other hand, can't wrap their heads around the fact that a large portion of our population is stuck in the past, married (or at least engaged) to white supremacy and care little about anyone but themselves.
Erik, is right - its time to move on. Move on to giving a shlt about the environment and the rest of humanity. If you can't respect this earth and its inhabitants - leave.
4
There is much more at stake here than Trump's presidency: it is democracy and the U.S. functioning as a republic.
6
Given their abysmal treatment today of Robert Mueller, most of these Republicans either didn't listen to their parents -- or couldn't care less -- when they said: "Treat your elders with respect."
6
It is also time to move on from the most shameful, corrupt administration in the history of the United States and the band of republicans that have supported it. I urge everyone to vote in November.
3
Wow, what a surprise! One of Trump's most unquestioning sycophants says it's time to move on. I guess that settles that.
6
Mr. Collins, I am tired of Republicans standing behind a man who is destroying the institutions of this country. I can not wait to see this man out of office and in jail. Another reason to vote him out in 2020.
8
If one imagines today's hearings as a boxing match, Mueller is an old timey boxer from the 19th century insisting on using the Marquess of Queensberry rules while Trump, Barr and the entire GOP are rabid cage fighters. Relying on a 76 y/o man to singlehandedly save American democracy is absurd. Expecting politicians to do the right, decent and legal thing is apparently also totally absurd. So this is what the Romans felt when they spotted the first barbarian at the gates. Interesting and more than a little terrifying.
2
Republicans don’t care that the Russians interfered in our elections and continue to do so. Their guy won and stands a chance to win again under the same circumstances. All in the name of stacking the courts with unqualified judges, putting kids in cages, pillaging the environment, and cutting taxes for the wealthy. I wonder how they sleep at night.
4
Republican congressman. Stopped reading right there. I have absolutely nothing to learn from a member of the GOP.
7
You are quite right Doug Collins of Georgia. The real drain on our resources is not not the damage done to the environment by Republican supported deregulation or even Russia. In fact, the real drain is the disgraceful behavior of Trump whose actions have prompted numerous investigations that we the tax payers are shouldering. In that you are an ally of Trump, you share in his depredation of public moneys. So let’s have no more of your mendacious opinions.
6
The author, Mr. Collins is a Republican congressman from Georgia.
Case for closure?
So obviously Mr. Collins wasn't listening to the Mueller hearings this morning.
NO exoneration.
3
Listening to some of this Republican morally indignant grandstanding after they unctuously thank Mueller for his service to the country makes me sick.
3
Trump is unfit. Politicians rallying around him do so at their own peril.
5
It just occurred to me: If the GOP party of today (Nunes, Gomer, McConnell, Jordan, Ryan, etc.) had existed back in Nixon's day he'd have served out his second term. It would be interesting to hear how they'd have spun the Oval office tapes.........
3
Reminder to the uninformed that Mueller was interviewed by your President the day before Whitewater Republican Rod Rosenstein chose him to run this inquiry
Mueller is also a lifelong Republican, as is Barr and Collins
The results are as expected given the cast of characters
2
Yes. Mueller has proven himself another conservative partisan. No interviews with Trump, no follow up on Jr and Jared's lies, no tax returns, no following the money. Just another Republican whitewash.
1
Neither Republicans nor Democrats showed anything but shrill histrionics. Not impressed with anyone but Mueller.
As Prof. Tribe of Harvard Tweeted, "The effort to save democracy and the rule of law from this lawless president has been set back, not advanced."
And for a minute there I thought there would be no good news to come out of this hearing.
2
It is clear today that Robert Mueller's Republican inquisitors are on a mission to turn him into a G.O.P. scapegoat dressed in lame-duck clothing.
3
Mueller is no hero, no patriot. He is a bureaucrat, or a partisan hack just like the person who wrote this column. It was time to cross the line and say something honest and frank about the man who would be king; Mueller chose to play Hamlet instead. Let him stew in the wishy-washy mess he has contributed to. At age 75, what did he have to lose?
2
== "Yet these investigators didn’t conclude that the president conspired or obstructed justice. " ==
This statement is simply not true . . . . . . .
5
Absolutely, yes. Move on from Mueller.
And move on to Horowitz and Dunford.
1
If Democrats persist in endless “Trump Sucks” bashing they will lose the 2020 election.
To move people who might not vote for you to your side, it’s important to show them something positive you’ll do for them. Showing them you can stick it to the other guy changes few if any votes. People who agree with you were going to vote Democrat anyway.
1
If you look past Mueller, all you see is Trump. That's the problem. We deserve much better. Is it too much to ask that a President have some of these qualities: honesty, clarity of vision, character, integrity, articulate, intellectual curiosity, a sense of empathy and humanity, a good temperament, personal discipline, vision, a moral compass, impulse control, accountability, respect, wisdom, and maturity? Why must we suffer a President who is as alien to these traits as he is to a book?
3
I fully expect the democrats and republicans to hear two complete testimonies and continue to spin it. I am 67 and have been watching this feud become more and more personal and bitter since Clinton, and the news media or I should say opinion media is more than obliging to fan the flames. The opportunity lost for all that could have been accomplished for everyone in the US is astonishing. It is not about Trump and it wasn't Clinton or Obama. It's about us and we are the losers here in this time of polar politics and Op Eds. Middle America is in a coma. Negotiation and compromise are actions of the past. As far as this event that was investigated for two years, it is clear the Russians did it and there might be some legislation agreed on and passed, but one thing for sure that will happen is that blame is going to be leveled right up to the 2020 election and after.
The "fiery" Republicans are like angry Little League dads ganging up on an umpire. Thank goodness they didn't break out with small arms fire with their NRA specials used to defend their suburban homes and lawns.
3
Once again the NYT assumes that we care what Republicans think Democrats should do. If anything, they should do the opposite.
2
It's all one huge exercise in cognitive dissonance by Trump and his dupes and stooges. They should be asking why Mueller could not exonerate Trump. Instead they are busy trying to realign their irrational belief in a clown in order to spare themselves from cognitive dissonance. Minds like that won't be splitting the atom anytime soon.
1
For a guy who did nothing wrong, Trump sure acted like he had something to hide. A 22 month investigation that was routinely attacked can hardly be called unimpeded. For these clowns to excuse Trump’s meddling as the “justifiable actions of a man who KNEW he was innocent” is ridiculous. No need for due process: “Does the defendant KNOW he’s innocent? Yes? Okay, then. Case dismissed.” Shameful.
3
GOP position with a pretty pink bow on it. Listen to the Republicans at today's hearing; Loud; Belligerant; Bullying; Lying; Conspiracy Theories. This author's message to Dems; shut up and go away.
3
Yes... move on from Mueller, the Russians, Stormy, vote-less impeachment daydreaming and whatever other red herring someone is soon likely to serve already twice baked.
Place all your blame where it has belonged from the gitgo: Alexander Hamilton.
( the guy credited with creating the Electoral College)
Thanks totally not biased Republican congressman.
/s
4
@Becky in LA: The Mueller Report is also about the extensive Russian involvement in our democratic process. People had better care. “Democracy dies in darkness.”
2
Read between the lines. Trump is guilty but charging the president would threaten the foundations of government and rile up his base. Why is this so hard to grasp? They think he is going to be voted out in 2020. Problem solvef, right? Or is it? I do not think so. Aftershocks will go on for years.
There was a time when I favored the Democratic Party over the Republicans....then I became a Independent Voter.....the Democratic Party has become something I so despise that No Matter how Great a canidate they ever run for election just being attached to there new Soclialist Values makes them Null and Void for selection.
I also concluded from this hearing that Jim Jeffords and Louie Gohmert might want to cut back on their coffee intake.
Wow. Talk about grandstanding.
2
Louie Gohmert is the stupidest person in congress, and that is going some.
1
That cow was milked dry long ago.
Yep, time to impeach him. There is plenty of money laundering and, oh yeah Epstein. No one is above the law.
2
More liberal Democrat grandstanding with no true purpose in mind. They want their sound bite regardless if it’s nonsensical.
2
It is time to move on. We are a polarized and divided country. You either hate or love Donald Trump. Nothing will change your mind; not Mueller, CNN, Fox...nothing.
Let’s vote!
1
Party - yes.
Country - no.
3
I would not trust this fast-talking ‘pub from Georgia.
1
It's time to move on from the Clintons! Trump is still in office committing high crimes and misdemeanors.
3
Rep. Doug Collins: At any time with the investigation, was your investigation curtailed, or stopped, or hindered?
Mueller: No.
It's time to stop deluding ourselves and let this go, otherwise prepare to lose to Trump again.
The hearing is predictable: the Democrats attempting to prove the president obstructed justice, which I believe, and the GOP attempting to destroy Mr. Mueller's credibility. Both are playing to their base and hoping the independents will take their side in the 2020 election.
Mr. Collins it’s clear you haven’t bothered to read the Mueller report. The report clearly concluded that Russia interfered with the 2016 election and their candidate of choice was Donald Trump, that the Trump campaign gladly took assistance from Russia (which by the way is illegal) and that Trump attempted to obstruct the investigation into Russia’s interference.
Your implicit argument that their can be no obstruction of justice in an investigation that concludes no crime was committed is ludicrous. When is it ever okay to interfere in an investigation into alleged wrong doing?
Finally, your praise for Republican support for voting integrity is laughable. Of course the GOP wants to ensure the integrity of elections. After all, they’re Gerrymandering with all of their might so that the results will fall in their favor.
So sad to see a Congressman care so little about preserving Democracy.
2
Somehow, MSNBC and CNN will spin this into a crushing defeat for the president. Memo - the boy has cried wolf for the last two years. No matter what Mueller says, it doesn't matter, and it is time to move on.
48
@Erik Real title of this article :GOP Opinion Piece
18
@Erik:: You should have waited until after the hearing. . . .
16
"No matter what Mueller says, it doesn't matter"
@Erik
Fantastic, objective analysis
16
I'm a Democrat and after today's performance, I agree with this Republican congressman.
41
@Murad -- time for you to become a Republican.
33
@Murad
The timing of your comment strains your credibility.
22
@Murad
I'm a Republican and after today's performance, I disagree with this Republican congressman.
254
No exoneration. No criminal prosecution for obstruction for now. No comment re: "collusion" since that's not a legal term.
Would be great to move on. But please let reasonable people first endorse some accurate summary and vigorously censure attempts to garble the report's core conclusions.
What more evidence do you need from Mueller? The man's opening statement says it all, he's seen all of the evidence but he can't indict a sitting president. He can't comment on ongoing investigations and the republicans have limited his testimony to the report.
4
Dear Doug, I’m fairly certain Nixon tried the “time to move on” gambit in his 1974 State Of The Union address. A few months later he wasn’t president anymore. I don’t think admonishing the public to move on via this bad faith op-ed is the way to bring this matter to closure. It is reasonable to expect the president will be held accountable for his actions. I’m not sure there’s any “moving on” until that happens.
12
Mr Collins states "only 21 percent of Americans and 39 percent of Democrats favor impeachment hearings". If Americans were asked the question with the caveat that the Senate would follow suit with the House of Representatives (i.e. Republican Senators would become patriotic, develop backbones and convict the President if he was found to have committed high crimes and misdemeanors), the percentage of Americans in favor of impeachment would skyrocket. Many people are afraid that by supporting impeachment proceedings that would necessarily fail to be convicted in the Republican-controlled Senate, it would create a backlash similar to the losses Republicans achieved after trying to impeach Bill Clinton. The prime objective is to bring respect and honor (and intelligence?) back to the White House. Allowing the Republicans to manipulate the media and the public through a long, drawn out impeachment process that won't result in a conviction puts at risk this objective with a Trump re-election.
5
Trump has been right all along. There was no collusion. The whole thing was in the imagination of fevered Democratic media.
2
Trump has been right in Putin's pocket all along.
1
Rep. Collins makes not a single mention of any of the ten instances of obstruction of justice outlined in Vol. 2 of the Mueller Report. As Chairman Nadler said this morning, after prodding Mueller to repeat the highlights of that section, any other person would face a criminal indictment for these same actions.
Rep. Collins and other Republicans want everyone to move on not because there’s nothing in the Mueller Report. They want closure for the opposite reason: because there’s so much in it.
9
The Republicans have become a goon squad for Trump.
9
If it's time to move on, then let's. What are republicans planning to do to secure our elections? And why have then shown to be completely uninterested, including the president?
6
Were you this upset about pursuing "empty investigations" when your party was trying to find wrongdoing with Hillary and Benghazi?
17
It's frustrating to see the repeated misrepresentation that the Mueller Report did not conclude the president obstructed justice after a thorough investigation. After a thorough investigation, the report did NOT exonerate the president from obstruction of justice, and it DID include loads of evidence that he did just that. Too bad republicans think people are too stupid to understand the facts. This is why they were destroyed in the last election and will be further diminished in the next one. You can't pander to the right wing nuts and win general support.
6
Sir,
You have no credibility as it pertains to this case. And the issues before us. You along with your GOP colleagues are and remain in lock step with this faux administration.
The biggest question only Your Boy” can answers, “what are you hiding sir and why”? You ask that of this faux potus, then perhaps we will “listen” to what you have to say. Until then, go home!
15
Is that fear I smell, Mr. Collins?
7
You wish.
5
A congressman asked: "Could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?"
Robert Mueller: "Yes."
This means it is up to the House to begin Impeachment proceedings since they are who can hold a president to the Rule of Law. To do anything less is abdication of their duty to the American People.
8
Now this is a thorough article drenched in reality.
@Don Q
Your comment is akin to claiming that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is a "reality" show - nothing could be further from the truth. Collins' piece is drenched in unreality.
1
Mr. Collins, I found your questioning of Mr. Mueller, an American hero, to be bullying! You were nearly shouting at him! Have you no decency or morals p, sir?!
One day, you will have to face your Maker, and you will be asked how you could support and defend a man who is amoral, chronic liar and a criminal!
3
This is hysterical
2
Hah! Why am I not surprised? Nothing to see here folks, just move along like good little trumpbots. The assumption by republicans that everyone is too stupid to see a lie as a lie is one of the more offensive aspects of the trumpublican party.
4
The problem with the Times these days is that although there are plenty of people who have penned an opposing opinion, those Op-Eds were censored - leaving a Republican Congressman of all people with the sole and headline opinion in this section today
A prime example of the Times' Republican bias on a day they know will have high traffic
Shameful for any publication, but particularly for this one
@Marion Grace Merriweather
Truly unbiased reporting will always anger partisans because cogent arguments from the opposing side give the appearance of bias in the minds of those thoroughly convinced of the superiority of their convictions.
1
The president of the United States is a lawless criminal. He has committed crimes against the USA. He has attacked our allies and abetted our enemy while our enemy attacks us. Republicans must demand that he resign, or be impeached.
5
funny that the NYT headline in big bold letters is now trumpeting that Trump is "not exculpated"
Don’t shine a light on the Republicans, because they will just bark.
2
“Mueller just said President Trump can be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office.
It’s the job of the House to impeach Trump NOW!” Richard W. Painter
2
“With no foundation for impeachment...”
That’s all I needed to read. Because Congressman Collins obviously hasn’t read Mueller’s report.
5
The Democrats are pathetic and shooting themselves in the foot. I watched some of the testimony with the nasty tones of the questions and comments of congressmen and congresswomen. To my mind their manner of cross-examining Mueller is full of sound and fury constituting noting but a waste of time.
Doug Collins, Republican congressman from Georgia, is lying.
Mueller never "concluded no Americans 'coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities.'”
4
I wonder how it feels to be a traitor to your country Mr Collins? A traitor to the ideals that our ancestors fought so hard to preserve.
Is that money that makes you sell your country? or is it just power? Shame on you, shame on GOP, and shame on the people who voted for you.
4
It’s Time to Move On From Robert Mueller.
You think?
Let's hope Barr takes a good look at the Steele dossier.
Who paid for that?
But more importantly what does Mueller's obit look like.
Is it glowing because that's all that really matters?
@P&L
The Steele dossier?
Seriously?
How many times does this line of reasoning have to be debunked before people stop parroting this nonsense?
1
Collins is desperate for some Trump love during his re-election campaign. This Op-Ed is a perfect confection to gain WH affection.
2
You distort and seek to disparage the facts set out in the Mueller Report and Mueller himself, because both paint a damning picture of the Trump inner circle and the serious risks they and their Russian backers posed and continue to pose to our nation.
Using your GOP’s campaign messaging as models for my response to you: you are unAmerican, one of the Republicans and fascists who hate America, and you should just leave the country if you hate the Constitution, rule of law and truth as much as you do.
There, I feel better. Not really. It’s a nightmare for most Americans that you and your fellow cultists are destroying the foundations of the Republic with your devotion to Trump and eagerness to win at all costs.
5
just one question for the author: where were you on the length and cost of the Benghazi hearings?
6
America: it's time to move on from the republican party! It is laying the groundwork for your ruination.
5
Doug Collins represents my district. He is another hard right calculating politician who's amping up his rhetoric to impress trump. He's not unlike Sen. Graham who never met a camera he didn't want to talk to.
He's done nothing to actually help people he represents, unless you consider dragging us back to the 50's, and conveniently ignoring the rule of law in service to his ambition a good thing.
7
It's now time to impeach.
4
No, Mr. Collins. It's time for YOUR party to hold the HEAD of your party responsible for his crimes.
4
Collins wrote this opinion before the hearings. Nothing new here. Americans do want accountability and the investigation will continue.
3
Well said Congressman Collins. Democrats haven't been able to accept defeat graciously in anything since 2016. The problem has to be Russia not the policies and strategical failings of their own party. I think 2020 will show them just how wrong that assumption is.
1
@LR Mueller did not charge Trump because he is an honest man who followed DOJ policy stating a sitting President can not be charged. Mueller did not clear Trump; who obstructed justice 10 times. trump will go to prison.
I would submit that the responsibility of “The paper of record” to inform readers by presenting the truth overrides any efforts to present both sides, if one side, such as Collins’, is full of falsehoods and misrepresentations. At the very least, Collins’ piece should be accompanied by a fact checking insert.
11
Your performance this morning, Representative Collins, was both disrespectful of Mr. Mueller, and unworthy of the great state of Georgia. Shame on you.
10
You're right, Rep. Collins. It's time to move on to impeachment proceedings.
I have read Mueller's Report and today's hearings have emphasized that Trump obstructed justice numerous times during this investigation, and he tampered with witnesses. He and his campaign also met with Russians to share dirt on Clinton, and secret polling data through Manafort about certain targeted state. There was no formal agreement to do this, so the evidence against Trump on conspiracy did not rise to the level of being able to charge him. But there is plenty of evidence.
As to Trump's obstruction of justice and witness tampering of Mueller's investigation into Trump himself, there is evidence all over the place. For obstruction: ordering McGahn to fire Mueller, ordering McGAhn to cover-up and lie about that order, pressuring Sessions repeatedly to unrecuse himself; ordering Lewandowski to intimidate Sessions; etc., etc. Just read vol. 2 of the Report for more. Trump even advertised his obstruction attempts on Twitter and on the news. This morning Republicans tried to pretend that Trump did not commit obstruction because Mueller's investigation was allowed to finish unimpeded.
That is not a legal standard for judging obstruction - whether the obstructive attempt was successful or not. People are frequently indicted for planning crimes that were never carried out.
One Republican said 'there is no there there' today.
Yes, there is obstruction and witness tampering GALORE.
11
President Trump walked all his life the fine line between legality and illegality. For sure he went far beyond any decency in terms of moral integrity but, unfortunately, for that there is no written law to be enforced.
The bottom line, and the saddest part, is that behind him there are many others like him encouraging and defending his dubious work. He is a less than desirable president.
4
The President got away with one. Period. So did OJ. It happens.
What is shocking is how dismissive people like Mr Collins are about a President who has since given aid and comfort to an enemy who attacked us.
Imagine if it had been Obama....
17
Enablers of this president, a vile equal opportunity offender against morality, people of color, women, LGBTs, fellow Americans, foreign allies, NATO, and the Enlightenment principles upon which our nation was founded -- enablers like Congressman Collins here, who claim Article II allows the president virtual authoritarian powers while in office, and therefore write shameless defenses of the president, like this obnoxious screed -- are in my view, WORSE THAN TRUMP.
Had Trump been a Democrat, by now he would have been crucified in an impeachment process and kicked out of office tout suite. Hypocrite Collins would have been first in line to write op-eds calling for impeachment, prison, locking him or her up -- possibly even a firing squad.
But no, shameless partisans like Collins want us to believe that the crimes explicitly described in the Mueller Report, which any lawyer who's read it understands ARE crimes -- that the president has been exonerated, when explicitly, as stated in the report, HE HAS NOT.
Shame on this generation of Republicans. They are more despicable than the president, for unlike him, while they don't suffer most of Trump's innumerable psychological issues, they do share his capacity for ruthlessness. For they persist in supporting his outrageous behavior because they share a ruthless obsession with POWER. It is the ONLY thing they seem to care about.
Not the country. Not its citizens. Not the rule of law. Not our moral compass. Just POWER.
11
“The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
- US Department of Justice, Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Election
“We focused on whether the evidence was sufficient to charge any member of the campaign with taking part in a criminal conspiracy. It was not.”
- Mueller, opening remarks
2
Rep Collins,
It may be true that the Dems are making their closing arguments for impeachment.
More likely, that’s your opinion, or even your desperate hope.
I think you will be disappointed.
Mueller’s report pointedly *does not, has not, and will not* clear Mr Trump on obstruction. To the contrary, the report outlines a substantial case for obstruction, with equally substantial evidence.
Here’s my question for you, sir:
-If a clear case of multiple obstructive actions and strong evidence of corrupt intent by Mr Trump and those acting at his bidding are not enough to justify opening an impeachment inquiry in the House, what is, sir?
I seriously doubt your constituents would stand by you if there was similar evidence that you had obstructed justice, nor should they.
9
I agree. Let's read out loud how Trump obstructed justice. And then make sure he's indicted for that and the campaign finance hush money payments on the day he's out of office. Put him in handcuffs on his way to Marine One.
7
“...when he concluded no Americans ‘coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities.’”
The above is not what the Mueller report said. In fact, the special council said nearly the opposite, which Mueller made clear today. He said that there was sufficient evidence to investigate further the possibility of coordination and conspiracy.
6
This column is misleading due to its use of lies.
Democrats have been reluctant to impeach because it is seen as political and they rightly prefer that the nation's voters repudiate Trump at the polls. Suggesting that this hearing is geared to impeachment is a favorite red herring used by the writer.
Second, Mueller and his report did not clear Trump et al of coordinating with the Russians; the report says that that could not be conclusively established. No exoneration.
Third, the most blatant lie is that the report cleared Trump of obstruction. To the contrary, the report clearly established obstruction, including intent to obstruct.
As observers should be aware, Mueller didn't recommend prosecutorial action due to Department of Justice guidelines on indicting sitting presidents. The remedy is a political one, with actions to be taken by Congress and/or the people. The special counsel was charged with establishing the facts, not saving the world. That's our job.
The fact that the writer blatantly lies here is expected. The fact that the NYTimes editors allow this is disturbing.
10
Would Fox News or any other right-leaning media outlet publish an op-ed by a Democrat? While I appreciate the NYT efforts to appear non-partisan, what is written here is simply not true. I did read much of the report and there is clear evidence that President Trump obstructed justice multiple times. Instead of continuing to try to be non-partisan, how about trying to use the gravity and influence of the NYT to be something more valuable: truthful.
8
Told you so. The Conservatives have skunked the Liberals and that's that.
It's like watching the bully and his crew on the playground, he smacks the other kids around and they can't cope. Leaderless and divided as to how to react they are divided and conquered easily.
Politicians talk about "the people" but they represent those who fund them and it is fine with those who fund them if the govern by bias, bigotry and prejudice, it's always been this way.
Somehow the liberals think it's about justice, fairness, fidelity and principals. It's not, it's about who can take what and what they can control.
Until the people throw the Democratic Party under the bus nothing is going to change about this.
By that time our country will no longer exist.
1
Total and complete waste of time, money, effort, and common sense.
Dear Congress: Please begin doing your jobs as elected to do - which means fixing, not breaking, America.
1
@Greg Walker
I agree. Why are we paying Rep. Collins for anyway ?
Op-Eds like these do nothing to fix the roads or the border
Democrats in the House have passed over 100 bills to help America! Mitch McConnell has blocked all bills and refused to bring them to the floor for a vote! Who is breaking our country? Who is pitting us against each other? Trump.
It is sad but true that the content of any opinion piece from a current Republican politician, except out-of-office ones, should be obvious before we even read the title. Read "move on" as "don't look behind the curtain...we know what's best for you...trust us...Trump knows what he is doing despite massive evidence to the contrary." Why anyone with two brain cells to rub together would afford these enablers any credibility whatsoever is totally beyond me.
4
Its too bad Robert Mueller couldn't do the Mathematically impossible and prove a negative.
Yes, it's time to move one. One possible subject to examine is how or why some members of Congress know so little about how the federal government works. How does a congressman NOT know that career federal employees cannot be hired (or not hired) based on their political party registration? And this congressman is a member of the judiciary committee, though apparently not familiar with USC 5. Perhaps a course in civics is in order during the next recess, and another in reading comprehension.
6
Director Mueller, I respect your conduct of this investigation generally and your zeal to remain firmly within your nonpartisan role.
But your report does not always stand on its own. When you are asked directly about a line in your report -- that indictment is not the process by which to address potentially criminal conduct of a sitting President -- I call cow pie when you coyly refuse to state what that Constitutional process is (or those processes are) and then, coyly respond to a reference by the questioner to impeachment that "you've already mentioned one."
You meant something by the line in your report and it is a patently appropriate inquiry as to what processes are Constitutionally available to address conduct by a sitting President.
You are making a pretzel of yourself to avoid performing this most essential public service, analyzing this most urgent set of facts regarding our national security.
3
Mr. Collins, I watched you on television this morning and read this editorial. I’ve read the Mueller report. Somehow, we read it differently. The report clearly states there was Russian interference in the election of 2106. On that we seem to agree. The report does not exonerate the President. It only states the a sitting President cannot be indicted for a criminal act and the report states there is insufficient evidence for indictment at this time. That is not a statement of the President’s innocence. It remains an open question as to the President’s actions. We do know he does lie on a regular basis. We do know he is afraid to release his tax returns. You’re correct that impeachment is not likely to follow today’s hearings. Hopefully the American people will resolve the issue by electing a new President next November. Regardless of the findings of Mr. Mueller, we can agree that this President is a problem for our nation, that the good things occurring in our nation are mostly independent of Trump’s efforts and that he is a divisive figure who does not belong in the White House.
13
Whatever else you may think of the Mueller Report, it is a flat-out lie to claim that the investigator "didn't conclude that the president conspired or obstructed justice."
They found and labeled extensive evidence that the president obstructed justice. And while they did not conclude that there was sufficient evidence to prove collusion, they found plenty of evidence that Trump and the Trump campaign courted Russian interference in the 2016 election.
As long as Republican leaders continue to inhabit a fantasy world where Donald Trump is both competent and innocent, they will continue to lose ground to the reality-based community.
4
I'm not sure that Mueller is doing his service to his country. It's unfortunate. There may be a time down the road here when Mueller will be having to live with the thought, "I could have stopped this."
2
Beware veterans and people who serve the public with integrity--when you are no longer useful to Republicans, when you speak the truth, they will tear you apart. That's what we saw today, at the hearings, with Mueller.
13
it's also time to move on from any politician who disgraced himself/herself today.
the disgusting display of partisan baloney made me physically ill.
it's time for a constitutional convention and some new laws - and term limits for members of congress should be at the top of the list.
5
@Steve Ell - Or, American cold just grow a brain and replace both parties who do nothing but serve themselves and their rich masters.
Everyone thinks we can only survive by putting Biden back in place. Did he stop the war in Afghanistan? No, he and Barack ramped it up more. Did they stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia or Israel? Nope. Did they fix the water in Flint, Michigan? Nope. Did they get the guns off of the street? Nope.
And neither has Trump. So, why do Americans keep proving Einstein right about the definition of insanity?
Mr. Mueller's testimony refutes Trump's mantra of No Collusion, No Obstruction, and demonstrates that Mr. Barr's conclusion that there was no evidence of obstruction is just plain wrong. The political question now is whether the Democrats should proceed with impeachment of the President. Good arguments can be made for and against. What will it mean for the rule of law if he is impeached and the Republican Senate acquits? History will record who was political and who was not. My view is that history will be unkind to the Republicans. What will it mean to the rule of law if the President is impeached and the issue becomes such a distraction that impeachment facilitates his reelection? Do we want to reelect a criminal? Given the role of Fox News and the role the Russians will play in the election (and they will be a factor) that is a real danger. My judgment is that Democrats would do well to leave impeachment up to the voters in 2020. Lay out the corruption, the lies, the President's solicitation of Russian interference, and the evidence of his kowtowing to Putin and let the voters decide. Put the monkey on their backs where it belongs.
3
Yup, time to move on. I never thought I would say this but really impeachment is too goo for some people, but he must be impeached.
The absolute disrespect of some of the "Representatives (R)" in addressing Mueller -- cutting off his answers or simply delivering a speech (there is no question there) I would hope will cost at least some of the creeps their jobs in the next election cycle.
BTW I learned nothing new but it was interesting all the same. Trump cannot be accused or brought to trial for his possible criminal activity because he is the president. So, could he shoot someone on 5th Ave . as he suggested and still not be brought to trial because of his office? In which case, the laws that created this situation put forth by the Justice Dept. post the Clinton debacle need to be rescinded. (I think I have it right.)
6
@Auntie Mame - There is no law stating that a president cannot be indicted. That is simply a Department of Justice memo but nothing in the constitution backs it up.
"It's time to move on ..." Long overdue. Just harming the Dems in the eyes of common folks. On the other hand, it is amazing how obsessed some of the Dems are (e.g. Nadler ...)
It is hard not to be obsessed when the existence of the Republic is at stake.
1
The Republicans hostile interrogation and their constant spin that Mueller's probe is tainted because he didn't go outside his purview to investigate Democrats does not override the facts that Trump obstructed justice. No one is above the law, especially the President.
8
So the SP could not exonerate the president of wrongdoing. And no extra terrestrial probe of the moon can rule out that somewhere there is green cheese to be found.
1
Mr. Collins repeatedly characterizes the Democrats' efforts as focused on Volume I -- the conspiracy/collusion issue, saying they are trying to establish grounds for a conspiracy that does not exist. They are not focused on that at all. The focus of their investigations is largely about Volume II, possible obstruction of justice. And THAT is exactly where Mueller pointed them. Let them do their jobs and investigate, using Mr. Mueller's evidence as well as additional evidence they may collect, whether there are sufficient grounds to hold impeachment hearings around obstruction. Until that is done, it would be a dereliction of duty for them to "move on."
3
I agree. We need to move on from the Mueller report - and focus on voting out every single Republican in the House and the Senate and - most of all - in the White House in 2020 !
6
Not so fast, the premises of the Russia interference hoax have been slowly over time proven to be false. Guccier does not exist (timestamps show that data was delivered via a thumb drive), Assange has never been interviewed, the Steele dossier malarkey has been shown to be an invention.
This points to a rather large setup by various parties in the Deep State intelligence apparatus and entities in the Democrat Party. It needs to be stated: Russia did not materially affect the election, but both the DNC and the groups responsible for this hoax are currently very desperately trying to do exactly that.
2
@CK
"Russia did not materially affect the election, but both the DNC and the groups responsible for this hoax are currently very desperately trying to do exactly that."
Psychotic denial is not a defense nor is it an acceptable rationalization for the attack on our Democracy from within and without.
Ignoring the cover up by DT and the Republican party by turning a fantasy into a reason to blame Dem's for doing their job.
4
In my opinion, the entire Republican congressional membership is guilty of a obstruction of justice.
4
"Moreover, Mr. Mueller’s team was full of seasoned investigators with experience in finding and revealing wrongdoing." writes Mr. Collins. Yet he and his colleagues did everything they could today to claim that Mueller's team was a group of die hard partisan democrats permanently tainted and unable to investigate properly.
If you don't like the facts, , attack the message bearers. say the Republicans.
But in a flurry of cognitive dissonance, the same republicans claim that this tainted report exonerates trump. Mueller said today his report did not..
Did. Not. Exonerate. Donald J. Trump of crimes and misdemeanors.
Thank you Mr. Mueller.
5
you're much easier to understand in print, sir.
ok - if we're not going to open an impeachment inquiry (they have to at this point - there's no question trump obstructed justice on *numerous* occasions) we can just wait til he's out of office and prosecute him for it.
or, we can just see which of the other NINE investigations puts him away.
look rep collins, one way or another, your boy is going to be held accountable and your reputation will be destroyed. and no, i don't hope it was worth it to you.
5
Mr. Collins it is deeply disheartening to see someone charged with carrying out a responsibility for our democracy at the highest level behave in such a disingenuous and plainly manipulative manner.
These issues are as profoundly serious and the factual evidence therefore as deeply alarming and almost certainly much more so than any that either of us are likely to see again in our lifetimes. Yet you and your colleagues have sworn such perverse allegiance and what appears to be literally an unconditional loyalty to Mr. Donald Trump above all else, that you have perverted and corrupted the very workings of a healthy democracy and moreover, that fealty is on full display here, where you allow it to preempt even merely encouraging the public to fully understand what happened, and who was involved.
To suggest that most US citizens have already been fully informed and that today's testimony is "above and beyond" what is called for in such circumstances is incredulous, diversionary and frankly beneath your station and charge.
God help us all if the GOP continues this cult-like dedication to a man who we can all agree lies almost as constantly as he makes racist or sexist remarks for everyone, including our children, to see.
If you choose to leave your public life with a legacy your great grandchildren will be embarrassed and ashamed of, then keep on, but I hope that instead, you stop here and now to reflect on the ideals and notions that first drove you to enter public life.
7
House Judiciary Chairman Jerold Nadler: 'Director Mueller, the president has repeatedly claimed that your report found there was no obstruction and that it completely and totally exonerated him. But that is not what your report said, is it?'
'That is correct. That is not what the report said,' responded Mueller.
'Does that say there was no obstruction?' Nadler followed up later.
'No,' the former special counsel responded.
'In fact, your report expressly states that it does not exonerate the president,' Nadler told him.
'Yes it does,' Mueller replied.
Mueller expanded: 'The finding indicates that the president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed.'
5
The trump campaign manager was convicted of bank & tax fraud and is now in prison. The deputy campaign manager pled guilty to multiple campaign finance frauds. Trump's personal attorney, was
convicted of campaign finance fraud and is in prison. Trump's foreign policy advisor was convicted of lying to the FBI about Russian contacts and served a prison sentence. Trump's national security adviser, Flynn, pled guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia, and other crimes. Flynn's business partner was convicted of Illegal acts as a foreign agent.
The president was and maybe still is surrounded by people commiting crimes - 37 individuals and businesses have been charged and are on trial for criminal activity. His son & son-in-law met with Russian agents in Trump tower seeking possible election 'dirt'. Rep. Collins is satisfied with a leader who is ignorant or apathic about criminality that benefits the president. Criminality, ignorance, and apathy are not leadership qualities, in my opinion. I'd rather pursue an impeachment than move on.
5
The only real closure will be when Donald Trump is in jail where he belongs. And the GOP has been voted out of existence.
4
Wouldn't it be nice if Collins and other Republicans showed even a modicum of concern with Russian meddling in our elections, a fact proven repeatedly by multiple intelligence reports? Wouldn't you think any patriotic American would fight back and hunt down every person responsible, American and foreign, who tried to undermine our democracy? Instead, Collins, et.al circle the wagons around the President and those who abetted our enemies. And fools will still vote for them.
3
Trump fans should be asking why Mueller could not exonerate Trump, why? Instead, they seize upon anything to support their idol and denounce Mueller's conclusion. It's not a rational path to take. I looked up this mental condition and it's called Cognitive Dissonance. When facts are presented contrary to their belief, certain types of people, particularly dupes and stooges, they will seize on the thinest of arguments to realign their belief. Trump dupes and stooges have an inner need to ensure that their belief in Trump is consistent. Inconsistent, or, conflicting beliefs lead to disharmony, which Trump dupes and stooges will do anything to avoid. Boy have they been busy at it the last couple of years!
2
If having Mueller testify is a waste of time that will embarrass the Democrats, why did Collins see the need to write an op ed piece? Shouldn’t he simply remain silent and welcome their failure? It’s like when cops say, move along folks, there’s nothing to see here; you know there is something to see, and just have to take a look.
Also, Collins insults Times readers’ intelligence with that business about important work not being done by Congress because of distracting investigations. Unlike, say, Fox News viewers, we’re aware that Congress can attend to its investigational and legislative duties at the same time. I’m sure such distraction wasn’t an issue during the Benghazi investigations,
4
President Trump has instructed his entire administration to not testify, so Mueller's testimony is especially important.
1
I feel like I just went through the looking glass and landed in a parallel universe. What world does this author live in? You'd have to be blind to think Donald Trump - Donald Trump! - is an innocent man. Anyone who grew up in the shadow of New York City in the 80s and 90s knows this. And whenever a Republican brought up today that people said they wouldn't let Trump be elected, it wasn't because of a conspiracy, it was because they knew he was unfit for office. If you don't know he is unfit for office, you have a massive intellectual problem.
3
"With no foundation for impeachment,"
If Trump weren't President, he would have been indicted and convicted.
This entire delusional, partisan piece just shows exactly how enslaved the GOP has become to Trump's authoritarian agenda. Any other President would have been impeached and removed from office. Any private citizen would have been indicted and convicted and jailed -- as so many of Trump's inner circle already have been.
4
"To these efforts, Judiciary Democrats have added two empty-chair hearings, authorized more than a dozen subpoenas, sent more than 80 document requests and issued countless news releases."
The empty chairs are a result of a corrupt AG and a corrupt Republican party that abuses it's power to protect a corrupt POTUS. The lack of ocooperation that this AG, POTUS and your party is why the people have not been provided with the information needed by those in our government who are doing their jobs for the people and have been unable to investigate real crimes.
Your twisted logic proves your total willingness to refuse to protect this country and it's people from such a man and to keep your own power in place. This is how you will go down in history sir.
I hope that you aand those peers who are doing the same, are able to look your children in the eye when they ask you to tell them the truth. They will see the truth regarding your corrupt acts and will at some point, they will be ashamed.
We need leaders who are willing to protect the truth and to take their oath to do so as they should. Our Democracy will not survive with out this. If our Democracy fails because of your choices, I hope that you can live with yourself and that your children will forgive you. Millions of us will not be able to find the grace to do so.
I beg of you, have courage and protect this country and it's people from the loss of our Democracy.
3
When I read this article I had to go back out of it and check that I was in actually in the NY Times app and that the world hadn’t suddenly found common sense overnight.
Then I looked and saw it was a guest contributor and it all made sense.
They need something so their angry commenters can complain about.
2
Lies and hypocrisy always make sense in conservative GOP world.
1
This morning's hearing does not give the Democrats the winning television moments they need to get enough public support to proceed to impeachment.
This should chill the fever for impeachment. As an ashamed American, ashamed by this president and his amoral Congressional supporters, I'm relieved.
To impeach in the house and exonerate in the Senate would give a free pass to this appalling president toward a second disastrous term He would say, see? They threw all they had against me, I was tried according to the Constitution and I'm innocent.
He should be impeached and convicted. Without the Senate's conviction, his lies, his betrayal of this country and his danger to the world will continue.
Pelosi's hand is strengthened by the inconclusive hearing today. The future of the republic is a bit safer.
75
@PK
I yeah this - not because I'm convinced the republic is a bit safer, but because I hope it is.
5
@CitizenTM
And Voldemort and his dementors continue to wreck the republic. Look at what he does, not what he says.
7
@PK Unfortunately, he's got free rein now. I just hope the damage isn't too great to be repaired in my lifetime.
6
That concept in the US justice system of the "presumption of innocence " is dubious.
Why would you start an investigation on a crime and on potential suspect if there was presumption of innocence ?
That does not make sense . That is why the French judicial philosophy is different . A suspect has to prove he is innocent.
If there is an investigation here, in a political context of actions, and Mr Mueller could barely utter : " but this is a unique situation " before being cut and impeached to explain why , if there was an investigation it is because there was suspicion of crime.
Not because there was presumption of innocence.
That the investigation could not conclude on affirmative guilt is an other story. We hear often of crimes not resolved , or the wrong suspect condemned, for later, years past, one of the first suspects being that was left innocent by presumption, condemned for the crime now known he committed. And the DNA technique has brought a lot of those cases.
The USA have the highest violent crime rate in the world as well as highest incarceration rate, both by 8 times the European average . But the lowest white collar crime prosecution.
All within the presumption of innocence .
Does the report exonerate the president?
NO
Would you charge the president with obstruction once he leaves office?
YES
Did Russia undermine our elections?
YES
Did the Trump campaign engage the Russians during that effort?
YES
How many meetings did the Trump campaign have with Russia officials?
Over 120
How many Trump campaign officials and Russians were charged with federal crimes?
30
How many Trump campaign officials were convicted?
7
Have Democrats proposed legislation to protect elections and our democracy from foreign interference?
YES
Has McConnell and Congressional Republicans supported that legislation?
NO
Has the president taken measures to ensure election security and protection of our democracy?
NO
Has the president stated he would accept Russian and other foreign assistance in 2020?
YES
4
Mr. Collins, you have not honorably or thoroughly investigated these issues and you hide behind partisan politics instead of doing your job.
Stop treating the voters as if we are stupid, in capable, naive or just uninterested...it is not the case.
Most members of Congress have not read the Report.
I have read the Report; here are the facts:
The Russians attacked us
The President lied
The President refused and interview with the Special Counsel
The President refused to answer any questions in writing about obstruction.
The President only answered in writing questions about Russian.
The President continues to lie, virtually daily.
AG Barr lied in his characterization of The Report.
The people around the President lied, repeatedly and continue to do.
Why have so many individual who directly report to the President lied about their contacts and interactions about Russians?
Why won’t the Republicans in the Senate take action to protect our democracy and election?
Too many Americans don’t understand the complex and complete attack on our country and democracy by the Russians
Too many Americans don’t understand that the President lied and instructed justice.
We charge our elected officials to do their job without, regardless of party-Mr. Collins you failed us.
5
We move on, and leave a trail of corporate/political toxic trash to foul our future. Nothing is resolved. Some is forgiven. All is forgotten. Our children will pay and pay and pay.
2
The only closure is the truth. Impeachment inquiries must start.
1
It's time to get on with impeachment of Trump and AG Barr. The corruption in this administration is epic. Get it done and save America, the rule of law, and our democracy. The whole gang of enablers and supporters of Trump are complicit in his unprecedented thwarting of justice.
2
Americans do not need more from Mueller to know that is is time to impeach this president. His own words and actions are sufficient grounds.
2
A Republican asking for an end to investigations? This just shows that their hypocrisy is as boundless as it is endless.
4
What happened to the "party of law and order?" If Trump is going to be charged when he leaves office, then he needs to leave office now. If that is by impeachment, then so be it. If they GOP had any integrity, they would insist that Trump leave ASAP.
5
Any opponent of Trump that is not talking about this hearing as success is trying to lose.
The Mueller Report is an Impeachment Referral, even if Mueller is too fair to say the word. Mueller said "the Constitution has a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president." Anyone that has actually read the Constitution knows that that process is impeachment.
Impeachment is merely an indictment. The investigator has laid out evidence. It is up to Congress ito indict. To do that we need an ImpeachmentIinquiry. If that results in impeachment, the actual trial is in the Senate.
It is the job of Congress to take up the overwhelming EVIDENCE! that Trump committed federal FELONIES and to conduct an impeachment inquiry.
An impeachment inquiry could also take up Trump's hundreds of other High Crimes, like calling for violence against American Citizens, or questioning their Citizenship, without due process.
I said I would Trust Mueller, and I still trust Mueller. Mueller said he was not allowed to indict so this should go to Congress.
Anyone in the Press or Democratic Party that can't figure all of this out needs to at least stop repeating Trump talking points, which are all lies.
This investigation was severely limited in scope by trhe Trump appointee that created it. Besides obstruction, Trump contradicts the Constitution in word and deed daily.
The Press is not explaining Trump's public felonies and High Crimes in the Oval a office!
3
At this point, Republicans wouldn't care if Trump murders someone on 5th Ave. They're far more concerned about covering for Trump and his criminal activities so they can continue Making America an Oligarchy of the 1% Again.
6
So an opinion piece is in the paper mere seconds after Mueller testified. Looks like the author could have written it two weeks ago and decided he wouldn't be moved by Mueller's testimony.
For the last time, the president was not cleared of obstruction of justice. Clearly the author didn't read the report or listen to Mueller's own words.
3
Trump must be brought to justice. He disrespects the USA law. No one should do that.
3
Georgia Republican Trumpist advocates people "Move on" from close ally working with foreign country interfering in election to put Republicans in power.
Okay, thanks Doug.
2
The Republicans are pit bulls as they shamefully attack Mr. Mueller with their intense defense of their Bully-in-Chief. The Democrats in the hearings come across as their meek sacrificial lambs. It is highly likely that Trump will yet again slither around the accusations as he has managed to do in every other accusation in the course of his presidency and in fact, in the course of his entire lifetime. It is uncanny how he has always managed to come out unscathed whether as a businessman through the aide of his unsavory cronies and lawyers or as a president bolstered by his loyal republican sycophants and bamboozled supporters. His long history of successfully avoiding any past incrimination or indictment for his actions is mind-boggling. What could possibly change this pattern of 'winning' this time or will Trump just skate again, this time to re-election in 2020? The stakes are high. This is not just a case of a Trump Casino or Trump University. It is the case of fighting for the democracy of a nation.
3
It's amazing — and disheartening — to watch Republicans defend the most corrupt president in American history by attacking the achingly honest Robert Mueller
6
It's not time to move on until we have all the answers. We don't have all the answers. Not by a long shot.
2
Obviously most of this was written before the Mueller appearance. I started reading before I even looked at the author or affiliation, and very quickly saw all the hallmarks of someone toeing the GOP party line. The fact is that the Dems have a great case to start impeachment, and should get on with it.
2
I could pick apart the various assertions and opinions Congressman Collins has written here, but instead I would pose just one question to him:
"If Donald Trump were a Democrat, would you still make these statements?"
I seriously doubt it.
3
I agree, Rep. Collins. It's time to move on from Robert Mueller: Now it's time for the House to impeach Trump. And once Trump is out of office, it's time for the DOJ to indict him.
2
@Jay: The House impeaching Trump won't remove him from office.
2
@JayThe majority of Americans don't understand impeachment or the Electoral College.
"Yet these investigators didn’t conclude that the president conspired or obstructed justice."
When asked, I heard Mueller respond that Trump did attempt to obstruct justice on more than one occasion, but because of the Department of Justice's position that a sitting president cannot be indicted, he could go no further.
Subsequently, when asked if Trump could be indicted on the obstruction of justice findings if he was no longer president, Mueller simply and concisely responded, "yes."
Perhaps Mr. Collins was watching a different hearing?
6
@hdtvpete
Agreed....Collins was watching a rerun of "Ren and Stimpy".
1
Impeachment will happen just a matter of time, the long game is being played to insure its success. Thank you Mr. Mueller for your service to the country.
3
@DG...is that the new Marvel movie: Avengers: The Long Game?
As much as I'd like to see Trump gone from office, impeachment may begin but won't be executed due to one individual who goes by the name Mitch.
2
@MarkG Seems you do not understand the House impeaches the senate convicts. I do not care if the Senate refuses to convict him the impeachment itself is an indellible mark and will stain him to the end of his days. This is what I want.
To the Right Honorable Mr. Collins:
Your thesis is fatally flawed by the words "With no foundation for impeachment[.]" Mr. Trump has shown himself to be morally and temperamentally unfit for office, has arguably accepted emoluments in defiance of the Constitution and his oath to preserve and defend it, and has committed multiple acts of obstruction of justice into an investigation into interference in our election by an unfriendly foreign power, an effort that was proven to have happened.
I respect your service as an elected legislator. I do not respect your flawed arguments, as they are beneath the dignity and intelligence I expect of an elected official of these United States.
6
The Democrats have everything they need except a blue dress. Mueller’s oblique performance didn’t make up for that lack. Republicans studiously steered clear of the substantive information contained in the report. All they needed to do was muddy the water. The hearing was an unnecessary holding action designed to give Democrats cover if they ever work up the courage to impeach. It failed to meet that objective.
Now that we have seen the testimony to the House committee, it is pretty clear that Mueller will not argue that Trump did not obstruct justice., even if he was unsuccessful. Congressman Lieu got Mueller to agree that at Trump's conduct met the criteria of obstruction in at least one instance.
The author of this op ed is the ranking member of Congressman Nadler's committee, much more than just some guy from Georgia.
2
Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice. Impeachment inquiry should begin immediately and get on with the next challenge.
6
Yes, it is time to move on from Mr. Mueller to Congress doing their job. Mr. Mueller said it all if this were any other person they would be on trial.
5
It's painfully obvious the President did obstruct justice and indeed has committed a crime. However, since Mueller said himself that he and the Office of Legal Council did not indict Donnie because of his status in the high office, they left it up to Congress.
Donnie is guilty and will see a jail cell when (and if) he leaves office. Those are the facts and you can spin it any way you want.
3
If by "moving on" you mean move more deeply into finding out what actually happened, you're correct, but we know that what you really mean is bury a story precisely because it's too hot to handle.
Everything that ails us right now tracks back to the dangerous impulses to skate across the surface of public affairs and freely offer exoneration where it is not warranted. If some future historian wants a title for a book for this epoch of lack of transparency, lies, criminal wrong doing, and calumny, he or she should consider The Age of Zero Accountability.
This impulse precedes DJT by decades (some might locate it in fomenting an illegal war in Vietnam and never being held accountable for the deaths of millions) but it has exploded under the man caught lying 10,000 times.
If we move on...part of that moment must involve crafting laws that ensure nothing like this ever happens again. Never again should a candidate already found guilty of committing crimes be allowed to be elected. Never again should a candidate openly calling on a known adversary to destroy his opponent be allowed to run. Never again should a candidate caught openly confessing to sexual violence be allowed to run. Never again should a sitting president be allowed to act above the law. Never again should an acting AG be allowed to claim that the only reason he did not pursue prosecution is because he believed the rules forbid it.
We do need to move on. To the awareness that NO ONE is above the law.
21
Mueller has been criticized by Republicans on this committee and has not answered most questions in accord with Wm Barr’s orders that prohibited any comments beyond the text of the report. Recognizing this the Republicans spoke so fast to get in their criticism of him and his report that it was nearly impossible to follow what they wanted to do other than exonerate the President and bring Mueller into disrepute.
But the problem for the nation is that the President’s actions and words speak for themselves and nothing in the questions asked by the Republicans exonerates or denies what the President said and did in public, and he and his campaign have been shown to have been guilty of working with the Russians to undermine our election system and to interfere with the investigation. Republicans are loyal to the President but seem quite happy to reduce the Democratic Republic to an authoritarian tyranny.
Our mass media with its heavy capitalistic input will no doubt keeps its powder dry and will not draw the logical connections that will hold this President responsible and neither will the Senate — even if the House impeaches Trump. In this case, the democracy is will have failed to do its job because one party is showing its allegiance to the person of the President and not to the Democratic process.
13
35 year ago, during the holy Reagan era, Russia was referred to as the evil empire. Russia's tactics haven't changed much since then and their leader, who once worked for the KGB, is as intent on damaging the United States now as the Soviet Union was back then. However, now that it suits them and because Putin's authoritarianism (and Russia's lily-white homogeny) are so appealing and consistent with their worldview, Republicans are all-in on taking a toreador approach to protecting our elections and democracy from Russian and other foreign interference. Russia has made and continues to make every effort to influence elections and damage our democracy and beyond anything else in the Mueller report, this was made clear beyond a doubt. Why, then, are Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell doing everything in their power, going as out of their way as possible, to avoid taking even the most conservative steps to deal with this threat?
8
Shame on you, NYTimes for giving a platform for this deliberately misleading op-ed. The special counsel did NOT conclude that the Trump campaign didn't coordinate or conspire with the Russian government. The conclusion is more nuanced!
26
Completely agree! Sometimes I really question my subscription to this newspaper.
Time to 'move on' and let the Republican Party continue the conversion of America's Constitutional Democracy into a Russian-style oligarchy? I don't think so, Mister Collins.
23
The Democrats will never be able to move on. Much like a person who has lost a loved one and can't move on. That the Anointed One wasn't elected President was a soul shattering event the likes of which hasn't been experienced by Democrats since JFK's assassination.
And just like that event, the conspiracy mob will never let go. Just like the conspiracy Museum in Dallas, they'll continue to pester all who were involved in this, even long after their deaths.
7
@Mark: What was assassinated in Trump's election was democracy and the dignity and international standing of the US presidency.
4
Democrats need to move on already. Regardless of whether there was collusion and interference or not, focusing on this is just a scapegoat that prevents Democrats from doing the proper insight needed to realize what they did wrong last election and work on it so it won't happen again. "We did nothing wrong, our campaign was perfect and only lost because of Russia!"
5
@Vicente -- yes, it is time for Democrats to move on -- move on to Trump impeachment.
3
The author did not read the Mueller Report. I discovered that in the second paragraph. Therefore all that follows is suspect. Please, Mr. Collins. Facts not fiction.
20
This from a republican enabler of trump's rancid regime.
Republicans should hang their heads and keep under the radar until the disgraceful trump nightmare is finally over. Maybe go back to where they came from. They don't have to provide yet more lies and apologetic propaganda.
The republicans have a lot to answer for in the destruction of our democracy, the sliming of the office of the presidency, and the decline of our country among our allies and the rest of the world.
21
It is time to move on from the Republican Party. Once a respected voice for law and order, it has devolved into a cult of lawless, power hungry sycophants who are determined to shred the Constitution to maintain power. And for whom? For a man with no concept of truth or decency. One does not need to read Mueller’s report to see we are in danger of sliding into fascism. Most of the reprehensible acts committed by this president and supported by this cult are not even in the report. If putting children in cages, threatening your opponents, lying to the public are not reasons enough to remove this president from office, then nothing is.
21
The Republicans at today's hearing are an embarrassment and a danger to all Americans. Jordan's incomprehensible rants, the lack of being able to ask an understandable question, their ignorance of the facts - I'm quitting the Republican party.
21
Mr. Collins, please remove your blinders before it's too late. What will it take for you to recognize the evil that has taken over our country? What hold, exactly, does this traitorous president have over you that you insist upon denying every one of the onslaught of hateful steps that he has taken to destroy our democracy? When did you decide to give up your ethics, morals, compassion, and reason? This nightmare has gone on long enough. It's time to impeach this travesty of a human from the White House, and all of the incompetent, incorrigible people he brought in.
11
The progressive critique of this investigation - that it would accomplish nothing and lead us nowhere - has existed for years. Making that critique leads people online to declare you are a "Russian bot".
Imagine if democrats had spent these last 2.5 years investigating the president's crimes against women (and possibly children) instead of trying to create a Russian bogeyman.
@Nathaniel: The Mueller investigation started under Republicans and a Republican-led DoJ. The Democrats have only been in a House majority since January 2019. Have some patience. Trump is so beholden to Putin and the Russian interference in USA elections so pervasive (as the Mueller report shows), that the Russian bogeyman does indeed exist and will show up again in the 2020 elections because the Republicans and Trump deny the interference.
1
The time for a headline stating that "It's Time to Move On From Robert Mueller" is after Mueller gives his testimony. Not during that testimony. That should be obvious even to a Republican congressman from Georgia.
8
Collins' bias is blatant and has no relevance for the American people! Yes, it is time to move on... to remain forcefully committed to the 9 or 10 other investigations currently ongoing and make public the information gained! Americans need to know as fully as possible the corruption that infects Donald Trump and his administration and their actions.
7
Representative Collins, you are whistling past the graveyard. After months of spin, misinformation, and disinformation, the truth is coming out. All those attempts to bury the Mueller report have come to naught, and the Trumpsquawk of "No Collusion! No Obstruction!" is now thoroughly discredited.
This is not the closing argument for impeachment. Shorn of media spin and editorial outrage. this is the opening argument to finally expose a corrupt and criminal presidency for what it is. This isn't the end, unless you're referring to the ride on the tiger Republicans have been enjoying up until now.
Things don't look good for Trump. He will be criminally charged when he's voted out of office, unless he's re-elected, at which point he will be impeached, removed from office, and THEN charged.
It looks like that ride on the tiger is coming to an end!
5
The Republicans have the cohesion, language and decisiveness to hold on to their power. This isn't about Trump, it's about deciding who will continue to run America. The Democrats need to stop wasting valuable time, develop a cohesive agenda and work on language and talking points that the average American can identify with. Otherwise we are going to see another 4 years of this no matter how much whining you do about how impeaching is a matter of principle. Sometimes you need to put principles aside when the consequences of following them is worse.
3
"Republicans will be happy to let them move on so our country can move forward."
Republicans will be happy to have dodged another one with their teflon president, and will be happy to move on to dismantling our justice system, our environment, and oue economy - not to mention the little detail of American democracy and the middle class. Happy too, to move on to greater deficits, trade wars, pseudo-christianity, and xenophobia - all those thing the Democrats so selfishly keep blocking. Midnight in America Gains Again.
5
The only thing that needs saying here is that Mr. Collins writes for political purposes, to protect a lawless president who abuses his power and violates his oath of office each and every day. And by doing so, Mr. Collins proves his own lack of integrity, conscience and fidelity to his oath of office and to the truth.
12
Representative Collins chooses to ignore the fact that if Trump were not president he would be indicted for crimes. The Mueller Report does NOT exonerate Trump. Got that? Got that? Not too hard to grasp. Don’t just wish the Mueller report under the rug, Rep. Collins. Justice and the law are not done with Trump yet. Make no mistake about it.
10
Most don’t care. HRC lost. We need to move on.
2
@Becky -- "Most don't care?" Guess again.
A Vast Majority of Americans cares, because there's a monster in the White House who, for the last 2+ years, has impinged our freedoms, accomplished little except to post an endless stream of Tweeter tirades, and made a mockery of the presidency.
1
@Hortencia
Your opening sentence is incorrect. Read more. Trump was completely exonerated.
What Congress is REALLY doing here may be to keep Barack Obama out of prison for orchestrating a coup d'etat against a lawfully elected President.
This team of Obama administration agents working against Trump is the equal of a 9/11/2001 attack every month for two years.
So far there is a serious point touched on indirectly in this editorial. One reason Democrats have not gone further with their investigations is the Presidents stonewalling; failure to comply with compulsory document requests. The ability of the executive to block or delay investigations is very great. Congress needs to pass laws strengthening its ability to conduct oversight by obtaining materials, requiring compliance in a fixed period of time, otherwise penalties too stiff to ignore.
11
Another Congressman gladly drinking Trump's Kool-Aid. So many falsehoods so little time so I'll just focus on one. "It wasn’t curtailed in any way." 1.)The president tried and was thwarted multiple times. 2.) telling witnesses like Manafort to "stay strong' may have stopped them from being forthcoming. Manafort is paying the price. Trump walks away, unscathed like always..
15
Oh yes, the Republican enablers would surely move on so that they can continue to ravage our democracy with their guru leader Trump.
The key here is that Mueller said it all when he responded to a question as to whether his report exonerated Trump. He quickly said, very clearly, that the report did not show that Trump had been "exculpated." That means it did not make him innocent of alleged charges given the DOJ ruling on indictment of a President.
So, the sleazy Republicans want to yell and scream as a tactic to avoid hearing the truth. Well, the truth is there in black and white as well as from Mueller's lips. The Georgia congressman Doug Collins is correct when he says that we should "move on." Yes, we must move on to impeachment!
10
I am watching this miserable proceeding now.. between vomiting sessions, I can't help but think the Democrats are responsible for this self-inflicted disaster.
If the Democrats can't organize a simple hearing, how on earth will they be able to mount an effective impeachment campaign against Trump?
10
Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his report confirms: Donald Trump is GUILTY of Obstruction of Justice!
9
No—he’s guilty if given due process a trier if fact finds him guilty.
@Becky - what's "a trier if fact?"
Mueller found evidence that a foreign adversarial country interfered in our election, and we've done nothing to prevent future interference. The current White House occupant welcomed that interference, and likely committed multiple felonies obstructing the investigation into the interference. But sure, let's all move on, nothing to see here.
12
How does Mr. Collins feel about the fact that well over 1,000 federal prosecutors say that if any other person gad done what Trump did, the would be charged with a crime?
18
The Mueller hearings do not appear to be playing out as Nadler would have hoped
6
How outrageous that one of the republicans commented on how much Mr. Mueller's report cost the taxpayers. May I refer to how much that ridiculous July 4th parade of military arms trump had to have cost the taxpayers. Don't forget how much it cost the taxpayers every time trump goes to play golf in FL.
He has cost the taxpayers fair more than he's worth.
12
How did the GOP become amoral? Lying about what's in plain view in the report (it did NOT address collusion. Dems did not say there WAS a CONSPIRACY. Mueller was seeking to learn if and by how much Russia interfered and to what extent Trump and his allies aided and abetted. Russia did interfere and Trump and his allies tried to help them. That's now a fact. They just didn't do it via a "conspiracy" by legal definitions. That isn't required for impeachment.) This republican is one of the Trump cult, refusing to see truth or to criticize a pathologically lying POTUS, who clearly committed criminal, impeachable acts. But, the GOP no longer cares about facts. It's just about getting their agenda accomplished by any means.
8
It is difficult to believe that Trump is innocent. Maybe he didn’t actively conspire with Russia, but he did fail to take their proven efforts seriously. Whether he had a secret deal with Putin or he was unwilling to accept the truth of the meddling detracted from his sense of importance in winning the election? Who cares. If the former, then that would help explain his reluctance to believe his intelligence infrastructure. If the latter, then his mental stability is fragile enough to be worrisome.
Incontrovertibly, however, he did make those horrible comments to Billy Bush about women. He has lied constantly, in moments large and small, when lying didn’t particularly help him, and when the lying was easily and publicly proven as a lie. His only legislative accomplishment has been a tax cut for people who didn’t need one, and which drastically increases the deficit. His appointees have proven to be corrupt and incompetent. In fact it is likely he himself is using his office to increase his personal wealth. He has demonstrated a lack of understanding about how trade deficits actually work, repeatedly claiming that China has cheated us by running up a large deficit. Whether or not this deficit is good or bad for America, our president ought to understand that our willingness to buy cheap goods from China doesn’t mean they are cheating us. Americans paid for these goods because they desired them, not because Chinas somehow cheated us.
He is unfit for his office.
7
If Trump wins a second term (fair and square like he already did in 2016), can Democrats please focus on more constructive use of taxpayers' time that pay their six-figures salaries?
4
Members of Congress swear an oath to protect the Constitution from all enemies domestic and foreign.
They have a constitutionally mandated requirement to pursue any possible attack on the Constitution, which this at least appears to be, and either affirmatively confirm it or dismiss it.
The Mueller report does not dismiss it, so the matter is not concluded and the duty of Congress to finish the process one way or another remains.
3
Fair and square in Russia, maybe.
1
Yet another example of how the Democrats defeat themselves. Listening to this partisan witch hunt I will openly encourage anyone from the GOP to collude with Russia if nec. to keep any of these socialist dems out of office. So if you think this waste of tax payer dollars will help the dems you are sadly mistaken. Its not an issue of morals because all the dems have little if any morals and the majority of America just accepts the fact that politicians lie to get what they want. It is the "what they want" is what we cast our vote for not character issues.
1
Clearly, conservatives do not cast their votes for candidates based on character issues. If they did even Russian interference wouldn't have elected Trump.
1
Was the author not watching when Trump asked Russia to hack his opponent's email on live television? I doubt it, he is just gaslighting the public to put party before country.
4
For all those Trump supporters, I say keep this wishful thinking conspiracy going until election night. You gotta hand to the Democracts; they don't learn a thing from past failures.
1
Impeachment without Conviction & Removal, reelects Trump. It would be the best present you could give him.
To quote an ancient wise man "Do! or Do Not! There is no try." - Yoda
1
Doug Collins is dead right that America needs to move on.
We need to "Move On" from elected officials who do not believe in the rule of law. "Move On" from white men who do not believe in a multi-racial society even though we have one. "Move On" from elected official who do not believe in science or climate change. "Move On" from men who want to control a woman's right to choose. "Move On" from elected officials who cut taxes for the .1 percent and blow up the federal deficit so they can cut social programs. Doug Collins is dead right that America needs to move on...We need to move on from 19th century men like him.
8
A Republican thinks we should move on. Not much to think about there.
2
Inaccurate interpretation of the report. Mueller did not conclude there was no obstruction. He only concluded he couldn’t indict a sitting president for it.
5
Amen. Mr. Collins, thank you for this insightful commentary. I think it's time for Democrats to move and try to win the Presidency the way it's been done for the last 240+ years - by winning elections.
2
Not like the way Republicans have done for the last 25 years - by stealing elections?
2
@wcdevins I assume you have ample evidence to back up this claim?
1
Perhaps it is time to move on to answer why Putin is not just supporting Trump but the conservative movement in general.
7
"there was no underlying crime to motivate the president to obstruct justice" -- there _was_ a crime by the Russians; the president's motive to obstruct the investigation was that it undermined the legitimacy of his election. Obstructing investigation of crimes you didn't commit is still illegal. Nixon wasn't involved in the Watergate break-in, but obstructed its investigation.
That said, Democrats declared for months that Trump's collusion is the crime, and lost credibility as a result. Though, Trump has said things that were more clearly false, without losing credibility...
2
@Ilya Shlyakhter Collusion is not a crime and nobody on the Democratic side said it was. It was Trump and his ilk that kept trumpeting, "no collusion". The Mueller report describes why collusion was not part of the investigation in the very beginning of the report.
5
@jeffk "Collusion is not a crime and nobody on the Democratic side said it was" -- call it collusion or conspiracy, but many Democrats (and this paper) have declared it all-but-proven. They staked their credibility on it, and lost it. Now they allege obstruction, on a more solid basis, but nobody listens because they cried wolf on collusion/conspiracy. Which was predictable two years ago ( https://nyti.ms/2rZQSxJ )...
Move on? Yes, we have 10 or more acts of obstruction of justice and the disgraceful actions of the Trump campaign coordinating with Russian intelligence. 1000 former federal prosecutors would indict. If we can't indict, we should impeach. If Collins doesn't see that in the Muelle report he must be in denial.
8
This editorial is but a deliberate attempt, by a person who took an Oath to uphold the Law, to circumvent it.
You have deliberately miss-represented the Mueller report's findings.
I bet you haven't even read the report, have you?
Mr. Collins you are in violation of your Oath of Office, and now criminally compliant, to likely treasonous acts.
Mr. Collins, why did Bone Spur secretly meet with Putin on six separate occasions? Why Mr. Collins?
We want our Country back. Stop the lying.
14
Agreed. We need to convict Trump and send him to prison.
9
Mr. Collins - Absolutely not.
5
While Mr. Collins is protected by the 1st Amendment and the NYT's desire to allow him to post this dreck, neither hides the fact that he is lying. Neither hides the fact that this Republican Congress is the most shameful group of elected officals since the Nixon administration.
Trump repeatedly obstructed justice, period, full stop, end-of-story. It's right there in the report, and I am sick of not only Republican obfuscation of that fact, but the tens of millions of US citizens who are unaware of this simple fact.
It is a shame he hasn't been impeached already. The will of the American people - or the strength of polls - should NOT change the calculus with regards to the criminal in the White House. He MUST be impeached.
10
Mr. Collins: How do you breath with your head in the sand?
12
I'm trying to remember:
- Who dragged out the investigation by refusing to testify before the special counsel's office, finally providing a few written answers?
- Which party delayed Mueller's appearance before Congress, further dragging out the process?
- Who changed their attorneys multiple times, dragging out the process?
- Which attorney general tried to bar and then later curtail the special counsel's testimony, dragging out the process further - while issuing a grossly misleading summary of his own based on a weekend of review of a two year effort?
It would have been time to move on a year ago had there not been these calculated delays.
12
Representative Collins: “waste of taxpayers money?”
I have a one-word rejoinder for your—and your party’s hypocrisy: Benghazi.
17
The truth is that the report, which is damning, is only one element among others, emoluments, self-dealing, sedition, vicious attacks on large parts of the population, improper use of funds contrary to the will of Congress, and, not least, appearing to be generally impaired, that would all be fit reasons for impeachment and/or invoking the 25th Amendment.
7
As soon as I began to read this biased, hyper-partisan letter, I thought "Has the NYTimes hired another conservative columnist?"
Mr. Collins, your partisanship is showing.
Mueller is a rigid, unbending and, it seems, also conservatively partisan. It is scary to know guys like him, so rigidly faithful to his Republican party, has been at the head spots in the FBI and Justice for decades.
3
Republicans will of course defend the president if they are to be renominated in their respective primaries for 2020 House Elections. We have to take that into consideration and also the fact that Mr. Collins is the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, the highest Republican on that committee and the leading voice to challenge Democrats and defend the president against any wrongdoing.
1
It's time to move on. Ya think? LOL
3
Resign, Doug Collins. Resign. We need Reps who care about the rule of law and who will proactively make our elections and election systems secure, safe, and fair.
14
It seems irresponsible of the New York Times to publish op-ed pieces like this without some sort of fact-checking response.
2
I'm very unhappy with the NYT for running this without a reply from the Democrats.
Trump can't tweet his way out of this testimony. It's damning.
5
Good article.
The liberals lost, fair and square, when the Mueller Report came out. Sore losers, for three months they've been pressing him to admit that the parts easing up on, if not exonerating, Trump were lies.
The only thing wrong in Collin's piece is the ritual Russia-bashing.
Who knows what the Russians did or didn't do, given all the liberals' hysterical screaming and victim-bleating of the last three years?
The closest thing to an authentic charge against Russians (and it ain't that close) is that they spent a hundred thousand bucks ($100,000) on Facebook ads to screw up our election.
Clinton and Trump, between them, spent one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000).
That is, "the Russians" are supposed to have stolen our election by spending one buck ($1) for each thousand ($1000) spent by the two parties.
If Russians are brilliant enough to pull off that miracle, we would all have been speaking po-russki for the last fifty years.
Collins also is gung-ho for protecting the US from "the enemy". He should be aware of some Original Sin here.
Russia didn't choose to be an enemy. Our National Security establishment sought, by thirty years of provocation, to change the newly democratic and friendly nation into an enemy.
Kissinger, Brzezinski's shade, and B. Clinton can be proud of their ultimate success.
@alyosha, Russia didn't choose to be an enemy? That's really what you're going with here? If there's been any victim-bleating it's been by Trump, even though he's supposed to be innocent-- insufficient evidence to prove a crime is not exoneration. How many Americans saw those propaganda ads? How many shared them? Did YOU see and share any? Did you agree with them? Why are Trump and Republicans openly accepting help from the Russians?
4
NO. It is not time to move on. Until the public gets the NON-REDACTED report, countless questions remain unanswered. The public deserves answers, not elusive maneuvers by an imposter attorney general to obfuscate, prevaricate and obstruct the truth.
4
Trump actually asked for the full reportorial be released. Apparently some high ranking politicians are being investigated, including several Democrats, so once that secret was out, Democrats decided to redact much of the report.
1
The headline and sub-head of this column were so jarring to me that I immediately looked to see who had written it. Mystery solved - Doug Collins, who the Atlanta Journal Constitution describes as "a top Donald Trump defender in Congress".
I've read the Mueller Report, and until Donald Trump is safely out of the White House, it will in my opinion never be time to move on from the Mueller Report. "Closure" is the last word that comes to mind, and the Democrats certainly aren't making a case for it.
The Mueller Report is damning to Trump, and William Barr's summary of it was a collection of lies. Doug Collins, by defending Trump, has abandoned the oath he took to "defend and support the Constitution of the United States . . . ."
Perhaps his constituents will make a case for closure where Mr. Collins' tenure in Congress is concerned.
5
o -b -s -t -r -u -c -t -i -o -n. Of Justice. Why isn't that discussed?
2
Collins, with this partisan parsing of the facts, fails to mention one very important part: no one has seen the non-redacted report, except for Barr and a few others who believe their mandate is to protect THIS president but not the institution of the presidency.
8
It’s not over until we say it’s over
6
"When Democrats fail to prove collusion or obstruction today..."
So just more of the same blatant, self-serving dishonesty from Rep Collins, it's not even worth unpacking anymore. The piece is just more evidence of the complete bankruptcy of foundational American values, and even good faith, in the Republican Party.
The Republican Party as we knew it -- or imagined it -- is dead.
It is no longer a party moored to consistent, American values. Honesty, commitment, forthrightness. These values are no where to be seen; not in their leaders, not in their media, not in their foment.
The Republican Party is now the party of open white grievance, endless bald faced lies, and pathological denial of reality. It is a party with a voracious appetite for social cruelty. There is nothing even approaching a vision for our future.
The party is instead moored to a single personality: a serial sexual predator; a lifelong racist; an (OBVIOUS!) silver-spooned nationalist con man. The only people left in the party are the gazillionaires and the suckers.
The Republican Party is now a personality cult... the very thing the country was founded against. Deeply held beliefs can shift in an afternoon if Dear Leader says so.
The founding fathers would shun today's Republican Party. Lincoln would weep.
4
"Over the course of my career, I’ve seen a number of challenges to our democracy. The Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election [to get Donald Trump elected] is among the most serious." --Robert Mueller
Why is this statement so hard for Republicans to comprehend?
9
Why is so hard for Democrats to hold Obama responsible for what happened here on his watch?
1
Because Obama never disrespected the office, lied, asked for Russian help, made money from the Oval Office, or courted racists. And a man who did all those things and more is now in change. Time for conservatives to move on, apparently.
1
Agree, Mr. Collins.
It's time to move into Congressional committee investigations and subpoena and go to court if need be to force the "...most transparent administration in American history," to hand over the "People's information" about his abominable self-dealing style of governing.
3
In other words, nothing to see here folks, time to move along. Gotcha
2
Not so fast Mr Collins, you and your incendiary remarks will not keep us from the truth!
3
In Doug Collins’ dreams.
5
The headline says it all. #moveon.
44
@Bill Gladly as a coastal elite I am hoping the entire GOP gets rid if the ACA, Social Security and sells our country out to Russia again. I can't wait for the GOP financial collapse (raising interest rates in a "great economy" hmmmm) It's going to be great! I want middle america to feel the pain from voting against their own interests! Yay Mitch McConnell's wife, yay Koch Brothers, Yay Farmers getting destroyed due to Trump Tarriffs!!! I can't wait to say I told you so!
31
@Bill:
Because that's what the right would do if the political tables were turned. Just "move on."
Laughable.
29
@Mellow They act like we forgot about the 4 years of nonstop investigations into Clinton that all abruptly stopped immediately after the election...
18
The reason this is dragging on is that McConnell has made clear that the corrupted Senate will not have a valid hearing if Trump were to be impeached. If the Dems thought there would be a fair hearing in the Senate, he would have been impeached long ago. Don't blame the dems for republican obstruction.
2
Sure, let's move on. Wouldn't want any nasty facts to get in the way of jingoistic loyalty to party over nation.
6
Did the President work with the Russians? Yes, he did.
Did his campaign manager give the Russians polling data? Yes he did.
Was Flynn on the payroll of the foreign nations and his second in command work with the Russians? Yes, they did.
Are the Republicans in the Judiciary and Intelligence Committee trying to get to the truth? No. They are trying to convince ignorant Americans that Mueller is guilty of smearing a fine President.
Do Trump supporters know Truth from fiction? Questionable if they believe FOX media.
Have other mass media been less than hard hitting in their own investigations of the crony capitalism that underpins this Administration and makes it ripe for interference from Russia in 2016; from China, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and in 2020 any other foreign enemy that Trump thinks he can “use?” You bet.
What a sad joke on his supporters this lawless President has been. The Republican’s “defense” is not to find the truth but to be accusatory of Mueller, to denigrate the work of the Special Counsel, to glorify the AG and his protection of the President. All hail, Caesar!
BIGGEST LOSERS? THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY PREVENTED FROM REMOVING THIS VILE PRESIDENT THROUGH IMPEACHMENT BY THE SENATE REPUBLICANS WHO LINE UP FOR THE ZOMBIE WATER PASSED OUT BY MITCH MCCONNELL.
THE GREATEST IRONY OF ALL? IT IS AMERICAN CAPITALISM THAT WILL BE THE BIGGEST LOSER GLOBALLY AS THEY ARE SMEARED AND DAMAGED BY ASSOCIATION WITH LYING
LAWLESS, INCOMPETENT TRUMP.
2
I was shocked by the shamelessness of Republicans - notably Mr. Collins but honestly every one of them - in their attempts to twist Mr. Mueller's words in order to gain talking points at the expense of the truth.
3
@chele
Did "we" elect Trump? (NO.) We don't have a democracy ; we're a republic, which means your votes are not equal.
Collusion per se is tricky to prove.. The charge is obstruction of justice. Sort of like Clinton lying! And because of a document produced by the justice dept. post WJC, Trump cannot be indicted while president. Clinton, the gift that keeps on giving.
The Kavanaugh school of deflection - blame Clinton. So, in answer to Mr Collins here, since conservatives have not let Clinton go for 20 years, I've got at least 17 more to continue blaming Trump for bringing down our Republic.
1
If the DOJ gave every American the same pass it's giving to Trump, crime in America would drop to zero. No where is it written that you can not indict a sitting President for a crime, maybe you can't try him, but indictment and post Presidency trial are and should be a threat hanging over every President.
It won't happen, but I think we need a "Super Supreme Court" made up of non-lawyer citizens who can be the final arbiter, based on what's good for the country, in any court case at any level.
4
The Republicans know what Trump did was wrong. It was very wrong and certainly inappropriate to knowingly accept help from the Russians during the 2016 campaign. The Russians wanted Trump to win and the Trump campaign knew this and were willing to take the help. It may not be conspiracy but it was wrong. If the Republicans truly believe that Trump did nothing wrong, then they would be defending him by saying that it was OK to accept help from the Russians. They have never said this. Instead they want to obfuscate by trying to compromise Mueller and his team. And even Trump knew what he did was wrong, which is why he tried to obstruct justice, and why he said he was "f___k". If this had been any Democratic president, the Republicans would have started impeachment hearings long ago. The hypocrisy is outlandish.
4
Hardly. Investigations are still going on, for one. Second, several people have been convicted of serious crimes, Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign chairman for one, and many others as well. Even if “They” are wasting time by going over the same evidence/ conclusion, what difference would it make if factually, the exercise brings you back to where Doug Collins thinks the facts are? Why the fear? The core of Trump’s “reason for being” President rests on the malfeasance he and those around him committed to put him in the WH. Not only was his campaign, aided by Russia -a treasonous act- but he has proceeded to wreck the country’s security -domestic and foreign - satisfying his patron, Putin’s goals. The country needs to fully understand not only the crimes committed by Trump & Co., but also the complicity of what passes as the GOP as exemplified by Jim Jordan (complicit in sexual abuse of young men by his boss and coach at his old job), Louie Gohmert and, of course, Doug Collins. This is period of great shame for the GOP.
1
If only the Democrats would heed the advice in this op-ed, they might have a chance to defeat Trump. But they won't. They will hate, and just like Nixon, they will destroy themselves. I want to vote for the Democrats but they are reminding me daily that they are just like Trump. Stop it. It is just like 2016. Accept the loss and move on. Focus on winning the election and doing your jobs. You could call it grandstanding, pandering, firing up the base, or call it what you like. It's folly.
2
There are those of us who honestly want justice, and with Republicans like these defending a man who is so ill-suited to be president, I fear for our country. The injured, self righteous tone of Republican Congressmen and women is incredible, simply incredible. These people have lost all moral credibility.
3
Move on? Perish the thought. Russian collusion will live on in the hearts of devoted Progressives forever. At least, I hope so. Their continuing refusal to accept Mueller's report, combined with their failure to impeach, will help usher in Trump's 2020 re-election.
3
I woke up and started listening to the hearings. And then I had to turn the radio off because the boredom of it was sending me back to sleep. There is nothing substantive: only empty posturing on both sides. Nobody has asked real questions, such as for example: who in Russia decided to interfere in the elections and why? Did the Russian agencies want Trump specifically or did they just want to sow confusion and discord? And perhaps most importantly: since the interference consisted in posting false information on the social media, why were Americans so susceptible to this nonsense? These are the real questions that need answering but the Congress and the American public at large are too ignorant to even ask them. Do you know that while this circus is going on, Russia continues to fund separatists in Ukraine? Do you know that Ukraine is having an election? Do you know where Ukraine is? So Putin continues his power play in Eastern Europe, while the Congress is playing empty games that will change nobody’s mind.
3
I have read the report Congressman. I dare you to explain to me how Trump acted as a patriot. He did not. He was willing to accept and even encourage the help of a hostile power for his own political gain.
And yes he obstructed justice. He has acted as a King holding himself above accountability. And that is the behavior of tyrants. And no tyrant can be a patriot.
4
My husband is a Vietnam veteran.
No Vietnam veteran, or any veteran should be treated like this - as is the behavior of the dishonorable, disrespectful Republicans today. They are indicative of the demeanor of the present president of this country. And that goes beyond any sort of decency.
Robert Mueller, your service to this country in any way, is appreciated and will not be forgotten.
4
I do agree that Democrats have wasted a lot of time and effort on these investigations and trying to nail Trump on obstruction of justice, collusion, etc. Not because he shouldn't be held accountable for those things, but because he won't be Mitch McConnell and Trump's other Republican enablers, including Barr, will not let it happen. Their careers and cushy pensions are at stake. They've sold their souls to the devil and are reaping the benefits, as are the corporations who benefit from the constant undermining of protections for the environment, for people who don't fit the White Right mold, etc. During the time the Democrats have been attempting to prove their point on Trumps questionable behavior, all sorts of questionable regulations and de-regulations have been put in place by Trump and his partners in crime. There is no end to the ethical crimes Trump and his family have committed and yet he survives all scrutiny and distracts by using the Democratic party's own disarray against them and issuing inane tweets at all hours to rile up his deluded base. I hope whatever Mueller says today will be the end of this farce and the Democrats will put together a platform that shows what they can do for the average citizen what Trump has not. Or you are in for four more years of this travesty.
2
Th existing evidence of the president's obstruction is plenty, Mr. Collins. Your partisan and, frankly, unpatriotic spin does not change that.
Your energy as a supposed representative of the people would be much better spent defending our democracy rather than defending the most corrupt administration in our history. Unless, of course, you approve of Russian intervention in our elections when it benefits your political party, and wish to aid the obstruction of a lawful investigation into that act. Which is apparently the case.
4
There is no case for closure. YET.
Why?
Because it's absolutely clear that Trump attempted to obstruction justice 10 times & actually did so on several of those attempts. It's too late to impeach... not enough time to matter. But, the case for Trump's prosecution post-election should be abundantly clear. GOP excuse that Trump felt he was innocent & just trying to stop what he viewed as unfair is a LAME unfounded excuse.
We are left with making sure it's abundantly clear that Trump's administration has been seriously corrupt in numerous ways, Trump is unfit to continue in office, and it's up to the American people to execute justice by voting accordingly in 2020. Unfortunately, the GOP disinformation campaigns continue and further polarize the electorate. Mitch McConnell is REFUSING to approve legislation designed to protect against foreign interference in our elections. We are in serious peril... Trump Term #2 will be the death of America as we know it.
4
What has the Trump administration done to investigate Russian interference in our election? What is it doing to prevent it from happening again?
2
The correspondents covering this event live seem to think this is all "beating a dead horse" and that we all are tired of it and ready to move on.
But this ignores the fat that for many of us, it is the lack of outrage over the clearly detailed corrupt behavior of this president and his associates that has us mystified.
The only answer seems to be that too many Americans are indeed not knowledgable of the contents of Mueller's report.
If this hearing exposes more Americans to the truth of the abhorrent behavior of this group of crooks leading our country then it is certainly an eminently worthwhile exercise.
2
I'm watching Mueller's hearing, and it's a disaster for the Dems. Jordan and Gaetz were very good. I think, for the Dems, this goes into the category "be careful what you wish for"!
3
It is clear from both the Mueller report and the daily news cycle that Trump DID collude and conspire and obstruct. He should be arrested asap if congress had any guts. Collins is an apologist and enabler who should join trump in prison for failing to do his duty.
3
@Hair Bear you must be watching the testimony on CNN. The testimony I am watching makes Mueller look like a partisan hack!
Watching Mueller testimony and Jim Jordan just tore Mueller apart. The Dems should not have requested this hearing. This is an embarrassment for the DNC and the nation. This testimony is actually making Mueller look like a partisan hack thus giving creed to the "witch hunt".
2
Baseless Benghazi investigations ate up how many hours and taxpayer dollars, but this investigation, which goes to the heart of democracy, is supposed to fade away unresolved? I don't think so.
4
@Beverly Brewster
Here! Here!
Unfortunately, you’ve made the mistake of using the word “closure” instead of the word “impeachment”.
3
I hope the Democrats keep the heat on, keep this investigation front and center because it pulls all the air out of the room so 2020 Democrat candidates do not get media time, and Trump will cruise to a landslide win. Yes, please keep the heat on.
1
@David Kane, Trump is unlikely to win by a landslide, but he might win despite losing by as many as 5 million votes.
2
GOP congressmen who have tried to delegitimize Obama for 8 years, investigated Hillary Clinton for the rest of her campaign have no moral authority on this subject.
4
This country is headed for a glorious divorce and Red state folks like Doug Collins are perfect examples why.
A lawyer and Baptist minister, he ignores the moral and ethical depravity of Trump to offer unbridled support. This is so Red state. They hold up their bibles and praise the lord and then vote for a racist, sexist buffoon for president.
I ask Red state posters on this thread, if we the Blue states offer you your freedom to form your own country based on Trumpian precepts, will you take it? You wanted to leave 150 years ago. How about today?
Blue states GDP is nearly double that of Red states, Blue states have most of the top educational systems and colleges, offer public options for healthcare, take environmental issues seriously, respect women's rights and the rights of immigrants, etc., etc.
Red states? Well, let's just say most aren't beacons of economic growth and human enlightenment. In fact the 10 states that rely most on the federal government to prop up their budgets are Red.
It would be so refreshing not to have to hear the likes of Doug Collins, Steve King, and Louis Gohmert ever again!
3
Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, you can tell by his size and shape, and by the stripe down his back, that my client is a skunk. You can smell his stink everywhere he has been. There is no doubt about exactly what he is.
However, the prosecution has not produced any direct evidence that he has illegally sprayed anyone. There are people whom he had the right to spray, and there are others around who should not have been sprayed, but there is no direct evidence that my client did it. Besides, there are other skunks in this forest, some of whom are associated with my client, and are currently in jail.
In spite of what the skunk catcher says, lacking such evidence, you must find the defendant innocent, and release him back into the wild.
(Maybe, maybe not. They'll need compelling evidence to nail this skunk and they don't seem to have enough of it yet to get past the hurdle of the Senate, who are mostly skunk sympathizers. But he's still a skunk.)
4
Mr. Collins, I often wonder what people like you will say to your children and grandchildren about defending a lawless, corrupt president and that you not only did nothing to stop it, but actively defending and aided this president as part of a political party that has lost its way and put blind loyalty over the good of the country and the rule of law without holding this president accountable. Your children and grandchildren will be the beneficiaries of denial of, and inaction on, climate change, and will live in a country where only white "Christian" people are deemed worthy enough to be treated justly and fairly, where women are denied the right to control their own bodies, where the air they breathe and the water they drink will be a constant source of ill health, where they will have access to health care only if they can afford it, where the gap between the rich and poor will be unprecedented, and where they will fear every day that their own children may be victims of shooting rampages. I don’t know how you sleep at night.
5
What about Trump's 2 hour private meeting with Putin? Why doesn't the congressman investigate that? Wasted tax payer money? Has he heard of "Benghazi?"
4
Profoundly tired of Washington, DC Kabuki hearings. How about Noh hearings?
I'm really disappointed in Robert Mueller. I get that you can't indict a sitting president. And that you don't want to appear partisan. But you can't tell the public and politicians to refer to your report that's over 400 pages.
You are the expert who conducted hundreds of interviews and gathered evidence over the course of two years. It's your job to summarize those findings in a concise and articulate manner to the public. You come to a conclusion and clearly communicate it to us. Whether you can act on that information to indict a sitting president is irrelevant. Yes, you can offer an alternative to indictment and say the word impeachment if you believe there was collusion or obstruction based on your evidence.
From his report: "If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgement. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him".
Translation: Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. We don't know?
Lordy, these politicians love to hear themselves talk and often with a machine gun delivery. Most questions are answered by Mueller saying "Refer to the report." In other words the questions don't ask WHY Mueller wrote what he wrote. It's like a job interviewer reading back an applicants resume and getting back a "yes" response. What would one expect?
The most important questions are why Mueller did not support an action to indict or further investigate Trump. Everything else is noise.
Windbags. Some with limited intelligence.
2
Time to move on? No, it is time for your President to deal with future foreign interference. The main takeaway I see from the report is that a hostile foreign government impersonated tens of thousands of Americans by creating false accounts, to communicate over social media with millions of actual Americans, to influence your last election. They favored Trump and Sanders, either of whom they preferred to win, thinking (rightly or wrongly) that either of those leaders would disrupt American politics. No matter which side you stand on the sad divide we now see in US politics, you need to push your President to get the Russians out of your business.
6
Republican congressman Collins talks a mile a minute, and says nothing.
Thanks goodness I can read his words here at my own pace.
Still, he says nothing.
10
When I learned that Mueller defined collusion as the Trump campaign having necessarily HELPED the Russians interfere in our election, my heart sank. For if that was the definition, the Trump campaign NEVER would have been found guilty of collusion: since when did the Russians need Trump's help, or the help of his campaign? They did not need help, nor would they have asked for it.
But the Trump campaign KNEW that a crime was being committed, encouraged it, expected to benefit from it -- and, moreover, intended to reward the perpetrators -- and that, in my book, was collusion, absolutely.
Why has no one in the media written this? Why have we, the American public, bought the notion that there was no collusion, simply because Trump didn't HELP the Russians?
It's as if we, as a people, have completely lost the ability to think critically -- !
12
Mueller is a Republican who Democrats hope and pray will give them convincing testimony that Trump deserves impeachment. That is not the way the real world operates.
Instead of so much Mueller, they should be fixing the divisions in their own party, divisions to be exploited by Trump, divisions that will bring them down in 2020.
1
I just want to know what is going on with our Goverment.
Mueller's testimony should clear up any "opinions" from the vast political spectrum. We need the facts.
1
This is just Congress theater.
Nothing will come of it, other than grandstanding show pony speeches and Mueller smiling, then directing each of them at the end of their respective 5 minute speeches (written by staff) to repeat the almost-question - and guide them back to the report.
"The report has been publicly available for three months, and a poll released this week shows that only 21 percent of Americans and 39 percent of Democrats favor impeachment hearings."
Has any poll been conducted specifically asking people who have read the report? Given that someone who read the report would know more about what the report reveals than someone who hasn't, would it be reasonable to expect that those who know less now will have views reflecting those who know more if they do learn what is in the report?
5
This is a weird opinion. The report is a map to convict the President of criminal obstruction of justice. It doesn't contain new evidence, because it only tells what it can on the day it was signed. No more is necessary. But plenty of obstruction continues.
7
As I hear the testimony so far, the primary reason Mr. Trump hasn't been indicted is a restriction in DOJ guidelines that a sitting president cannot be so charged. This is a whale of a difference than the inferred Trump exoneration the author/Republican Congressman postulates. Notwithstanding any related statute of limitations, should Mr. Trump not be reelected, he very may well need to pay the piper. Sleep well, Mr. President - sleep well....
5
Democrats have always failed to understand why some Americans could fail to vote for a Democrat while not actually being a racist, a misogynist, or evil in some other fashion. Their earnest self-righteousness blinds them to the idea that there are other ways to govern the country, and that in voting for Republicans, Americans are not so much embracing Republican policies or leaders as they are rejecting Democratic policies and leaders.
.
Hence today's regrettable performance. Earnest Democrats want to believe that Americans are illiterate and incapable of absorbing current events, and that the supposed drama of a House committee hearing (really?) will attract people's attention. In short, they believe that there is not yet enough talk in the media about Trump. They also want to believe that Robert Mueller deep down wants to drive a stake through the president's heart, when he is clearly an institutional conservative who is loathe to wreak havoc on those institutions for the sake of any individual, including this president.
.
No, Americans have a pretty good grasp of what happened, and just don't care enough to allow Democrats to put the country through the trauma of an impeachment, with all of its many unintended consequences. Trump, with all of his flaws, is the same person they elected. He will serve at least four years. Today will not even move the polls, and will just leave Democrats frustrated.
6
@Tom Meadowcroft
Impeachment solves nothing. It is not a magic bullet of removal from office. It is a censure and wrist slap. The House loves that theater, the Senate doesn't.
1
Representative Collins is willing to overlook both collusion and obstruction by a sitting President to rig our democracy.
If he hates the principles of our Democracy so much he should follow the instructions of the make America great base and his most loyal supporters.
I'm sure Putin would give him asylum in Russia.
5
The president should have been impeached upon taking official for refusing to divest himself of his business interests, and for firing Comey for the purpose of impeding an ongoing investigation. Anything else he might have done would merely be additional evidence that he is unfit for office. Those who think these things don’t matter much are using an extremely low ethical bar.
8
These congressional Republicans have learned the crass art of Denial well.
Just as they deny climate change, deny LGBTQ rights, deny women's rights to individual choice about their bodies and equal pay, etc., these so-called leaders -- these so-called "lawmakers" -- deny Trump's guilt of obstruction (detailed, for the record, in the Mueller Report), deny Trump's bimbo style of governance, deny his repulsive behavior, and deny his utter unfitness to lead this nation.
In his opening remarks today in the Judicial/Intelligence Committee hearings, Republican Collins led his Party of Deniers with a statement that, rather than refute Mueller's findings, sought -- again, in typical GOP fashion -- to deny the facts and, instead, uphold Trump as an exemplary individual who has been unfairly investigated for wrongdoing.
At the conclusion of today's hearings, if Collins and his Republican peers have learned nothing else, they will have learned that the facts are one step closer to impeaching the Rogue President.
Of course, they'll deny this.
5
It is very difficult for people to let go and move on from things that have caused significant trauma in their life. Blame, shame and justification are the normal coping strategies with this trauma. Recovery from this trauma has only been made worse by the relentless coverage from the national news media who collectively have also been traumatized. The truth is, and this is still impossible for people to accept, and my comment will be met with much disgust - Hilary was a bad candidate and the democratic platform was full of losing ideas. People wanted a Trump more than Hilary and people refuse to accept that every time Trump does something outrageous.
At some point you must look in the mirror at yourself and say that you must move on. This testimony today is your last great and futile hope that your false reality - that your ideas and your candidate were superior - are actually true. Sadly that is not true and moving on and accepting our reality is your best medicine.
3
@Kev: Hillary Clinton had 3 Million more votes than Trump. How often does that need repetition? She would have made an excellent president. And what's losing about wanting to protect consumers and the environment, improve healthcare, education and infrastructure, and create new jobs? What has Trump done in that respect? We are moving back, not on, under Trump's erratic reign.
10
@Kev Whow, the most blatantly and arrogant criminal conduct, in broad daylight, repeatedly and continuing, by any US president in US history, and you’re suggesting to just “let it go.” No.
2
It is important to note this piece is written by a republican congressman...not exactly a source of objective reporting.
Pure partisan denial fully exposed.
No foundations for impeachment?
Seriously?
6
Instead of attacking the message, that the president engaged in obstruction of justice to impede an investigation that found more than 120 contacts between the Trump Campaign, Mr. Collins attacks the messenger and the statute. Mr. Collins should remember that the Special Counsel was established and overseen by Trump’s appointee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein.
2
broken. we are broken. this politician tries to put this spin on this situation to back this president????????? broken
5
Dear Mr. Collins:
I am assuming that, since you wrote this piece, you (or your minions may read the comments). So here is mine:
How do you sleep at night?
I am going to guess, judging by the audacity of this note, that you sleep very well. Beezlebub sleeps well, too, I am sure.
You know who is not sleeping well tonight? Small children, in cages, who are missing their parents. American citizens who have been imprisoned by ICE. The teenager who killed herself after being separated from her father. I would include the links (since you clearly need them) but I don't want to waste my words. You can google.
So with all of these injustices happening in our name, how is it that the first time I hear of you is for you to come to the NYT to defend the most divisive, racist and immoral person to ever hold our nation's highest office?
You want to talk Russia. Fine, let's talk Russia.
Are you comfortable with the Mr. Trump's affinity for Putin (and Kim Un-young)? Were you okay with the removal of sanctions against Russia--as has been the case since right before the election all the way to recently? Are you comfortable with the fact that despite Russia attacked our election, our President views it as welcome help? Of that he fired Comey, a career Republican? Or that he attacks our agencies?
Mueller report aside, THIS is what you chose to write about?
My purpose here on earth is to look for out others.
Yours? To defend the devil. Have at it.
18
Thank for thar, gwe.
Dear Mr. Collins:
I am assuming that, since you wrote this piece, you (or your minions) may read the comment. So here is mine:
How do you sleep at night?
I am going to guess, judging by the audacity of this note, that you sleep very well. Beezlebub sleeps well, too, I am sure.
You know who is not sleeping well tonight? Small children, in cages, who are crying for their parents. American citizens who have been imprisoned by ICE. The teenager who killed herself after being separated from her father. I would include the links (since you clearly need them) but I don't want to waste my words. You can google.
So with all of these injustices happening in our name, how is it that the first time I hear of you is for you to come to the NYT to defend the most divisive, racist and immoral person to ever hold our nation's highest office?
You want to talk Russia. Fine, let's talk Russia.
Are you comfortable with the Mr. Trump's affinity for Putin (and Kim Un-young)? Were you okay with the removal of sanctions against Russia--as has been the case since right before the election all the way to recently? Are you comfortable with the fact that despite Russia attacked our election, our President views it as welcome help? Of that he fired Comey, a career Republican? Or that he attacks our agencies?
Mueller report aside, THIS is what you chose to write about?
My purpose here on earth is to look out for others.
Yours? To defend the devil.
Have at it.
4
You, Mr. Collins, is bullying Mr. Mueller.
You, Mr. Collins, clearly do not care about this country or getting to the truth.
You, Mr. Collins, are a disgrace on every level.
5
Mr. Collins, you are an embarrassment to your state and country. Your complicity in defending this criminal president has been well recorded, and I am sure we will get to see plenty of it in your next election. Your immoral party who supports a liar, criminal, philanderer, who has been an absolute disaster for our country and world, will be well remembered. I hope the whole Republican party is torn asunder by your criminal actions.
15
Move on or impeach, sir.
1
Yes, time to move on and resume consideration of Mr. Collins' favorite subject: Benghazi!
Or how about the pressing need to repeal Obamacare, when there are still millions to whom we could deny heathcare?
And aren't there a few more regulatory bodies we can gut?
And don't we want to cut food stamps again?
This is a government you can love, thanks to the Congressman from Georgia.
10
He’s right, it’s time to move on to impeachment proceedings.
6
@JuMP
It's also time to bring bona fide civics and history instruction back into U.S. elementary schools so that someone under the age of 50 understands and takes seriously democracy, civics, those processes and the difference between plutocracy, autocracy, theocracy.
All the hurt fee-fees and entertainment social media obsessions of Millennials and now Gen Z will not replace intelligent valuing of our hard won history of democratic values that are still in motion, evolving and need deep respect + protection at the ballot box. Voting isn't a high school football game. t's isn't fodder for Facebook and Twitter feeds - or a partisan, lame corporate press.
It's serious business and costs everyone when manhandled and corrupted.
Collins is unreasonable. He is a poor example of a responsible elected official. Why? Because he is not interested in parsing the facts. He wants to cover up, not air out.
10
Rep. Collins. If the president being investigated was a Democrat instead of a Republican how would you feel?
6
Based in what veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern tells us, I expect little out of this testimony as the evidence does not warrant much, yet true believers will not be convinced otherwise, Hopefully, some of Trump's other crimes that came to light will be revealed.
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/07/16/ray-mcgovern-sic-transit-gloria-mueller/
It would be best if the "Russiagate" narrative could be resolved and set aside so Democrats could run where they are strongest -- on the issues.
Mr. Collins, Have you read the report?
3
He’s right, it’s time to move on from the report and begin impeachment.
4
The Democrats time should be spent trying to find a viable candidate instead of wild goose chases.
6
This piece is nothing but a puddle of spin. "Innocent until proven guilty" is a standard that ONLY applies to criminal law. It does not absolve the House and Senate from conducting investigations into important governmental issues, like whether the sitting president committed treason to win the election and then used the power of the office to obstruct a lawful investigation into activities around those treasonous actions.
In fact the report clearly states that the Office of the Special Prosecutor was barred from taking on the role of the House to thoroughly investigate the matter.
I am part if the majority who oppose an attempt to impeach today. Most of us want you, Mr. Collins, to do your job and investigate these accusations. You are part of the only body with the power to perform the investigation. It is time to drop the political cant and perform your constitutional duty.
If an honest and open investigation does not happen, this presidency will go down as some of the darkest days in our history and your party will be branded as part of that dark history.
1
This hearing is an embarrassment to our nation. And especially an embarrassment to Mueller, who is an honorable man with a distinguished career.
However, the questioning is a farce. From both sides. Five minutes of partisan statements from both sides, with Mueller coming across as confused and unable to comprehend questions. Frantically shuffling through his copy of the report to find references.
Nothing good comes from this hearing. I wish they would shut it down and allow the man some dignity.
1
Instead of Robert Mueller, representative Nadler should be the person called to testify as to why he is conducting a vendetta against the President with absolutely no evidence. LOCK HIM UP!
2
@Bill You may want to take another run at that GED exam. And pay particular attention to the civics section. And don’t forget the klan meeting Friday night.
1
Benghazi. Repeat 16 times.
1
Gee, a Republican from Georgia who says it's time to move from a report that shows at least 10 instances where the president obstructed justice.
Shame on Mr. Collins.
6
The only closure for Democrats will be when Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler are put in adjoining rubber rooms at Creedmore for observation under heavy sedation for their and the public's safety after prolonged bouts of uncontrollable hallucination and ranting something about Trump allowing Russia to control the space aliens living in Area 51, Rachel Maddow retires after a disastrous ratings plunge, Paul Krugman goes back to discussing economics rather than his daily political anti-Trump mouth froth, prominent psychiatrists point out that someone who sees racists and assorted phobes everywhere including under the bed sheets is probably psychologically projecting his/her own internal psychodrama ... oh, and the Dems are swept out in 2020 teaching them and their mainstream media enablers a lesson.
7
Why do Republicans insist on making false statements? Doug Collins says the report said President Trump did not obstruct justice. This is false. The report shows ten instances of obstruction, and saying he did not obstruct justice is a lie. He knows he is lying - he KNOWS it. And yet he lies. This is a typical Republican we have in Washington. Sad!
4
I am ashamed to have this man representing my state. His efforts to protect the President from scrutiny and accountability are inexcusable.
591
@Atlanta Mom
If the Dems think that they have the evidence to impeach then get on with it, if not then let it go.
53
@James,
you don't think they should begin fact-gathering investigations first to determine if impeachment hearings are warranted? if the WH wasn't obstructing these investigations, perhaps the decision to move forward or terminate would be faster. it's the WH that is keeping that from happening.
40
@James
This has nothing to do with impeachment.
We need to know the facts.
29
Wow, Mr. Collins. I had to read no more than 3 sentences into your Opinion piece before coming across the phrase: "With no foundation for impeachment...". Clearly YOU didn't read the report or else skipped over the portion in Vol II that raises no more than 10 potentially impeachable violations committed bt Trump.
3
How Mueller answers the questions (1) Do you agree with President Trump's assertion that there was no collusion and (2) Do you agree with President Trump's assertion there was no obstruction and (3) Do you agree with the summary of your investigation provided by AG Barr will be the pivotal points of this hearing. He has to answer Yes or No to each of those questions. Answers of yes will sabotage any efforts of Democrats to opt for impeachment. Answers of no will be damning but since no indictments were made and Pelosi will impede further requests for impeachment, it will take the 2020 election to get Trump out of office.
How can anyone believe the partisan Mr. Collins? Would he say the the same things if roles were reversed and it were Republicans investigating a Democrat? Anyone remember the Bengazi? Of course not. GOP... Party first, country not at all.
1
All the republicans want to do is “move on” from the Mueller investigation. It’s their way of saying we don’t care if he fired James Comey as retribution.
That’s obstruction, something the GOP is intimately familiar with.
Quit your bellyaching, Mr. Collins, and let this lying POTUS face the scrutiny he so surely deserves.
3
When Robert Mueller makes his appearance I hope that these questions are asked and answered:
Your report stated that you would not propose indictment of a President because a Justice Department rule precluded indictment of any president, and therefore there wouldn't be a court proceeding in which the president could defend himself.
In light of that: The President is the chief law enforcement official of the nation and he has repeatedly stated that you and members of your team are a traitors; guilty of treason, and have attempted a coup against the lawfully elected government of the United States of America.
Need you be indicted in order to have the opportunity to defend yourself against the charges that the President has made against you? Or will you defend yourself now?
You have clearly documented interference by the Russian government in the 2016 election, but not the effect that the interference had on the election result. Why not? And should the effect be measured now?
This op-ed is a string of lies and distortions- manufactured truth- probably from somebody that did not read the Mueller report. The American people should have no faith in their the current Republican leadership and be on guard for wolfs in sheep clothing who use reassuring words to reinforce basic lies.
Instead read this:
https://medium.com/@dojalumni/statement-by-former-federal-prosecutors-8ab7691c2aa1
Correct Course! Correct course! Hard to port!
The democrats just shot themselves in the foot-- Mueller is being destroyed and is coming off as incompetent, senile, or both.
"Can you tell me another other instance in DOJ history where someone was declared "not exonerated?".
Mueller: I can't.
"where in your report does it say anything about impeachable conduct?"
Mueller: Stutter, no answer.
Nadler made a big mistake.
1
Sham investigation, seeing as how Mueller did not interview Trump or Deutsche Bank. Given the determination of criminalinality rests on intent, isnt the only way to get at that to interview Trump ? And how do you not subpoena the bank of a long suspected career money launderer?
1
Good effort carrying water for your team, but nope. The report certainly did show obstruction, and had the investigation actually followed the money, we would have been able to see this regime for the full on crime syndicate it is. If they weren't in office, protected by a rigged DOJ, and by people like you sir, they would be in jail. Please stop with the gas lighting.
1
Representative Collins, what would you have written in this op-ed piece if President Obama was the subject of a Mueller testimony today???? I doubt it would have included the phrase: "it's time to move on."
1
Congressman Collins does not like the way the elected Democratic House of Representatives is governing the country. If Congressman Collins were not white, I would tell him to go back to the country he came from
1
Yes!! Please!!
Watching the hearing right now. I am stunned at the collection of “angry white men” bullying the witness. Then there are the “Dems and Socialists” following all the rules.
2
A rabid Trump supporter who blithely dismisses the allegations in the Mueller report!
Why do we need new evidence before we've digested the information that is in the Mueller report?
Yes- let’s all listen to a republican congressman from Georgia. He’s clearly an unbiased source /sarcasm
1
Lol Doug Collins. Did you read the Mueller report? Have you listened to the words of Donald Trump and read his twitter feed? Impeachment is a political process, not a legal one. Trump is unfit. The End.
In other news, x-rays of Doug Collins revealed he lacks a spine. Truly remarkable!
Trump will not be impeached as a result of today’s hearing. Republican congressmen onslaught of lies and obfuscation only give Trump supporters more ammunition. Sycophants and brainwashed insecure fanatics are not able to comprehend the basic notions of morality, ethics, criminality or any distinction between right and wrong.
Why don't Democrats "move on"? Um, shall we recount the seven hearings Hillary Clinton underwent for Benghazi? I'd say these crimes are bit more important. I'm sure, however, Rep. Collins, that the GOP would have overlooked all of this for Barack Obama, right?
"...they’ve got no other card to play..."
"...didn’t conclude...the president conspired or obstructed justice."
"...Judiciary Democrats have apparently unearthed nothing new"
"Republicans will be happy to let them move on"
I think if you want to see a grown man cry, check out Doug Collins after the hearing.
1
I have read only 140 pages of the report and was nauseated by the criminal intent to steal the election. Representative Collins has (willfully) not read the report and is just another corrupt republican hack protecting his corrupt president.
"If we had confidence the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would hsve ssid so."
Robert Mueller
May 29, 2019
Partisanship aside, when did the GOP literally sell out the nation ? It's one thing to bash the other, everyone does it...you may recall Clinton being impeached for a lie about consensual sex, by a bunch of moralists...but here, a white house occupant has far too many interactions with a nation referred to as "The Main Adversary" by CIA, and even stands with the leader of TMA in public. Tax Returns, Deutsche Bank records, etc, please...now. Also don't forget Kellyanne and the Hatch Act.
1
There is no other way to explain it, this opinion piece is simply delusional, or a deliberate lie. When did Republicans drop their concern for the rule of law?
The whole thing was a colossal distraction and waste of time for the Democrats.
2
Mueller {and his team of Trump hating Democrats} can write anything they want. The DOJ and not just Barr concluded there was no obstruction of justice.
1
Nope. Not true. Lies. Fake News.
1
Dear congressman: the Mueller report did NOT exonerate Trump and Mueller has just reiterated this in the testimony. I cannot understand why an entire GOP is a tooth and nail behind this atrocious human being who is now president. So everybody is out there to hit him, he is an innocent victim.
Unfortunately, the country is not moving in your direction. Trump will end badly I reckon, destitute and perhaps with some jail time. He obviously is a tax-dodger, he is a racist, he is a women abuser. He is your model, enjoy him for another 18 months.
Mr. Collins is telling us that we should just accept William Barr's lies and move on - an incredible if not at all surprising argument for a Republican senator. I am not sure why it was even submitted and accepted for publication.
I just listened to two minutes of this testimony. Murller is an old, tired man being drug out to read from an illegitimate document that broke laws and tried to railroad a President we elected. Shame on Mueller.
2
The president is the one breaking laws.
1
Corporate Democrats are, indeed, anxious to move on, since they have no interest in impeaching the Criminal-in-Chief, regardless of the crimes he has committed. I hope SDNY is ready to roll, if and when we get tRump out of office.
When the traitors are out of our government we will move on. Until then we will hammer the facts that Trump and his campaign welcomed and coordinated help from Russia to win the election, they destroyed evidence of it, they lied about it and they’re being protected by a sycophantic Republican Party.
The disingenuousness, dishonesty, and hypocrisy here are staggering. Mr. Collins has either no conscience or no soul.
In an attempt to seem “fair” you have published an editorial that is nothing but untruthful and misleading. Any other citizen would be headed for jail and god forbid if they might be a person of color!
Frankly, the only persons in Georgia who respect Mr. Collins are hardline GOP partisans who support the bigotry and racism of the President regardless of his sexual predatory acts and second grade tantrums. Even those hardline partisans know next to ZERO about Mr. Collin's past record in Congress.
It is clear that either Mr. Collins didn’t read the Mueller report or he read the one that was translated to Russian and back to English (with edits).
1
Goodness, Rep. Collins...I can't imagine what motivates you to be so utterly shameless in your attempt to misdirect and deflect from reality. I mean, seriously, is this all just a game to you? I sincerely suggest that you not judge whether you are successful in this effort on whether the president is held to account...he very well may not be...but rather on whether you can live with yourself when your actions have allowed this cancer to complete the hollowing out of this country. If you can't find it in yourself, I'll help...shame on you.
I remember in grad school reading about Paul Grice's Cooperative Principle in regards to effective discourse. While I guess I applaud the NYT for allowing all sides to have their say, giving Doug Collins a forum to spew untethered nonsense seems to fly in the face of some of Grice's maxims, such as that the information offered must be relevant and truthful.
1
Mr. Collins attempts the 'Jedi Mind Trick' with this joke of a column. When will Republican enablers wake up and finally be patriots?
1
This opinion piece should have been titled: "It’s Time to Move On From Justice."
2
NO! It's only time to move on to impeachment!
The investigation "wasn't curtailed in any way." Ridiculous statement.
1
Benjamin Netanyahu, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman agree with the Republican Party member of Congress Douglas Collins from the former Confederate State of America aka Georgia regarding the ' innocence' of the Trump Organization and campaign collusion with the Russians and Trump Administration obstruction of justice about that collusion.
My black African American ancestors were enslaved in Georgia where they were owned by and bred with my white European American ancestors, until General William Tecumseh Sherman came by on the way towards Savannah.
1
As far as I can tell, we are now annexed to Russia, our enemy.
All this is no less than treason.
1
Mr. Collins is an enabler of the worst, never-ending behavior ever exhibited by a leading politician (president) in our Democracy's history. What exactly does he admire about the woman groping, thrice-married, bankrupt-prone, draft-dodging, tax-cheating, race-baiting man leading his party?
You are gifted with a cowardly opposition.
Beyond that, the Republican Party has disgraced itself and this nation in support of an incompetent and unfit president who actively lies and seeks to weaken us from within. This is to your everlasting shame, and I pray by some miracle your party and your president get what you so richly deserve.
1
He hasn't even testified yet and the R-GA is saying to move on. Hilarious!
“There you go again. “ ——Ronald Reagan
Put another one in the loss column for Democrats.
1
Says who Rep. Collins?
No. No. And no. If anyone else had engaged in these sorts of activities: openly asking Russia to hack Hillary’s emails, meeting w Russian bigwigs, holding meetings between their family and reps of the Russian govt. you all wd be screaming bloody murder. Heaven forfend Obama tried even 1/10th of this. We all know who the lawless megalomaniac is.
You Sir, swore to respect and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Given the silence and complicity of the overwhelming majority of Rs, we have learned that you all believe in protecting this President more than OUR Constitution.
The Rs have become a party of lawlessness (Merrick Garland anyone?) and now Mitch says if there is a vacancy on the court next year that he WILL fill it bc of some cockamamie rule he made up.
Enough of the false equivalence. May I remind you that you represent a state where the candidate in charge of running elections fairly was he one who “won” the election.
You all stand idly by as Trump, the bull in he China shop that is our great democratic experiment, tramples, debases, desecrates, demeans, disrespects, diminishes our nation’s ideals and even some of its citizens (war heroes, martyrs, immigrants, disabled people). Is there no depth to his depravity that will make you all stand up and be counted on the RIGHT side of history?
Enough with covering for this malevolent, cruel carnival barker. You are complicit Sir. Complicit.
Mr. Collins, you and many of your Republican colleagues have been wishing the Muller Report away. However, the more you repeat your argument, the more you look as though you don't really stand for the rule of law. If you truly believe trump is innocent of wrongdoing, let the wheels of justice turn. They may be slow but they are fair.
1
I don't believe Mueller is their last shot. There is one other person who has knowledge of the investigation from the beginning. He was so alarmed he met with the leaders of the House to issue a bipartisan warning to the people. That was squashed by Mitch. And that person is President Obama. Somehow I don't think any threats or letters from the current president or his flunky of an AG will have any affect on him. So, let's hear from President Obama as to what he knew and when he knew it. Somehow, I think he will cooperate.
152
@RNS
They why didn't Dems ask him to speak or better yet subpoena him?
5
@RNS
Obamas's not touching this with a 10-foot pole.
Too many Americans live in childlike fantasy land as to how real world politics and elections actually work in the U.S. It's a vanity egotistic power/money game of gutter ball with high stakes, other people's money, and a general kinship among the players - winners and losers. Most are lawyers. Half the nation that pays taxes funds the billable hours.
20
@RNS Democrats know that forcing Obama to testify would open too many cans of worms about the origins of this investigation. Face it, politicians of both parties aren’t interested in the truth, they are only interested in distorting facts and lying to hurt the other party.
10
Thanks for nailing the lid on the coffin of bipartisanship Congressman. Just what is it you are trying to protect? You make it clear exactly what it means to be a Republican today... Your North Star consists of an insistence on an unholy partisan viewpoint that does nothing to help unify or safeguard our country from the serious threats that brought this investigation on. An investigation that was initiated by your own party, and with good reason.
3
When a Republican congressman says "it's time to move on" it usually means he is uncomfortable with the truth about an unfit, incompetent, lawbreaking president who has colluded with Russia, obstructed justice and turned his party into a personality cult. No Mr. Collins, it is not time to move on. It is time to shine the harsh light of truth on the lies told by Trump and his tame attorney general about the Mueller report, which specifically did NOT exonerate Trump and which continues to expose the GOP's reluctance to protect our electoral processes from Russian attack.
2
I guess that Democrats will have to use new topics to harass Trump. I’m disappointed that Schiff never revealed the secret information about collusion that he has said, many times, he has. Also, what ever happened to the blockbuster information that Stormy Daniels and Avanatti were supposed to provide? The media dwelled for weeks on how it would bring down Trump. Did anyone bother to question Trump’s barber? Maybe he knows something damaging.
2
As the article mentions, the idea that Nadler has focused on Trump rather than the role of Putin makes clear thst the 2020 Dems will be another gang that can't shoot straight.
I think it is the Republicans that want to close this episode of Trump-Russia mainly because the entire Republican Party has been complicit. I say this episode, because the collusion and obstruction continues daily. The Trump administration is an asset of the Russian intelligence and security apparatus.
1
So Far
Mueller hearing is a train wreck at best.
Both Democrats and Republicans swift and quick foxy questioning faced with a formidable but fatally ponderous grizzly bear attitude of Mueller.
The result is a entirely unrehearsed stage play. It is not working.
However, One of the Republican law makers indictment to Mueller about his investigation and work and second part of Mueller report, is not a legal work because it is not exist in legal frame.
Then Mueller should answer this question, his work may not be illegal but it is a kind of tax payer money wasting in favor of creating a budget allocation for DOJ under Donald Trump. a.k.a corruption.
So A republican law man literally called Muller 2 year work is a money given to some bureaucrats to spend for employing them and transferring money to some people pockets including Mueller.
This was so far the most dirtiest slander and I hope it doesn't passed as a whatever.
Is Robert Mueller entire work during this investigation is a necessary and legal work. If so that law man who claimed this slander must be paid for his talk.
Have you no shame, Congressman?
It is not in dispute that the President sought and received electoral help from a hostile foreign power bent on weakening the United States and its allies, nor that he repeatedly lied, obstructed, interfered, and tampered with witnesses; that he has attempted to gaslight by reframing the investigation itself as something nefarious; that he has appointed hack attorneys general whose only apparent qualification is personal loyalty. Only an abject sycophant could regard this as something from which we should all "move on."
We would never accept this behavior of a Democratic president, and if you have a even a thread of honor or self-respect, you'll stop accepting too.
1
When I noted the author was a Republican from Georgia my thought was, "don't waste your time." I was correct. Mr. Collins apparently read a different Mueller report than I did.
The mendacity, incompetence and criminality of this president and his administration is there for all to see and documented in the Mueller Report. The servility and obsequiousness of his party is also on full view. That Americans could elect him once, might again and that his party has paid little price for running on hate and lies speaks for itself.
Pogo was right. "We have met the enemy and he is us."
2
Sorry Doug, there is definitive basis for impeachment. I'm watching Mueller now and this is devastating for the President.
1
When your enemies don’t try and prosecute you for your alleged crimes, the case will be made, quite strongly, that you are innocent.
When your friends, in the Senate, don’t convict you, then they are just your friends in the Senate protecting you.
Would you rather have your enemies exonerate you, or your friends?
@SXM
Would you rather have a Chance to win the WH in 2020 or prosecute your enemy for alleged crimes in 2019? You can do one or the other and you pick?
I read the Mueller report, six trump words, over and over: "witch hunt" - False, Mueller report defiantly proves there was Russian interference. "no collusion" - False -report documents over 100 contacts with team trump and Russian operatives. Collusion abounds from Manafort giving Russians polling data to trump loving Wikileaks. "no obstruction" -false report documents over 10 times when all elements of prosecutable obstruction are present. Perhaps you didn't read the report Mr. Collins, or a criminal president is OK with you.
Democrats are NOT going to make any case for closure.
In fact, there are 94+ members of the House (and growing every day ) that want to open an investigation/process of impeachment for the President of the United States.
This is in tandem with all of the other investigations that are going on, and especially at the state level, All of the participants have NOT been even interviewed. This includes a myriad of Russians, the President himself, some of his backers, his family, and others within this administration. (past and present) All of the documents have NOT been reviewed and some have been heavily redacted.
We are FAR from any type of closure, but ultimately (no matter what happens judiciously) the American people are going to have the final say.
They are going to be loud and clear voting for Democrats.
1
Doug Collins, like virtually all other Republicans in Congress, have enabled the most corrupt administration in memory. This president surrounded himself with people who are now convicted felons. They allow him to defy the Constitution daily. I don't need to hear Doug Collins rave about the emperor's new clothes.
If by chance trump obstructed anything it was injustice ,not justice.
Democrats are NOT going to make any case for closure.
In fact, there are 94+ members of the House (and growing every day ) that want to open an investigation/process of impeachment for the President of the United States.
This is in tandem with all of the other investigations that are going on, and especially at the state level, All of the participants have NOT been even interviewed. This includes a myriad of foreigners, the President himself, some of his backers, his family, and others within this administration. (past and present) All of the documents have NOT been reviewed and some have been heavily redacted.
We are FAR from any type of closure, but ultimately (no matter what happens judiciously) the American people are going to have the final say.
They are going to be loud & clear voting for Democrats.
1
Rep. Collins has either not read the report, can't comprehend what he read, is allergic to inconvenient truths, places political ideals above the Constitution or is a liar. The guess here: all of the above.
No foundation for impeachment? Over 1,000 former prosecutors from both sides of the aisle opine that Trump would absolutely have been indicted by now were he not protected by an archaic ruling by the OLC.
Then there is Mueller himself saying in print and from a podium that his investigation could NOT clear DT of crimes. He then lists 10 instances of potentially obstructive acts.
Far from exonerating Trump and his campaign, Vol I of the report paints a portrait of constant smarmy contact between it and the Russians.
Actually the investigation was curtailed and certainly was not offered full cooperation from Trump, who refused to be directly questioned.
Mueller is needed today because Trump, Barr and the DOJ continue to obstruct justice by ignoring subpoenas and Constitutionally mandated requests for info.
Grounds for impeachment also include moral failures and incompetence in office. Yes, it is time to move on: time to move on to the Constitutionally dictated act of impeachment.
1
Closure? The publication of the report was closure. This is merely a continuation of the Democrats beating a boring drum on an issue that correctly found no collusion. Only a Washington lawyer or a politician who hadn't read the report could find Mueller's testimony interesting.
51
@Samuel Spade
How do you account for the 120 contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian operatives that are documented in the report? Other than attempting to coordinate their activities, what possible motive could Trump’s people have for that many meetings with a foreign adversary?
To be specific, What was Paul Manafort’s goal in sharing Trump campaign polling data and swing-state strategies with his Russian counterparts? Can you provide any even remotely innocent motive for this conduct?
62
@Samuel Spade
The indictments and convictions from this investigation were a good start, but as long as the Russians continue to interfere in our elections, there will not be closure.
43
@Samuel Spade
If the president and his associates behavior as explicitly detailed in the report and in Mr. Mueller's testimony doesn't disturb you as an American, then I submit you ave been blinded by your fealty to this man.
62
Couldn't make it through the opening statement. President not yet found guilty is most certainly not innocent.
The investigation was halted before finished. Questions remain including why Don Jr was only one of inner circle not interviewed regarding the meeting to get dirt on political opponent.
The report as I understand it indicates material evidence was destroyed. Innocent parties don't destroy evidence.
2
Thank you congressman for a well thought out argument. Democrats are lost in a haze of conspiracy theories and hatred of Trump. Facts don’t matter to them any more, just theater.
1
Our president lies to us about matters great and small every single day. Facts and lies do not go together. As Americans, we should all want the president to be removed from office.
I am a Democrat but agree with the spirit of this essay. We need to move on from the Mueller report, which proved to be a firecracker rather than a nuclear bomb. Let’s get Trump out of office the old fashioned way — by the 2020 election.
1
From the moment he was appointed by a Republican, throughout his investigation all the way through this final act of reluctant testimony, Mueller has been nothing more than an obedient Republican protecting other Republicans. See him for what he is and all of this ultimately ineffectual pomposity makes sense. Trump and his close circle come out unruffled. Job well done, Bob.
4
It is time to move on. Elections have consequences. People knew what they were getting with Trump. fly over country is important country. I am spending one week in LA this summer. Sad what has happened. I live here from 86 to 2000.
Do your job, Mr. Collins. Reliance on special councils and others to do the Congress' job of over sight and checking the administration is weak and unbecoming.
4
I am so sick of Republican sycophants like Collins shirking their sworn duties in favor of propagating spin propaganda for their base, while putting on a TV performance designed only to try to discredit others sworn testimony (Mueller has more integrity in a hangnail than Coliins has in his entire body). Collins has more than likely not read Mueller's report himself. If he had, he would have questions for the witness designed to get to the truth of the matter simply because there are important questions to ask. Instead he prefers to play defense attorney for Trump. Instead he prefers to go with the "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" approach, and misdirect as much as he possibly can. What a miserably irresponsible excuse for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives this person is.
12
Just heard Mr. Collins opening statement which amplifies this highly slanted piece.
I hope you listen today and think deeply about the known behavior of our president and how our country will protect itself from future election mischief from foreign actors.
Obstruction is a very grave matter which you seem to brush off far too easily.
Please do your duty -- Mr. Mueller is a Republican who has consistently done his duty and put our country high above his personal political goals.
299
@KBronson what obstruction? The executive branch was less than forth coming in a some parts of those investigations by Congress, but they didn't try to sabotage them from the inside.
11
@KBronson
This isn't relevant to Mueller's testimony.
And for what it's worth, Fast & Furious wasn't a real scandal; it was concocted by FOX News & Breitbart et al, and since debunked. Read more different stuff.
14
@KBronson
Then you agree that Donald Trump obstructed justice during Mueller's investigation.
10
"Yet these investigators didn’t conclude that the president conspired or obstructed justice". Hmm, as I recall Mueller said, regarding the obstruction, that they couldn't conclude he was innocent. Indeed, it was reported that they didn't pursue obstruction because of the Justice Department "guidance" about not indicting a sitting President.
So why do you lie so much, Mr. Collins?
9
@Glenn W.
He's a Republican. He can't help it.
1
Let me get this straight - a Republican preacher from a lily-white district in a gerrymandered state claims that Trump and his minions never “coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities.” Who was it that said "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 (Clinton) emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily"?
It's kind of like all the Republicans are in the kitchen, standing around a ripped open box of cookies, with crumbs down their shirts. When asked about it, Trump says "It was empty when we got here, right Mitch?".
And these are the people that manipulate our government from the inside.
35
Representative Collins, you are most certainly a good foot soldier for Trump and a very capable leader in his party.
Your comments here are in lock step with those of your party, FOX and the president. No surprise.
But while I hold no great respect for your allegiance to party over country, I do agree that this should take impeachment off the table. Not because Trump hasn't committed crimes and misdemeanors, but because you and your counterparts in the Senate live in fear of Trump's Twitter.
9
Congressman Collins wants everyone to ignore obvious cooperation with Russia and to ignore multiple obstruction of justice attempts.
15
Questioners in the Mueller hearing are emphasizing the obstruction. It is confusing why they are not asking why all the Trump campaign contacts with Russia and all the information it gave them did not constitute a conspiracy to influence the outcome of the election. It seem so clear.
4
As is so utterly typical in America these days, little to nothing will be done by the US Congress with regard to the Mueller report findings. After all, Congress does little to nothing about anything. Certainly McConnell and his minions in the Senate will take no action. It is our new normal. We'll get nothing from Congress so we should expect nothing on just about any issue one can imagine. And Barr, of course, is simply Trump's personal attorney so there's nothing there of any benefit to Americans.
9
I wonder what Mr. Collins thought about all the House investigations of Secretary Clinton. Our country has to stop moving backward before it can move forward.
20
I am watching the hearings and the questioners have listed 120 contacts by the Trump campaign with Russia, and cases where they provided the Russians with inside campaign information and data that would help the Russians interfere with the election. But no on is asking why he concluded there was no cooperation or conspiracy. There clearly was. Why didn't they say that?
10
@Jeffrey
To be charged with conspiracy, the legally defined crime, the law requires conspiracy between the Russian GOVERNMENT and the Trump campaign. Plus a documented agreement.
The many meetings were often between close associates of government figures and sometimes between the Russian Ambassador and many Trump campaign figures. Thus conspiracy could not be charged.
These many meetings are documented in Part One of the Muller Report.
@Louisa Isn't the Russian Ambassador a representative of the Russian government?
1
The Mueller report should be the impetus to secure our election process. This is a bigger issue than Trump’s involvement. The report will can, and will, be used to indict Trump when he is no longer president.
23
This is a lie:
“the report that showed no conspiracy, meaning there was no underlying crime to motivate the president to obstruct justice”
The report said they found insufficient evidence to indict for conspiracy. It also found plenty of examples of obstruction and witnesses unwilling to cooperate. Perhaps the coverup was successful.
And, they declined to fully investigate Trump because of DOJ policies, leaving it to you and the rest of Congress to do its job and complete that investigation.
42
@MB
As expected, Mueller is stalling and not answering any questions of substance. It's all a dog and pony show.
1
Mueller‘s testimony is not an effort to further the impeachment process. It is an effort to help those voters still on the fence concerning the corruption of Trump.
19
Mr. Collins focuses much of his commentary on the fact that congressional hearings have been unable to find any conspiracy between the Trump campaign or administration and the Russians. The report was clear that they were unable to find enough evidence to bring charges for conspiracy. The real point here is that Trump likely obstructed justice; Mueller presented multiple instances that many legal scholars read as obstruction. Mueller takes pains in the report to make clear he is not making the call, stating “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
The only mention Mr. Collins makes of obstruction is in reference to Annie Donaldson’s testimony which was consistent with the report in not showing any conspiracy. He goes on to say that if there was no underlying crime there cannot have been obstruction. This is patently false as obstruction of justice charges do not require an underlying crime to have been committed, only that a person endeavors to obstruct justice, whether or not that effort was successful or even possible.
This is the real point of these hearings as Mueller left it open for Congress to ultimately decide if criminal obstruction occurred, stating that under Article II “Congress has the authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority.”
The sad truth is, the House could impeach Trump based on the facts in the report; the Senate would never convict him based on the politics.
22
The Mueller report has not been released yet.
Move on from what? The report non-release event?
It's long past time to release the report.
I'll start the "time-to-move-on-timer" the moment the report has been released. Still waiting.
13
It is interesting that the media would recommend that we move on in the face of such corruption. Why would this country want to forget something so critical to national security. Media/News isn't strong enough to make me forget something that if it were President Obama, this would have been handled differently.
18
@Shay ColeThe opinion is not by the "media", it is by a GOP congressman. Predictable...
1
I am listening to Rep. Collins now. He is misrepresenting both the investigation and its conclusions. Collins has a J.D. and a theological degree.
Why is he lying? This investigation was not "weaponized". Mr. Mueller is one of the most admired men in the country.
He has managed to bring in the border, his own legislative history and his children.
None of that has anything to do with the investigation.
Congressman Nadler's opening and introduction are all on point.
So Republicans like Collins from my state are going to spin this from the first instant. I would go with Nadler and Mueller any day.
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Mr. Collins's Republican colleagues held 33 hearings on Benghazi, most of which, similar to the attacks at the Republican National convention, were nothing but smears on the political opposition, not to mention a former US Secretary of State and senator from New York. So this is a relatively modest response by Republican standards.
And there are loose ends, even if Mr. Mueller doesn't provide any information that is not already in the report, e.g. the Kilimnik connection to the Russian intelligence unit that targeted voters swing states and the Wikileaks coordination. If collusion was not proven, it was not entirely disproven either. And, of course the obstruction matter is settled only in the sense that people have chosen to ignore it. Mueller hardly cleared Trump of it.
I do agree that in the absence of the charges against Trump, the main relevance of this report is its careful documentation of Russian interference in the election, which is the appropriate subject of bipartisan legislation trying to prevent it from happening again.
I note that Mr. Trump has yet (as far as I am aware) to publicly support efforts to prevent the Russian interference that he benefitted from and which may in fact be the reason he is president https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/01/how-russia-helped-to-swing-the-election-for-trump.
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I figured he was lying, so I did a little research on those two bills he mentioned and of course he is. S1321 (sponsored by a Democrat!) was just passed by the Senate and now the House is working on a Democrat-sponsored companion bill, so it’s a lie that they’re not taking that up. The 2nd bill was just recently introduced by Collins himself, with only 9 cosponsors. Meanwhile the first thing the Democratic lead House did was pass HR 1. And on June 26 the House passed an election security measure that would require voting systems to use backup paper ballots in federal contests, while also mandating improvements. Now let’s see what McConnel does with that. What do you want to bet it doesn’t even get a vote in the Senate.
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Oh yeah, I get it: "Nothing to see here folks, let's move on." This oped is the opposite of the truth. It is Republicans for whom the Mueller report has not been enough ... not enough to cause even a faint concern. As a matter of fact they have even so obscured the report in spin doctoring to make it go away, that Mueller's testimony is now needed to bring it back to public attention.
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As someone who leans left, and am in strong opposition to Trump and his presidency, I hope these hearings are in fact the end of this matter.
I believe that Trump and his team did things that would likely have gotten another president impeached, in a different time. But beliefs are not sufficient in this case, any more than they were in the Benghazi investigations.
Time to move on and focus on governing, and supporting a candidate to replace Trump.
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Sadly, whatever Mueller says today will undoubtedly be too little, much too late.
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@Joe but this is not about "beliefs".
You say any other president could be impeached and in the same sentence say we should move on.
There is a rule of law in this country, and if the president has committed obstruction of justice - he or she should be held accountable.
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@JasonR Please name specifics. What democrats want to "yield sovereignty" over borders etc? Why is this even published as a comment here without factual basis?
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The facts are:
1. Russia attacked us.
2. The Trump campaign met multiple times with Russia, our enemy.
3. Trump obstructed justice several times in a futile attempt to disrupt the investigation of Russia’s attack on us, and the to,e of the Trump campaign.
This is just the beginning. May justice and the rule of law prevail. We should all be united in pursuing justice and preventing future attacks from Russia or any other enemy combatant.
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@Adam
4. Republicans blackmailed a sitting President to keep quiet about Russian interference.
5. Republicans refuse to address, or even discuss, ongoing Russian interference despite overwhelming evidence provided by American intelligence services.
3
Let’s see. Russia attacked us. Democrats met hundreds of times with Russians trying to find information they could use against Trump. Democrats paid for reports they hoped would show a connection between Trump and the Russians. Members of the FBI worked to prevent Trump from being elected. High ranking Democrats including Obama and Clinton knew all about the allegations and investigations.
1
If someone landed here from Mars and learned of the Mueller investigation only from this piece, he would conclude that it amounted to an unfair witch hunt. However, those of us who have been on planet Earth from the beginning of Trump's candidacy, election and presidency, know better. We heard him ask Russia, an unfriendly foreign country, to damage his opponent; denounce the intelligence agencies' unanimous finding of Russian interference; admit he fired Comey for not shutting down the investigation; lie about his son's role in arranging a meeting with Russian agents at Trump Tower; repeatedly use his presidential pulpit to undermine the public's confidence in Mueller and his team; repeatedly refuse to be interviewed by Mueller; and gloat that he'd been "exonerated" even though the report did no such thing. In fact, in sidestepping the obvious conclusion that the president worked actively to thwart the investigation, both Barr and Mueller turned the matter over to Congress. If the subject of this hearing was serious misconduct by Hillary Clinton, Republicans would be saying that the House is only doing its job.
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@Charles Michener
We heard him:
Jokingly say to Russia-- 'If you have Hillary's deleted 33000 emails give them to the press, they would appreciate that very much or something to that effect. You say that would 'damage his opponent'? How could it damage his opponent if those emails were deleted because they were benign and not pertinent to any investigation?
Anyone who doesn't denounce the fact we have 17 different intelligent agencies right now, all coming to dubious conclusions very often, isn't really paying very good attention to the facts are they? Should we have that many? If so, Why?
Comey was fired because he was a HotShot. No other reason need apply. That's enough right there.
Rest is noise that doesn't really say much so won't rebut it, maybe so, maybe not, no one really cares do they?
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@GregP
What kind of dressing do you usually use on your word salads?
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Mr. Colliins. To respond to the headline of this piece as succinctly as possible: No.
Less succinctly: No, it's not time to move on from Robert Mueller.
How many indictments came out of Mueller's investigation? How many more SHOULD HAVE come out of it? And how many more might come from it?
To extrapolate the term, it's not a witch hunt when you find a coven of witches. You can call it that when it starts, but as the witches are found, you sort of have to stop using that label, especially when the coven leader was first to use the label.
I'm not a big fan of Comey, but I trust him far more than 45. He was fired because of Mueller. I think most of us would agree to that based on what we know.
We have 17 intelligence agencies (that many, really?) because, unfortunately, that much crime and corruption takes place.
We have clear evidence that Russia interfered with our 2016 Presidential election to favor a Trump victory. We also have pretty clear (beyond a reasonable doubt) evidence that Trump was involved and/or knew about it.
Additionally, we have evidence that Trump oversaw payments to hush people who might have said things to the public that would have hurt his campaign.
And I could go on.
But in short: No, it's not time to move on from Robert Mueller.
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Had Mr. Collins actually read the Mueller report, he would realize what a remarkable piece of fiction he has penned.
Had Mr. Collins read the story "New Election Security Bills Face a One-Man Roadblock: Mitch McConnell" he would realize how ridiculous this opinion piece is.
Had Mr. Collins taken his oath of office seriously, he'd welcome Mueller's testimony today and join Democrats in investigating the actions of Trump and acknowledge that Mueller pointedly refused to clear the president.
The only thing that Mr. Collins has demonstrated is his willingness to turn a blind eye to Trump's actions and as such, shows why the GOP is unfit to govern.
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@Vukovar
I hope you weren't expecting that Mr. Collins has the ability to read the Mueller report. As Mr. Rick Wilson stated in "Everything Trump touches Dies", pardon my paraphrasing, the Trump zombie followers live off a steady diet of lead paint chips and plastic jug vodka. Let's hope the Collins staffer who penned this oped has the wherewithal to balance the congressman's diet.
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@Vukovar. Collins is just another typical Republican Senator fighting for the wrong.
2
"With no foundation for impeachment, Chairman Jerry Nadler and his colleagues have their fingers crossed that...."
This is an outrageous lie. Not just a misrepresentation or a deflection, but a blatant lie.
The actions constituting probable obstruction detailed in vol. 2 of the Mueller report are ample "foundation for impeachment".
What deters the House from impeachment proceedings are Mr. Collins' Republican soul mates in the Senate who are willing to lie to defend the corrupt presidency of Mr. Trump. Mr. Collins should at least have the spine to admit that.
The contemporary GOP has devolved into an ideologically pure personality cult, with no regard for truth or ethics. This column is just further evidence of that fact.
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With AG Barr writing and publishing the Cliff notes of the report while News Corp and the GOP spread the gospel, the American people were left holding the bag.
Impunity is the name of this game.
Time to pay attention to the man behind the curtain: DJ Trump.
15
Mr. Collins of Georgia—
It is certainly NOT time to "move on"—
Not when two years of critical investigation have been misconstrued and spun by Trump's William Barr.
What it is time to do, is present Mueller's findings to Congress and the American people.
17
The muller testimony is a joke. another attempt of the leftist demos to derail the president. Nothing will change. On the contrary it will further galvanize Trump supporters, and prove that demos, except their constant attempts to aggravate the president, have only far left socialists’ ideas that ultimately nobody in the USA wants or supports. The Demos continue to dig their on grave ensuring a landslide victory for Trump's re-election
4
On an episode of the radio drama Have Gun, Will Travel, the protagonist Paladin said “Ignorant and prejudiced people like to be deceived. Why confuse them with the truth?”.
The noisy minority of Americans who have bought into Trump’s con enjoy the lies and no amount of evidence revealing Trump’s malfeasance will weaken their devotion. They’re okay with Trump’s Russian dalliance just as they are with babies in cages and tax cuts that balloon the deficit and benefit foreign investors.
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Yes, time to move on all right. Mueller should be well behind us and the little boy who made the mess should be cleaning it up by now...
2
Here's the full paragraph that the congress man so selectively quoted (it's on page 173 of the first volume of the Report): "In sum, the investigation established multiple links between Trump Campaign officials and individuals tied to the Russian government. Those links included Russian offers of assistance to the Campaign. In some instances, the Campaign was receptive to the offer, while in other instances the Campaign officials shied away. Ultimately, the investigation did not establish that the Campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities."
Maybe my reading comprehension is lacking, but... to me this does NOT mean the same as "(...)he concluded no Americans “coordinated or conspired (...)"
Am I misreading the text, or Mr. Collins' sentence?
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@Boris
read the paragraph again; it contradicts itself.
@Boris You made the mistake of thinking this man wants to have a good-faith discussion. His goal here is to further deflect and misconstrue the facts. He wants the uninformed reader to make a conclusion based on his biased piece to inoculate them from the truth of the report.
1
'Yet these investigators didn’t conclude that the president conspired or obstructed justice"
Obviously you didn't read the Mueller Report either.
Obviously, you didn't understand when Mueller explained that under DOJ guidelines. He said: "The Department’s written opinion explaining the policy against charging a President makes several important points that further informed our handling of the obstruction investigation. And I will describe two of them:
First, the opinion explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting President because it is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh and documents are available.
And second, ...the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrongdoing.
And..., we were guided by principles of fairness. It would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of an actual charge.
So that was the Justice Department policy and those were the principles under which we operated. From them we concluded that we would not reach a determination – one way or the other – about whether the President committed a crime. That is the office’s final position...
Obviously, you didn't listen when Mueller said "if we had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that."
Obviously, you are are not a good actor in this drama.
15
This is disingenuous
-To date there have been at least 27 indictments from the Mueller report and the many other sub-investigations he passed to other parts of the DoJ, many against senior members of Trump's campaign and administration, for crimes ranging from selling foreign influence (NSA Michael Flynn) to tax evasion (Campaign Chair Paul Manafort) to child sex trafficking (Foreign Relations Advisor George Nader).
-Mueller found chargeable crimes by Trump but was prevented from making charging statements against a sitting president by DoJ policy. The report explicitly says "If we had confidence ... the President did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state... we are unable to reach that judgement. ...[This report] also does not exonerate [the President]" -- Volume 2, page 2.
-Congress has learned little from all of the witnesses it called because virtually all of the witnesses have refused to testify.
18
I hope you said the same thing about Benghazi and the GOP still want to investigate Hillary Clinton's emails. Our democracy was attacked by a hostile foreign power to help Donald Trump and they succeeded. Trump would not have been 'president' if he did not have help from Putin, GRU, Wikileaks.
13
“The report concluded that the president didn’t conspire or obstruct justice” what? Did Collins even read the report. It is breathtaking the length Republicans will go to remain in a state of denial.
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Oh, boy! It takes a special kind of chutzpah to make your case, neglecting basics like the Mueller report is redacted. If the report is his testimony, perhaps Mr. Mueller can lift the redactions? Or what about Mueller’s pointed declaration that he could not exonerate Trump? Trump and Putin are two mobsters playing by the old rule that you never write something down when you can speak, never speak when you can nod, and never nod when you can smile. The problem with the whole process is that the RICO statute doesn’t apply.
9
Why must Republican leaders lie to support their positions? It certainly diminsihes their stance and their stature as "leaders." Investigators did NOT conclude that there was no obstruction of justice as Mr. Collins claims. In fact, they found 10 instances of it. Mr. Nadler's "letter writing campaign" was actually the issuing of subpoenas. His finding nothing and getting no new information was not because there was nothing to be found, but was instead caused by the White House and Justice Department stonewalling and outright defying Congressional subpoenas. There was no "de-frocking" of a cover-up, 21 percent of Americans are not "opposed" to impeachment, they just believe not enough evidence has been exposed, and House Democrats are not against the Defending the Integrity in Our Voting Systems Act -- it simply hasn't passed it yet since the Senate just finished with it and approved it two weeks ago. I agree the Mr. Mueller will not say anything new. But to try to sweep away the crimes of this Administration with the wave of a hand by a corrupt attorney general is not acceptable. Mr. Collins spewing lies seems to only further the appearance of guilt and complicity by all Republicans in this matter.
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Such a disingenuous oversimplification and mischaracterization of the Mueller Report.
Disgusting how Republicans continue to bend over backwards to defend a president who is actively destroying the foundations of our democracy.
21