I'm sorry, but the whole, "Yes, I could charge the president with a crime when he leaves office" thing makes it absolutely clear that Mueller concluded, through his exhaustive report, that the president is guilty--likely of multiple crimes.
The report pretty much already said that, but now there's a nice sound bite for news sites to run.
It's also pretty damning, and clearly represents more than enough cause for impeachment. I'd argue that not impeaching, regardless of the associated political risk, is detrimental to our democracy, because it shows a sitting president that he can break the law, damaging national security, and get away with it because politicians are too cowardly to do their jobs. It's essentially destroying our system of checks & balances, leading us ever closer to the tyranny this country was founded to escape.
5
There is no need of a “new disclosure.” All the facts warranting an impeachment inquiry as as plain as the nose on your face. Obstruction of justice. Encouragement of foreign (Russian) interference in the last presidential election. The headline in the Times’ hard copy speaks of “tepid testimony.” Has the media become so childish that they require George Clooney or some showboating narcissist to stay awake? Look at the photo of Mueller on the front pAge of the 7/25 NYT. He is thoughtfully listening, possibly to a question, prior to giving one of his blunt and truthful answers: “yes, it was a crime.” And I don’t believe he is about to lay yet another ghost-written book on us, as do many tedious attention- grabbers do. I quite agree with Kevin McCarthy that “this should be the end of the chapter of this book that we put America through. The next chapter should be titled “Impeachment.”
1
Despite the media's assertion, including the New York Times, the next course of action is not determined by ratings or "lack of electricity". The next steps are for Congress to actually do their jobs.
Mueller did his job. He investigated and reported the facts for Congress to move forward, however they determine.
Instead, Congress blames Mueller when the responsibility is theirs. I believe Mueller responded the way he did because he knew this would be a media circus and everything Congress needs is in the report. Their failure to read the report and uphold the Constitution is the damning evidence and smoking gun, not Mueller's testimony.
It has always been clear impeachment is not the answer. No Republican Senate will agree. At least Nancy Pelosi understands that. I just wish the rest of the Democrats would.
Now the Democrats have created a bigger problem. Republicans and Trump will use this circus and Mueller's "failure to recommend to indict" as their proof this was nothing but a waste of time, dollars and energy. This emboldens Trump and puts him in the driver's seat to be re-elected.
Bad move Democrats. But, then again, Democrats have not been a shining light to date. Between the first debate and the lack of understanding the goal is to defeat Trump by appealing to the majority of voters (Electoral College and popular vote) 4 more years and a Republican majority Senate is inevitable.
Did Democrats learn nothing from 2016? Evidently not.
And the lack of respect for an American hero makes me sick! Electrify this, America!
2
I don't understand how a "lack of electricity" alters the actual content of what was said. Are we now a culture that demands to be entertained in order to pay attention? What was established is devastating and would bring down any other president. But for some reason this one skates. Someone... please explain.
4
It is fascinating that liberal media (MSNBC/CNN/WAPO/NYT) don't air/print these two statements from Mueller. Leaving out the two most critical components of the entire hearing is why we call it "fake news."
Mueller re collusion/conspiracy:
“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 re obstruction:
“As we say in the report and as I said at the opening, we did not reach a determination as to whether the President committed a crime.”
4
Can we move on and focus on winning the elections? Whatever happens to Trump after voting him out is for another day.
I guess if you're not white and educated, you can't possibly want impeachment! What? Pelosi like Hillary is just wrong (another closet Republican -- maybe her portfolio is soaring!).
1
Mueller’s testimony might have been dull to liberals and progressives, myself included, but it was not dull when he said if the president leaves office he can be indicted for crimes of obstruction of justice. William Barr must’ve hated that moment.
3
I think it’s time that all the old Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper movies where the earnest, quiet, unpolished man of competence and integrity brings down corruption within the government with the help and insistence of the “common man”.
That America, if it ever existed, is gone and the populace seems mostly interested in entertainment. Maybe we are Rome, except we have Circus without the Bread.
3
Any possibility of impeachment died when the Mueller Report came out. Mr. Mueller’s testimony was just burying the corpse.
Yesterdays quote from Democratic Congressman Anthony Brindisi of New York says it all: “It’s time to move on and focus on getting some bills passed here that can get signed into law.”
Democratic committee members tried to make a case for obstruction where Mueller would not. This was more wishful thinking than pragmatism. Mueller likely was unwilling to claim a crime had been committed because he knew he didn’t have a case. Here are the headwinds he was staring at:
- There was no underlying crime or properly predicated investigation to obstruct.
- The intertwined political motivations and overtones were an unsavory factor.
- It’s difficult to argue that an innocent person can be culpable for resisting efforts to punish.
- Most allegations were based on uncorroborated single witness statements.
- None of the allegations actually impeded or obstructed the work of the special counsel.
3
First the media hypes the Mueller appearance setting up high expectations against all evidence that Mueller was going to be "explosive" and then we see all these depressing headlines such as this article's and then "nothingburger" regurgitation. Back to covering Trump, the shiny object, click bait.
Depressing.
Mueller's appearance and what he said, the questioning, was all that was needed. Even without Mueller in person, there is enough too impeach. This is not a "left" issue. If it is, we are in very big trouble.
3
The nation has two priorities.
First, fully describe the reality of social media “meddling” and have an adult discussion about how to address it.
Second, get to the bottom of the Steele Dossier circus: it’s veracity, who paid for it, how the FBI and possibly WH used it as a pretext to spy on citizens, and why the Democrats have sought to hide these facts.
We can play long ball and protect everyone’s freedoms or we can seek political retribution for the fact that you don’t like Trump.
1
I'm fed up with American adults needing "electricity" to be engaged. A slow death of democracy might not be electric, but it's a catastrophe unfolding, surprisingly fast, nonetheless. As usual, the press and Democrats let Republicans and Trump take the lead, and using lies and abusing their base to do so. I'm at a point where I can only say, we deserve what we have now. And oh, how about the other elephant in the room no one is talking about, a United States Attorney General who Mueller made clear deliberately lied to and deceived the American public in order to protect a president he clearly knows committed crimes, hence his need to lie and deceive. What a mess.
4
The headline isn't news, its opinion. Creating headlines like this nudge readers opinions not by giving them information to decide for themselves, but by shaping how the article is read. We deserve better from all our news agencies. By trying to retain a facade of unbiased reporting, the reporting becomes biased. In this example let me conclude that impeachment is less likely by reading the article, instead of me reading unwittingly for the information that confirms the headline. I only ask for your help with protecting our democracy.
7
There were plenty of "electrifying moments" for folks who read the DoJ OLC memo and listened carefully to Director Mueller's testimony, especially his coming back to clarify his answer to Mr. Lieu's question implying that without the OLC memo he would have found grounds for, an recommended an indictment. Director Mueller clarified there, and elsewhere, that his team had decided, that because of the OLC memo they determined they wouldn't even go into the weighing and balancing of the evidence they had in order to make a prosecutorial recommendation. So no they didn't mean to imply that they their specifying of what they had found added up to their also concluding that obstruction had occurred. I recommend all hands read the OLC memo. It's lawyerly turgid, but in English, not Aramaic. So it's readable. You'll have a better grasp of what Director Mueller was saying and the difficulty we'd all have had in conveying our thoughts under those circumstances.
And if he faltered a bit here and there- well so be it. I'm convinced he and a bunch of other Jarheads who were in I Corps, RVN, before I got there in 71' as a US Army lieutenant pacification program advisor had a lot to do with me coming home in one piece.
So SEMPER FI Director Mueller and all you other Jarheads!!
A US Army POG.
4
Since when is "electricity" the basis for legal action? The bases are facts and logical reasoning. Mueller himself told everyone that he didn't have anything else to add that wasn't in the report. The key take-aways:
1. Yes, there's obstruction of justice rising to a level for an indictment after Trump is out of office (since his office follows a rule that they can't indict a sitting president, whether accurate or not);
2. They didn't find a level of evidence rising to indictment (after office?) on collusion w/Russians - however, they didn't find reason to exonerate Trump either + they would have said so if they did.
Both 1-2 are reason to impeach or investigate; so is a Prez openly inciting hatred + violence on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, nationality or gender; so are the multiple allegations made by women (even a child) of sexual assault/rape.
Maybe more should be asking what is wrong with the Democratic Party? Pelosi made the earlier excuse they couldn't move to impeach because they didn't have a majority. Now they do + there are other excuses.
Why did Trump endorse Pelosi as Speaker? At the time, many suggested, she wouldn't move to impeach - she'd obstruct. Just like she obstructs other efforts for real change (like Medicare For All, for ex, for a decade).
Fellow Americans, we have a bought Congress, a charade as far as 2 parties are concerned, more in sync than we know! Vote em out, especially Pelosi. The real collusion we should worry about is there
1
Get President Trump’s tax returns.
3
Mueller and his report failed to do anything beyond further divide the country. If anything, despite his indictments and concern, the report and his testimony will offer the Russians more fodder for the far left and the right. Reminds me of the lesson from McCormick's No Country for Old Men: once noble people and their ethical code have no place here anymore.
Question - how do we get rid of this baseless DOJ opinion and policy that they can’t indict the president?
6
@KJ
Its not a policy, its an opinion, created to protect an earlier Republican administration.
Any old AG can change it on a whim or, assuming a rational SCOTUS or a non-traitorous legislature, it could be changed almost instantly.
Or there's always the Second Amendment thing...
1
one step closer to Trump in '20 repubs take congress, Boris in UK.. much needed administrative state swamp cleaning in US and Europe is necessary.
5
Right... You keep right on with that tired trope. You probably don't even care that Trump was literally trolling you guys with that slogan, not to mention that there's more corruption and self-dealing in Washington than before. But why bother with those pesky, inconvenient facts....
7
An entirely factual and well reasoned analysis albeit with a ridiculous headline that undermines it’s credibility. Mr Mueller’s testimony provided little to nothing that will move the legislature nor the citizenry toward impeachment. “Electricity” had nothing to do with it. It was a lack of any new substance. For starters only 4 representatives have moved to the impeachment column since the hearings. And only 21% of Americans favored impeachment as of July 14 prior to the hearings (NBS /WSJ poll). That number will not go up now that Mueller has testified. I despise Trump, but impeachment remains a non-starter in the House, the Senate, and most importantly with the Americans people.
4
There was a lot of "electricity" in the hearings. The problem for Democrats was that it was all provided by Republicans who basically destroyed the image of Mueller's investigation as one worthy of respect.
6
I think impeachment proceedings should not be started because it won't pass the Senate, and would probably only energize his base. I think all energy should be devoted to voting him out in 2020, and he should be dealt with once he's out of office.
6
Indicted the day after the new Prez is sworn in
4
@A. Daniele
The Trump Right-Wing base is always energized and motivated. So, if they become more energized does that means they get to vote twice?
Yesterday was a rough day for the Democrats and Liberals.
It only gets worse from here.
7
@Dr. John
LOL, funny snark!
6
This is an irresponsible article. So what is Mueller was soft spoken and fumbled in his speech. His testimony did everything to confirm not only that Trump obstructed justice but that Russian interference is a real problem.
14
I’m afraid I’m one of those who can’t bear to read or watch or listen to the news these days. I skim headlines. I used to think that Democrats would be crazy to try to impeach. Of course, I say ‘try’ because we know the Senate won’t convict.
However, I remember the drama of the Nixon years as well as the Clinton spectacle. So, what happened after Clinton? The Republicans won the election, didn’t they? Why are Democrats so timid? Their best chance to win in 2020 is to try to impeach and fail because that’s the impetus to get people out to vote. It’s the only way to get rid of this national nightmare!
6
@BWTNY
I fear the House Democrats have gone way past timid and are now severely emasculated.
Only the four women in the "squad" show any signs of life. So, Nancy Pelosi is burying them in busy draining them of energy in hopes they will become a lot more complacent.
Mean while, it seems the movers and shakers in the Democratic Party has picked Joe Biden who is at best gaff machine with some unusual baggage.
Over all the Democratic Party's campaign seem to be they are infinitesimally less objectionable than their opposition.
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
I weep for our country, our Constitution, and our children.
9
@Diogenes
If you are talking about the Republicans, then I agree.
if you think Mueller was boring, try watching the Watergate Congressional hearings of 1974! The point is it wasn't supposed to be entertainment,but a factual accounting of a high crime . Nixon resigned, he really had no choice. And there were also resulting convictions of other officials involved for those High crimes. In 1974 that was the point, identifying, stopping and prosecuting high crimes. today the point seems to be about media ratings grabbers.
15
Nixon resigned because, after the accumulated evidence began to cohere, Republican leaders met with and told him he would no longer have their support. As much as we collectively wish it were not so, we are no longer there.
1
"After responding affirmatively when asked by Lieu if he declined to charge Trump because of the Justice Department opinion that a sitting president can’t be indicted, Mueller said at the following hearing that he misspoke and that he didn’t reach a decision either way because of the opinion." ...Olivia Beavers of The Hill
Ha! Ha! Ha! "Lordy," as James Comey would say, you can't make this stuff up. If Democrats want to base their impeachment hopes on turning the "presumption of innocence" on its head to "guilty until exonerated," go ahead. and try!
5
No grounds for impeachment. Democrats look like sore losers trying to cripple the presidency for selfish, partisan reasons, driven by hatred of Trump that knows no bounds.
9
Today on NPR, an interviewee said if Trump is impeached but not convicted by the Senate (which under Mitch McConnell is virtually assured),that will make it more difficult to convict him once he is out of office. If true, a non-conviction alone would make me give up interest in impeaching Trump in the House and just go full force towards defeating him in Nov. 2020 and indicting him in NY and probably other states or a newly honest Dept. of Justice starting in February 2021.
2
I am sipping Trump Vodka & fondling my degree from Trump University. Looking forward to filing for bankruptcy and suing those non patriots for doubting my golf score. All best! (I'll have to 'go back' to England.)
2
What is this nonsense? Impeach the criminal illegitimate “president ”! Soon!
5
Of course. Because everyone knows that the way you deal with a bull in a china shop is to tiptoe around, hem and haw, ay a lot of "ers" and "ahs", keep reminding people that, despite foot-deep pile of glass shards, there is still that butter dish in the corner which has not yet been destroyed, and we need to make sure that, due to the one whole dish, we have all the evidence to make sure it was in fact the bull that did this and not, say, a meteor. My prediction is that Nancy Pelosi will announce the opining of impeachment hearings on January 21, 2025. Imagine Republicans if Pres. Obama or a President Clinton had done any of what Trump has.
4
Is this what the enemy of the people looks like?
If this is the best the NYT and Democrats can muster, we deserve our fate as a third rate autocracy.
This is not my country. The NYT is the voice of cowardice and irrelevance.
8
Mr. Trump was never going to leave office through impeachment as long as the Senate is in Republican control. It is quite sad that Republicans are more willing to support a person who has committed multiple crimes than the respect of the rule of law.
4
Why is this article, which is nothing more than “analysis”, on the homepage of the Times? This should be replaced with factual reporting on the information that was revealed during the hearing.
For example, during questioning Mueller stated that he generally found the President’s written answers to questions to be false and/or incomplete. Why you are not reporting that in block letters on the front page is shocking and inexplicable.
Put the NEWS on the front page, not this analysis which belongs in the opinion section.
11
To the House of Representative Democrats,
1. You must start an impeachment hearing immediately. Get Trump's financial info, the redacted info, the counter-intel info and get him impeached ASAP.
1. You have the facts from the Mueller Report--Russia attacked, Trump welcomed it, asked for more, gave Russia election information and then lied and tried to squelch the investigation, and lied about that.
2. You have Trump paying off the porn star and the Playboy Bunny just before the election to prevent that damning info from influencing voters.
3. You have Trump laughing with the Russians in the Oval Office right after he fires James Comey to derail the F.B.I.
4. You have Trump siding with Putin in Helsinki against our own intelligence services that insist that Russia attacked us.
5. You have Trump meeting secretly with Putin and no witnesses and Trump staff trying to set up secret back channels with Russia.
6. You have Trump giving Putin highly classified information.
7. Worst of all, you have Trump failing to protect us from foreign, hostile countries already engaged in swinging the 2020 election in his favor again (!) Trump is not fulfilling his most fundamental duty to protect and defend this country or its people. He's under-mining our democracy. He's unpatriotic and un-American. You must Impeach him now! You won't have another chance. Our democracy is at stake.
4
@Peter Bear
Get a grip. Despite Trump’s guilt on all the counts you cite, impeachment is a dead end. It will only lead to exoneration, swift and sure, in the Senate. There is no shortcut to removing Trump and the Republican party from power through elections.
2
Nancy Pelosi must start the impeachment process of POTUS 45. By not impeaching she is saying that all corruption and obstruction is allowed by any president from here on out.
If the Houses doesn't impeach then they might ass well remove impeachment from the The Constitution.
4
Pelosi has to go
1
The overwhelming, INDISPUTABLE evidence that Trump is a bald-faced, uncontrollably impulsive, pathological liar should be sufficient grounds for him to be removed from the presidency. That he even lies about things that have been documented on video for everyone to check (like Mueller's testimony) is shockingly brazen, if not crazy, or both.
4
Yeah, sure, and then there are the crimes.
And then there is the emoluments clause that immediately calls for his expulsion.
And then there’s the 25th Amendment.
And then there should be massive enduring protest demanding his ouster.
3
The New York Times features many talented reporters and columnists. I subscribe because I want to support world-class journalism. But when your paper implies that the Impeachment efforts are dampened because Special Counsel Mueller doesn't model the histrionics of our Racist-in-Chief, it is a sad commentary on the state of our journalism and our desire for style over substance.
9
the way this article is written, its as if Mueller failed some sort of
TV audition. we are a decaying nation. what matters is the facts. just the facts.
7
The Times has been weak in its reporting of the Mueller findings, this is another example of that. The absence of electrifying? Did you think Mueller was bringing the tape of Trump with hookers in a Moscow hotel? Mueller was fair and clear, we have a criminal President. The Democrats have no option but to begin impeachment hearing, their base demands it.
4
@sdt
A reply to my own comment, I emailed my 2 Democratic Senators and told them the House needs to start impeachment hearing soon or I will not be voting for any Democrats in 2020. I also think I will try reading The Washington Post next week to see if Its time for a change. I can't forget the NYT coverage of the run up to war in Iraq, this story is of the same quality.
1
Keep wishing you liberals, Trump will win on a landslide!
4
Who at the New York Times in intent on insuring that there is no impeachment inquiry? Because while the evidence and cause mounts almost on a daily basis for such an process, the Times seems intent on asserting "opinion" pieces on the front page which then get amplified by the Trump Propaganda machine.
This paper has a social responsibility. And while it certainly should not promote either side of impeachment- save through it's editorial pages- it has an obligation to restrict such one side and from my perspective highly inaccurate opinions.
Us normal people not from New York and having access to the front page of the New York Times don't appreciate our voices being drowned out by the self motivated- and generally wrong- commentators of the paper. Mr. Hulse's opinions have never proven that accurate and right now it sounds like once again we are hearing the same narrative based on the same unproven and highly inaccurate assumptions that got us all here in the first place.
Can't you guys do better?
1
Hey Pelosi! He broke the law. You want to do what is political and not what is morally right. You need to quit.
1
Please understand that the US has interfered with foreign nations in Asia, North Africa and Central America for 200 years.
2
I am appalled by the media's criticism of Mueller's performance at the hearings. He and his team did a professional job and wrote a detailed report that laid out the consent of the Trump campaign with Russia's interference. Mueller did not find clear evidence that Trump conspired with the Russian government, but that does not mean it did not happen, because Trump throughout his life has been very good in leaving no tracks. What came out very clearly is that there were many contacts between Russians and high level campaign officials which at the very least were highly unethical. Is that not enough?
On obstruction of justice the situation is crystal clear: Trump broke the law. Were it not for this ridiculous policy that no sitting president should be indicted, Trump would already be in company of Cohen and Manafort. So this will have to wait until Trump leaves office.
All these facts all came out clearly in the report and at the hearings, though not with high drama and dazzling showmanship. Nobody should criticize Mueller for lack of showmanship. At age 74 (!!) he did a great service to this country. He even accommodated those who were too lazy or complacent to read his report by appearing against his will before congress. What else do serious voters need?
2
Is there a cure for trump disease?
@Jack
Not among Democrats.
This is their Tourette affliction, and it will cost them the WH and possibly the House.
1
With increasingly frequency I feel like I must have accidentally opened the Fox News app when I see an article like this. This is reads like pure GOP propaganda and it's utterly nauseating. All the major Democratic candidates for president are calling for impeachment proceedings, there is every reason on Earth to impeach, and yet you are joining in the GOP gaslighting that we need to "move on" and simply accept that our president is openly treasonous and lawless.
3
The party is full of unprincipled cowards, led by a corrupt dealmaker interested only in her own power. Senate Dems are even worse. If a Democrat president had done just a small portion of what Trump has done, Republicans would already have impeached him unanimously.
Wake up NYT’s readers.... there’s nothing here. If you don’t cool it on the impeachment hysteria, Trump wins easily in 2020.
3
I'm really surprised by the NYT's reporting on Mueller's testimony. Contrary to what's being reported, Mueller's testimony was damning.
Especially the exchange between Mueller and Schiff at the end of the 2nd hearing, where it was essentially established that a Trump subpoena was not pursued because the evidence for obstruction of Justice was sufficiently strong. In fact, the exchange was so powerful, that rep Devin Nunes looked absolutely deflated.
Nancy Pelosi may very well have been a shrewd politician at one time, but she's dropping the ball on this one. Tell me House leaders, what happens if you don't initiate an impeachment inquiry, thinking it's politically expedient, and Trump still gets re-elected? What then? Political miscalculations are what got us Trump in the first place. Don't mess this up too.
1
I’m very dismayed by people who lament the fact Mueller did not come out and explicitly call for impeachment (and castigate him for it).
That’s not his job. His job is to gather evidence and present the facts. Then it’s up to Congress, and Congress knows this.
Everyone in this forum and Congress is simply passing the buck.
If you want impeachment, call your representatives and harangue them. Hit the streets and protest volubly. Or is it inconvenient because it’s summertime and hot?
We get the government we deserve.
4
@SM : You are absolutely right. There are surely multitudes of us not satisfied with corporate kow-towing, right wing republican rule. If we do not find the will to collectively make our voices heard in Unity, we will be forever subject to these ever more reactionary conservatives who feed the masses buckets of red meat dogma, and laugh all the way to the bank as their faithful fight over scraps. There is a better way, but it will not be handed over easily.
1
Most people seem to be confusing impeachment with removal from office. Anyone urging impeachment is either naive or a
Trojan horse for Trump. Impeachment will lead to exoneration in the Senate, and a huge win for Trump.
1
Whether Mueller did or didn't perform good enough is irrelevant. There is more than enough evidence in his report and all other compiled evidence that makes Trump impeachable. Violating the emoluments clause was impeachable which happened on Inauguration Day and thereafter hundreds of other impeachable behaviors of Trump just make reasonable minds wonder why Pelosi and other stonewalling Democrats are keeping their heads in the sand enabling Trump to keep doing irreparabl damage to this country. No further investigation is needed because the evidence is already there not just in the Mueller report but in Trump's tweets and his many statements that show unfitness to be president much less negligence, fraud, et al. With her lame statements on a weekly basis - such as trump is self impeaching himself every day (no only lawmakers like Pelosi can do that not a president) or trump's words are racist but he is not racist (racism is personal and to de-personalize it as Pelosi does sounds so white) - one can only wonder how is this continuing saga going to turn out? Either way, this illogical refusal to open a impeachment inquiry by Pelosi shows how much the Democratic Party Leadership has faded into non-existence.
I think the comments already made here about democrats not taking the points Mueller made showing a strong case for obstruction and possibly for conspiracy with Russia, demonstrate that we citizens don't see this as a "nothing burger".
I also doubt that avoiding starting impeachment will save democrats in swing districts. People want representatives who are strong, do their duty, and that includes the job that the constitution gave them to do.
2
Nicolle Wallace had the gall to say “someone should have warned us” as to the condition Mueller was in. Seriously?
He warned the country of the greatest breach of security at the highest levels in American history concerning our elections; and graft. Russia, and other “state actors” are involved.
What did we expect? Gary Cooper in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? He is old, and worn out and did the duty of a patriot instead of retiring to Sea Ranch. We need to wake up as a country and start believing that good can overcome evil; not through a super hero but by voting, and, if need be, through marching in the streets.
4
Mr. Mueller did exactly what he said he would do. No-one should be surprised or disappointed.
Leader Pelosi realizes conviction in the Senate is not possible. Thus, the only way to remove him is the '20 election. I suspect she is taking a page from fellow Californian, Kevin McCarthy. Google his Sept. '15 news clip where he brags about all the fruitless investigations into Benghazi and how they brought her poll numbers way down. It surely helped the Republicans in '16, Maybe it will help the Democrats in '20.
1
The system of checks and balances showed its weakness when the Electoral College elected Trump with full knowledge of his utter unfitness for the role of President.
Now we see the utter impotence of Congress. Our President is destroying our country and dividing us against each other. He is creating a serious risk of cataclysmic damage. Yet Congress dithers, does nothing, frets about the political consequences of doing its job.
I am ashamed of our elected officials.
2
This piece undermines its own logic. It proclaims that the "lack of an electrifying Washington moment" deprived Dems of some ineffable magic quality they allegedly needed to pursue impeachment and "drive public support," and gave Republicans "no reason to budge"...
...as if anyone familiar with Mueller and/or his report was really *expecting* an electrifying moment, and as if showing actual leadership wouldn't work to shift public sentiment...
...but then admits just three paragraphs that *nothing* Mueller could have said would have budged Republicans from their stubborn support of Trump in defiance of any principles of law and justice. What, then, is the piece claiming failed to happen?
And what more does it actually imagine was *necessary*? The evidence of Trump's misconduct is there, glaringly in public view. If the only reason Dems don't pursue it is that everyone doesn't agree with them yet because, gosh, partisan politics exist, then what are they even pretending to do to live up to their oaths of office?...
1
This whole thing is just one big farce!
It is perfectly obvious that Trump and Co. are guilty - if anyone can read the report and comprehend it! - I don't understand the major media outlets role in all of this - they're not really helping the truth get out there - And worse, I don't understand the Democratic parties strategy in any of this - I do know we have a lot of people who are taking party over nation ...
Presently the Democrats are really doing a disfavor for minorities and for the rest of us who want to live in a free democracy.
2
We sound more like old time Hollywood studio executives than citizens: "We just don't have the numbers to continue this impeachment show, boys. It's not electrifying enough. The ratings simply aren't there. Sure the whole lying thing used to be big when Bill Clinton was a star but those days are gone. The audience is tired of all this legal mumbo jumbo. They want something new! Let's give 'em what they want, boys!"
It's no wonder a game show host is President.
5
Its time for Congress to move on from impeachment to solving some of our Country's serious problems and to help, through legislation, improve our Citizen's lives.
2
Impeachment is a process whereby one party attempts to de-legitimize the other. That’s all it is in today’s political climate. There is no reason to impeach. You don’t like Trump- beat him.
2
You had me right up to..there's no reason to impeach. There's 11 points of obstruction in the M report. Reason and proof to impeach.
2
It was a lack of respect to ask Mueller to testify when he has said himself he would like not to.
There was no way to expect new revelations as he said he would stay on the report.
Nancy Pelosi would severely be judged by history as the women who subpoena the leader of the investigation instead of the suspect : the president.
Hey American people if you want a show ask the Hero of Avenger to come to the House to read the report.
Not the bright man who did the amazing work to gather all that content.
Why do you write about Mueller tone of voice during the hearing instead of Trump’s project in Moscow, Trump’s lies about the Moscow tower, Trump’s chief of campaign sitting close to Putin at a diner, Trump’s firing of Comey because he wanted to cut the investigation on him but cause it instead, etc, etc.
The democrats have to impeach Trump as they are leading the House. They need to subpoena Trump. This is called justice and this is America.
Not impeaching Trump because of an obscure political calculation is a mistake.
And you are cheating the third power, justice.
If the impeachment dies at Senat at least the coverage of it would have revealed to the population what kind of man is Trump.
Not really the funny guy who constantly says in the report : it is so unfair. Poor him.
3
It’s evil of Russia to seek regime change in the U.S. but at least 500,000 Americans didn’t die in the process and the country wasn’t reduced to rubble. That would really have been evil.
1
So, the Establishment has begun its propaganda. I don't know if the author was on a different planet at the time of Mueller's testimony or he is predisposed to write up his personal opinion as the mandate! I was impressed that many Democratic Congressmen/women steadfastly and painstakingly established Trump's obstruction of justice beyond any partisan howling. If Trump cannot be impeached after all these findings then our Constitution is dead and any future President will act with even more impunity without the fear of being held accountable.
3
How many times in the past year+ did I read the phrase "Godspeed Mr. Mueller" here? Despite a small but insistent group among the public that stressed the lack of tangible proof of "Russian Collusion", the irrational furor mushroomed, blooming and wilting, blooming and wilting, fed over and over by the all too willing media circus masters.
This entire episode has been a massive attention sink for the entire country. After the Benghazi nonsense, the Dems felt the need to one up the Repubs in the ridiculous investigation department. Meanwhile, neither party is able to form any coherent plan for governance and vision for the nation. And please don't lecture about Trump as a representative of the GOP; he was a Democratic-leaning Clinton buddy before this entire thing began.
Let's have some more Friedman columns pretending to advocate for a viable 3rd party. He had the right title subject and theme, even if I don't believe he's anything more than a neoliberal Trojan Horse.
This is a new low point when an obviously corrupt President is not impeached. What the rest of the world can see is that it is not simply that Donald Trump is the Emperor with no clothes, but that the US deserves him. It has become painfully clear that God sent Trump as judgment on a proud people that rejects Him. Even though the US was never the “Christian Nation” that it has invented in recent years, it was at least a nation that understood that there was such a thing as truth and righteousness because of a general Bible literacy. That has now gone. While it is most striking in the Republican Party, it has been present in the Democrats as well, and is now in plain view for the world to see.
Your preachers now teach a “self-focused”, “self-indulgent” fake gospel, where godliness and holiness are not even mentioned. Adultery, slander and untruthfulness characterize both your churches and the discourse in your nation on all sides. Rights have replaced responsibilities with each person claiming their rights to everything but decrying any responsibility. Repent, and start to uphold the law and righteousness and see what can be saved.
2
2 points:
Did Mueller even write this report?
The US never interferes with other countries politics.
2
Now we all should know why the so-called news outlets are so enthralled by Trump. They just love clown cars.
But the truth seems to be to boring for them. And just as Trump, Barr and McConnell are about to crash this country into the side of the Kremlin.
4
“We want Robert Mueller to bring it to life,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said before the hearing. Instead Mueller chose to allow Attorney General Barr and President Trump and Devin Nunes to bury it. He told Schiff he didn't want to testify, would not go outside the report etc etc. So perhaps we shouldn't be so disheartened by Mueller doing just what he said he would do or even less (I understand he wouldn't even read parts of his report into his testimony!) Perhaps Schiff was hoping (like me) that Mueller would put Trump Barr Nunes in their place with a deft testimony that carefully and publicly eviscerated this trio of unpatriotic liars. But no, he bumbles and stumbles and comes across with an early dementia approach to his public testimony.
2
It's futile to say at this point, that if Trump were a Democrat, things would be swiftly different. The simple fact remains: his base/cult adores him for his symbolic vitriol and Wall Street and the GOP will bow and suffer for their meals. No matter that he essentially committed treason. No matter that children are homeless and suffering. No matter that Evangelicals forsake God for their own Faustian self interests. This is now a vote for good v evil. Sadly, evil and Trump will probably win now.
1
The New York Times may have just written the most important headline in its history. Requiring "electricity" to honor laws, norms and motivate Americans is the beginning of the end.
The story to cover is WHY Democrats, the media and apparently the populace needs "electricity" to consider impeaching a president who has clearly reached that level and beyond. If true, it is the fundamental story of our time.
If "electricity" is required to govern, then surely Dems will lose in 2020. If "electricity" is required to govern, we are on a a steep decline, and will not recover. If "electricity" is required to govern, I am more ashamed of my country than I was on Tuesday before the hearings. (and that is saying a lot)
We know donald has "electricity". Evidentially, that is all that matters.
3
Stop dreaming about impeaching Trump and get 100% behind one candidate that can beat him. The patience of your backers is wearing thin. Stop dithering and get on with it folks!
Enough has been said here about the disgusting fact that a lack of "electricity" and low "tv ratings" can determine the course of a nation.
It was clear yesterday that very few, in either party, had much interest in the substance of Mueller's report. They were concerned with his performance. It is discouraging that so many could mistake seriousness and a calm demeanor for dullness and a weak mind. Mr. Mueller refused to perform.
I don't know when the country got this crass or when the Democrats got this stupid. What did we expect? Mueller said repeatedly that he would not go beyond the scope of the written report. I cannot imagine what possible discussion could have resulted in the decision to force his hand.
Mark another one up for Team Trump. Mr. Trump could stay at home and, without another rally, win this election; He has a lot of help: his Republican minions, whose every vicious taunt was aimed at The Base; his Democratic opponents who refused to take Mueller at his word; the Supreme Court's ruling on gerrymandering; McConnel's stonewalling on improving election security; and, of course, the usual early closing of polling places, denial of early voting, and outright intimidation of voters who manage to show up anyway. Oh, and the Russians.
Once again, Dems, we shoot our own feet right smack off. This time the consequences are far more grave than politics.
3
The author seems to be under the assumption that there was something Mueller could've said that would have changed some Republican House members' minds re: impeachment. Has the author been living under a rock? Mueller could've provided clear video footage of Trump and Putin colluding to throw the election, and no GOP politician would've split from Trump. Isn't this clear enough by now?
Clear enough to anyone but Nancy Pelosi, of course. Outside of Trump, history's glare of her will be unkind, and deservedly so. A more spineless and pathetic "opposition" party simply does not exist.
1
Did I miss something, or have we still not heard from the SDNY?
The D progressives have made a colossal error and ushered in 4 more years of Trump. If they can get back to being American lovers instead of American haters, they might stand a chance
1
two hands on the wheel please, 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, and don't get distracted. forget impeachment. focus on 2020 election.
1
Obama came out and said 2 weeks before the 2016 Election there has been no Russian Interference and its not even possible the way our Election system works.
Rosenstein came out and said No Votes were changed and no Americans were implicated in any Russian Collusion.
I am truly amazed at how Duped those on the Left have let themselves become on this matter. Its Bizzare and keeps feeding itself esp now with latest ridiculous spectacle in Congress yesterday. Muelller was used but he deserves it.
Everyone should read "Shattered" Inside the failed Clinton Campaign. They had a plan in case a miracle happend and Trump won...it involved blaming the Russians...oh my.
Nothing matters anymore. Trump, with the help of the squad and the booming economy, already has ensured his reelection. The demos candidates are absolite and their attempts to pull the USA to far-left to be continued in their next debate will just increase trump's victory. The best the Demos can do is Shut up the Squad and wait for another five years to try to win the next next election, which I doubt they will do. Trump like FDR may even win a third re-election with the help of demos leaded by the squad.
7
Looking at Pelosi, Schumer, McConnel, Mueller et al I see the last dinner table my mother sat at with a bunch of disoriented geriatrics. She went quickly, thank God. I pray the same for the Washington crowd currently dominating the media’s attention. But who do we have? The Squad? Help us, Lord....
To close, de Blasio better fix the treatment of police in NYC. There will be real trouble if he does not.
6
Gosh,
I listened to Robert Moeller’s testimony yesterday and I have been considering for 24 hours. Okay, my conclusion is it was atrocious. Anyone who says otherwise is so far left that they have lost their mind. It was a strategic mistake to call these hearings without understanding that Mueller seems to have lost his faculties and he delegated the entire matter to subordinates - 111 meetings led by a subordinate. The fact that he needed someone to sit next to him during the hearing to remind him of what was in the report instantly dissolved his credibility. The 15 times he asked questions to be repeated reinforced the perception. To conclude otherwise is a lot of desperate people and I for one am not buying it. Give it up.
1
Yes, he signed it by clearly he did not write it. Can we move on and deal with the terrible homeless and opioid problems?
Trump, underhandedly but successfully, played the release of the report as a victory. He is playing this week's hearing as a bigger victory, and even Democrats are having a hard time denying that.
No matter what impeachment charges you could bring, Trump will absolutely, assuredly, no-doubt win the trial in the Senate. And he'll play that to total victory in November 2020.
Does political malpractice, if not political suicide, make Democrats feel better?
Mueller did the job he was asked to do. He was not asked or instructed to include his personal
Opinions into this report. Mueller has dedicated his entire adult life to serving this country. What has Trump dedicated his life to other than enriching himself? Mueller chose to ignore the rantings of the rabid GOP guys. He did not come to fight. Mueller may not have been high energy, but he did what he said he would do: stick to the report. He is a man of honor and integrity and we Americans need to salute him.
1
It boggles the mind how Pelosi and the Democrats are so weak in the face of this obviously corrupt and compromised occupant of the White House. They're so fearful of doing their job of holding a President accountable who basically has said he is above the law and can do "anything" he wants according to "article II" of the Constitution. It doesn't bode well for the future of our representative democracy if Congress continues to abdicate its role as equal branch of government, as laid out in the Constitution. I seriously doubt that the founders would look kindly on this abdication of their constitutional duty. If not impeached, Trump will take a victory lap next year and say that he did nothing wrong in the 2016 election because he wasn't charged by Mueller and he wasn't impeached, therefore it was "all a hoax". By the House not at least having a formal impeachment inquiry, they've effectively condoned his criminal behavior (the other investigations have little or no teeth in the courts because of "no legislative purpose" other of a fishing expedition). If Trump is reelected, he will remain in office beyond the statute of limitations and basically get away with his crimes without any accountability. If will effectively render the President above the law, able to do whatever he wants to whoever he wants. And with a feckless Congress unwilling to do their job, it means we will have transitioned from a democracy to an authoritarian regime, outside the reach of the law.
1
I hope some normal person runs for president who has a plan for secure borders, better, cheaper health care and college, and a plan for the economy that addresses climate change in a pro-business manner - not "free" anything, not open borders, not reparations for slavery... Otherwise, most of America will vote for Donald Trump. If the Republicans were to nominate a normal person, they'd get my vote, unless the Democrats nominated a better normal person. Mueller amounted to nothing, and yelling "racist," and calling for an impeachment that will never happen are not the same thing as having a better candidate.
That normal person will be at a disadvantage by virtue of running against a publicity hogging egomaniac, the entitled and crazy far left, the racist and ignorant far right, all the wealthy people who got tax cuts and like the way the income inequality thing is currently working, a news media that absolutely loves Trump because he keeps everybody tuned in, and Russia. Let's start by having the news media step up and take a little responsibility for shaping our future.
2
The time is past due for our elected democrats to talk DIRECTLY to us, we the people. I don't care hoe, once a week on C-SPAN, very other day on social media whatever.
Trump is an extremely dangerous person on all levels to in power for over 2 years now.
I want to know what is going on with getting him out of office immediately. We should be a UNITED democratic party now and waiting until primaries next July is not an option.
2
It is absolutely infuriating to me that facts don’t matter if the delivery isn’t perfect and the a horror show of lies is fine if it plays well with some people.
1
My guess is that it’s more likely that Trump ends up in federal prison for sex trafficking of minors than it is that he ends up in federal prison for collaborating with Russia to steal an election.
1
If the Founders wanted a one size fits all method of removing a lawless president, they could simply have left it to the courts. But they knew one size fits all isn't always appropriate, so they gave the job to Congress, with a lot of wriggle room depending on the political realities, which may require a solution at the ballot box. Which is the situation the US faces now.
Mercy!
The article notes the only other president to be impeached was Clinton for lying about sex, not about a “campaign’s contacts with a hostile foreign power seeking to influence an election.”
N-O-C-O-L-L-U-S-I-O-N!
Clinton looked into the camera (the eyes of Americans) and knowingly lied. Given that Trump committed no core crime—along with his likely incapacity to know when he is lying—how could he really obstruct justice? He was merely defending himself from an all-out coup attempt. Time to put it to rest.
1
Not sure what the point of an independent counsel is if the president is able to ignore Congressional subpoenas. How about amending the Constitution to scrap the current impeachment procedure and substitute a national referendum of recall? If a plurality of states garner enough signatures for a recall then there would be a national vote, the majority would determine the outcome.
1
From Putin's side, he is probably looking at the whole turmoil in the US very cynically. He was just used by Mr. Trump and did not get any substantial reward. Now he can think of retribution for the 2020, I hope.
Interesting article. Don't bet Mueller's hearing will cause the Democrats to walk away from impeachment. It laid out a case before the American people and my bet is that the Democrats will begin the process after the recess. The speaker will not interfere. The pressure may be getting too great.
The lack of detailed coverage on Election Security implications for 2020 is deeply disappointing. If the Russian hacking of Electronic Voting Machines is extensive and successful enough in 2020, they might be able to null any electoral gains the Democrats can make. Considering that the Electoral College system alone was adequate to erase a 3 million vote-advantage at the national level, it is not hard to foresee how a few well-positioned hacks of EVMs could turn around even Senate and Congressional seats. Pelosi is right that a small margin victory is inadequate and is hoping for a landslide - but what if we do have a landslide and the result never sees the light of day? Impeachment is just a battle. Election Security is the actual war. The absence of time and detail devoted to this issue in mainstream media is shocking.
2
Electricity?!
I thought it turned on lightbulbs.
Apparently it's also needed to find the will to protect the integrity of independent investigations and democratic institutions.
The Democrats have failed on the entire fight against King Donald I. Trump’s re-election is a virtual certainty unless Putin decides Trump has become a liability (even though he has executed perfectly on fracturing important alliances including NATO). Dark days for our country, which used to be admired around the world.
1
It’s all about superficial performance points and showmanship in this country.
There was enough substance in the testimony to bring about 4 impeachment procedures and criminal indictment.
The greatness of America is now a historic point.
1
Pelosi will not show it but she must be thrilled the way Mueller stumbled through the hearings. She wanted to put impeachment talk to bed and Mueller did a wonderful job helping her achieve that objective. The progressives in the party are naturally frustrated by Pelosi slow-walking impeachment talk but they would be wise to defer to her wisdom and experience. Mueller was clearly not up to the task of buttressing his report orally but that should in no way diminish the chilling findings of obstruction and conspiratorial behavior in the report. Let's move on and make Donald Trump a failed one-term president.
1
Impeachment was never there anyway. The Democrats made a huge blunder framing Mueller's testimony as make or break it for impeachment. The only path Democrats and Independents have ever had is winning the 2020 election and hopefully recapturing the Senate. Mueller confirmed what we all know, that Trump has committed obstruction, but one third of the country would go ballistic if that were pursued. So let's defeat him and then charge him, convict him, and as he likes to say "Lock him up!"
2
The Democratic leadership is displaying cowering weakness and total lack of conviction. Their decisions are all about political calculation. People like their leaders to be assertive, aggressive and give the appearance that they stand for something. No wonder the Dems are losing the PR campaign - they're losing it exactly because that's all they seem to care about.
2
Was the Mueller testimony supposed to be a Hollywood entertainment production? The political press and pundits should concentrate more on Mueller’s message— the Russians are at it again.
Why weren’t Trump’s son or son-in-law indicted for conspiracy or obstruction?
Why were no other Trump associates indicted for collusion with Russians or obstructing the investigation?
Trump could not have committed all these crimes by himself, and these people who helped him were not protected from indictment like a sitting President.
Or maybe there were not any crimes?
@ Dr John
Have you absent minded forgotten Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, etc. Oh, there were crimes committed alright in the Trump administration circle, you just choose to turn a blind eye and display your ignorance. This swamp is overflowing with convicted Trump associates. In the final analysis, this will be the most corrupt Executive Branch in United States history. We don’t buy your argument.
Maybe SDNY will complete their multiple Trump family investigations, and Donnie Jr., Jared, and perhaps even Ivanka will be indicted for crimes associated with the Trump family businesses. Stay tuned!
@Woosa09
Process crimes.
Absolutely nothing to do with the evil Russians or obstructing the investigation.
@ Dr John
I forgot to add, we’re only into year two of this administration.
There is still obstruction of justice offenses being committed in the congressional investigations of the Russia probe in Volume 1, and Obstruction in Volume 2, of the Mueller Report, by disobeying authorized subpoena’s by the Trump administration, ordered by Donald J. Trump himself.
Robert S. Mueller III warned lawmakers on Wednesday that Russia was again trying to sabotage American democracy before next year’s presidential election
Trump's response: It was a great day for America, you could say that it was a great day for me.
2
If we need electricity or a Rock Star to react and become involved then we don't deserve to have a democracy, let Trump or Putin or Exxon or Facebook run our country what then does it matter? Think of the Hong Kong protesters; they know that sooner or later the big hand of the Communist Party will win and their lives as they know it are over yet they are true patriots and put their lives on the line. We can't even put our political jobs on the line! With that calculation can our democracy long continue? I see Muller as a real patriot saying in essence I did my job now you do yours; I can't do it for you, the Constitution places that burden on your shoulders, so go on and do your job and if you don't have the guts to do it, then be adult and accept the consequences, the acceptance that Congressional oversight is a paper tiger and our Constitutional Democracy is not defensible
This is all nothing but Neoliberal distraction from the real issues, because if real issues are front & center Bernie Sanders wins the Presidency. This is the Neoliberal nightmare: universal health care, free college, half the Pentagon budget, power to the working class. This is why all the news is so skewed toward Biden and other corporate tools.
1
I watched the Senate Watergate Hearings when I was 13 years old.
Today we remember the shocking revelations about the Nixon administration and its criminal activities, many revealed for the first time live on camera. But the Watergate hearings went on for months. The shocking moments were interspersed with long, tedious rounds of questioning which were boring to watch.
And yet these hearings galvanized the American people and gave Congress the ammunition to take down a corrupt president.
A single day of congressional testimony by Robert Mueller is now being panned as a dud - because the Special Counsel's "performance" just wasn't dramatic enough. Somehow, this man, for all his gravitas, just didn't "sell" the known, incontrovertible facts of the Russia scandal hard enough.
This is ridiculous. What did people expect? The report is out there, and it's devastating. Trump and his campaign were offered, and accepted, stolen and hacked material from Russia. This appalling scandal was compounded by Trump's efforts to obstruct and suppress the investigation of his acts. Yes, he did obstruct justice. Mueller exposed and documented this. That he didn't go one step further and urge prosecution had entirely to do with Mueller's firm understanding of the constraints he operated under as an investigator of a sitting president. It's not Mueller's fault that this isn't 1974, and that the GOP Senate colludes in Trump's corruption.
1
The Dems concluded that nobody read the book so they were going to show them the movie. Well, Mueller was not familiar with the book, had not interviewed the witnesses, and and is no actor- to his credit. Progressives would have been better off accepting Rob Reiner's offer to make a movie of it with DeNiro. Very sad for all of us.
I don’t agree with this assessment at all. Mueller’s report clearly describes several incidents that have illustrated Trump’s inability to be truthful and even deliberately evasive. If this is not an appropriate threshold or set of criteria that warrants starting the process, it exacerbates the current lack of public trust in Congressional leadership. Working the legal process is only one lever we can use to hold him accountable, but given that his crimes are multi-faceted, it’s a rational and prudent step to use the threat of impeachment as a check.
12
Mueller testifying was too little and FAR too late. Everyone besides informed liberals have already tuned out. Putting a 75 year old man who appeared confused and tired on tv for 7.5 hours did nothing to help that. If anything Trump's numbers will climb in the states that matter. Massive miscalculation by the house Dems.
We need to fight smart. The impeachment ship has sailed. Winning is all that matters. Focus on the issues that matter to Rust-Belt voters. Let's make sure Trump doesn't get another term and two more supreme court justices.
8
I disagree that Mueller seemed confused and tired. He seemed deliberative and unwilling to speak without verification. That’s the antithesis of Trump but we’re so inured to the reality TV cliffhanger/shouting matches every five minutes that we don’t recognize when someone is being precise and thoughtful.
1
I despise what this president has done to the office and to our democracy and I hear what people are saying in regards to the facts being supportive of impeachment. But impeachment is inherently a political process and not a straightforward judicial one and the politics which are driven by majority public sentiment simply don’t seem to be behind it. I’m not clearly in one camp or the other but I am certain that Democrats better start conveying a unified positive message or we will be stuck with Trump for a second term. If the only thing people see Democrats doing is endlessly running seemingly pointless investigations I think it will turn people off. Having said that I don’t think Trump and his band of crooks should be let off; but in my view Democrats need to play a long game and the first and most important step is winning elections.
4
Impeachment is a political process, but it is a process undertaken by legislatures. If the legislatures we vote for to make the law don't know when it's broken or care when it is, then they shouldn't be legislatures. Letting someone break the law is wrong. The process is important, not getting enough votes to impeach or not.
3
But the US federal government no longer has a two chamber legislature. Mitch McConnell has broken the Senate and the House of Representatives cannot impeach alone.
@NotPierre and Ellyn I guess I’d disagree. I’m not opposed to pursuing impeachment and I believe nearly all Dems support the idea in their hearts but if it won’t succeed because a majority of Americans won’t get behind it then there will be political consequences. Maybe positive, maybe not though. There remain two houses, a Senate and a House of Representatives and two parties. While I think McConnell’s politics and tactics are vile he has a constituency that continues to support him. If they were suddenly to turn against him he’d either change or get voted out. So again I’d encourage a positive message from Democratic candidates which can win elections.
Nancy Pelosi is too smart by half. There comes a point where the issue comes down to right and wrong. The testimony and written report, bland as they seem, leave an unequivocal condemnation of Trump as a man who has betrayed this country as well as his oath of office. It is meaningless that only 25% of the public surveyed is pro-impeachment, similarly the reelection prospects of the "moderate" Democrats being at risk should an impeachment process go forward. The framers of the Constitution already figured out that depending on an election to remove a criminal President would not be acceptable. Without it, there's very little chance that the Democrats will defeat this one, despite his narrow support. He's going to take credit for a strong economy, etc., and claim that the Democrats failed to find anything illegal in his campaign of 2016 or his administration since they did not impeach him. Then, he's going to try to scare the public by labeling the Democrats as Socialists. Add to that aggressive foreign (Russian, Saudi, Emirati, et al) interference and Trump has an easy winning formula. Hillary won the popular vote. The polls predicted that. Nancy is looking at the wrong polls, the wrong voters, and thinks she's sitting on a fastball coming right down the middle. It's going to be another change-up, slider, or curve. Her miscalculation will most likely reelect the current knuckle-ball. I couldn't be more disappointed.
7
Stop it already. This is worse than a Nothing Burger. This is preventing progress on real issues in the country. This chatter will only help Trump.
11
"The absence of an electrifying Washington moment in Wednesday’s two-stage testimony by Mr. Mueller not only deprived Democrats of the crystallizing episode they needed to drive public opinion on impeachment."
The "absence of an electrifying Washington moment " did not deprive Democrats of anything, given that Democrats need neither an electrifying moment, or public opinion in order to impeach.
Nancy Pelosi has been dragging her feet to the extent that had Mueller delivered the equivalent of a lightning bolt , she'd be saying that she has to exhaust all other options.
Mueller's mandate could not have been clearer .
5
This is why the press is failing America.
If it’s not exciting, it’s not important. If it’s not entertaining, it can be ignored. It’s all just one more meaningless spectacle that failed at the box office.
After all, crimes by Republicans are old news. It’s what they do, so who cares?
American democracy - died in its sleep.
19
As much as we wanted there to be an overwhelming proclamation by Mr. Mueller should have known better. That hasn’t been his style from the beginning. And if there was clear cut facts leading to him doing anything blatantly illegal it would have come out prior to this hearing. Don’t get me wrong he has done wrong from the get go and god only knows if and when he will pay for his ill will toward our country and it’s people.
Yes, Carl, this nation is moving toward fascism, and it’s because the Republican Party has collapsed, taken over by trump and his poorly educated trumpkins. Conservatives are strongly anti-fascist but trump and his minions have kicked them out of the Party so that trump can support his company by using the federal government. Trump has usurped the conservative name.
Even if this nation regains its democracy in 2020, it’ll still have to deal with its poorly educated trump supporters and Fox Noise that makes money from them, and their Russian backers.
6
Only thing the hearing did was prove people like Adam Schiff were lying to Americans about having concrete evidence of collusion and conspiracy between Trump and Russia.
The Democratic Party is an enemy of the United States
9
@John
Hey John, jokingly requesting a foreign adversary find a political opponent's emails isn't funny to me.
@John: “Collusion” was not considered in the report as it has no legal definition. However, the investigation revealed that Trump was communicating with and interacting with the Russians in giving and receiving favors (“Russia, are you listening?”), and in him and his team seeking financial benefits from Russia (and Turkey) in exchange for influence (many have been charged and convicted). I would call this corrupt collusion. What would you call it?
Trump crosses the Rubicon. It's doubtful he will ever obey any subpoenas or laws anymore. The GOP Senate assures him of no conviction
6
Look at the accompanying photo of the leaders of the Democrat party. Look at Pelosi's face. She is feckless, and without a clue as to how to proceed. They are leaders, without clothes, to try to support their political opposition to Trump in every way, shape and form. No collusion, no obstruction. Just blind hate for the "deplorables" who supported Trump nationwide. The Democrat party just will not accept the thoughts and minds of the voters of middle-America who do not want to turn our country to the far-far left.
7
If Bill Clinton’s conduct merited impeachment for lying and obstruction arising from the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky matter, Trump’s eagerness to accept help from Russia, a hostile foreign power, to swing the presidential election in his favor most certainly merits impeachment, as does evidence of his obstruction of justice. His overt racism and white nationalism also merit impeachment,
It speaks volumes about the the cancer infecting the Republican Party and this country that a president who puts himself above patriotism, loyalty to our country, ethics, the law, and basic decency seems untouchable.
7
Open an independent investigation of the murders of the Kennedy Brothers, all Democrats, by Republicans. Beginning with John, after which almost two dozen material witnesses died within a two year time span following the killing. Compare the popular 1939 "Wizard of OZ" movie details with the assassination. Investigate the origins of Sirhan Sirhan, the Islamic assassin who killed Bobby, and investigate why the two most honest leading members of the recent Senate, Ted Kennedy and John McCain both died of the same brain cancer.
I advise you that my personal investigation may have resulted in my demise having experienced waving sensations across my head and severe pain on the right side two friday's ago for about one minute. The feds and Trump know me well. Trump threatened my life covertly during the January immigration speech.
The entire Republican party is trying to cover up the Kennedy killings.
No need to impeach.
Let's beat him in 2020, indict him and put him in jail.
4
You need to find something for which to indict him—Mueller didn’t.
1
You forgot to read the report or listen to his testimony. In very stark terms he enumerated crimes.
2
I understand that there's an ongoing process in Congress, and also in the courts.
However, there is more than enough in the Mueller report to impeach this President, and Congress has failed to open an impeachment quiry in the last three months.
There is a remedy for possibly removing the President now. If thirty million citizens were to peacefully and temporarily bring the country to a halt there is a strong chance the President would be forced to resign or would be quickly impeached and removed.
The process for this is simple. We go to our local city hall, bring a chair and simply sit down. And this is exactly what concerned citizens must do, and must do so now.
4
I was quite surprised to note that they didn't bring up and dwell on the issue of Barr's distortion of the 448-page Mueller-Report.
Barr knew Robert Mueller was not that much involved in conducting the investigation and writing up the report. So he knew he could cleverly emasculate the report and imprint a benign image of the report in the public. Once the public dismisses something as partisan attack on the president, it is all but impossible to change the public perception of the whole thing.
And the only option Democrats had to dwell on Barr's distortion, after establishing what the chairmen of both committees did in their introductions. They failed in it.
It will be an uphill battle to beat Mr. Trump in 2020. The four top-polling candidates, Biden, Sanders, Warren & Harris are not that impressive. And Buttigieg is too young-looking; being gay is a problem but less so. All of this places a huge challenge for the Democrats.
It's a hail Mary pass, but I hope mayor Mitch Landrieu will step in, after the second debate. His well-wishers hopefully will persuade him.
3
@A.G. I really like Mayor Pete. I also really like Mr. Mueller. It's something about their inner core, their honesty....whatever, their uncommon decency, their acceptance that they are not running the universe, something else is, natural laws or something larger, larger than all of us?
1
@Nightwood
I agree with you. Mayor Pete is a gem of a person. I would very much like to see him occupying the White House, the sooner the better. But will it be in 2021? I do hope and pray.
If he gets the nomination, I would immediately
contribute the maximum allowed. I sent $100 twice. I consider myself in the upper middle class. I live frugally.
2
@A.G If only we could age his face.
Mayor Pete will get the nomination at a later date and maybe we will really need him even more at that particular time.
I'm a sucker for hope.
2
Theater of the absurd ending with demands for a refund. Any second we expected caregiver Schiff to spoon-feed Grampy the proper testimony only to have it all spill to the floor. Ah well. Better luck convincing dinosaurs of the need for primaries, eh? All aboard the whaler for the midday sanity cruise!
10
Let’s hear it for the winner in all this: the duly elected commander and chief who overcame this attempted coup by the weak spirited downers known as the Democrats in yet a further triumph! Now that he’s thwarted the Democrats yet again we can turn our attention to 2020 and beyond where we keep america great (having just recently restored her to her former glory)!
15
@Bob
Not all of us think that turning America into North Korea is a great idea, in fact, the Founding Fathers probably would have hated the idea.
Trump should move to North Korea and run against Kim Jong-un.
4
Name one thing Trump has accomplished and you’d have to think long and hard. Thwarting the investigation does not qualify. I know one thing he’s done well and that’s destroy this country’s reputation.
5
Getting elected is one accomplishment for him, I’d say.
I agree that Mr. Mueller wasn't a flaming lunatic at the hearing. Nothing for the media to rave about to sell ads and papers. Am I being cynical? Yes.
WHO IS HERE FOR US? We Americans pay our taxes, so these politicians can give it away.
Pelosi wants to win impeachment or whatever she's aiming for. Is someone paying HER off? How is she different from the Republicans?
Are they all afraid of the "Squad" and what those women are doing?
They are pulling back the curtain.
3
Speaker Pelosi has obviously decided to think like an adult. While impeaching Trump is a "no-brainer" to anyone who actually considers the collusion piece, even if it was an "after-the fact" collusion as well as the obvious attempts of Trump, to obstruct justice, the Republicans in the Senate have made it apparent that they support politics more than our country. The future of the senators may or may not be in their support for Trump, but it appears they regard their re-election as more important than assuring our president engages in ethical behavior. Impeachment would never be approved by the Senate and Pelosi knows this, so she is wisely seeking justice through the legal system.
4
Isn’t politics supposed to be the art of the possible? With the majority of House Democrats opposed to impeachment and conviction in the Republican-dominated Senate clearly doomed, ending the trump nightmare through these means was never possible. Nonetheless, what is entirely possible for the Democrats in 2020 is defeating trump and winning control of the Senate. That the Mueller chapter effectively closed yesterday is a stroke of good fortune because the Democrats can now devote all their time and energy to succeeding in the next election rather than having that energy sapped by pursuit of the impossible.
2
Mr. Trump (and his cronies) should be really worried about so many of Mr Mueller's responses that amounted to "I can't answer that question". To me that reads there are ongoing investigations that will be revealed over time. In the meantime, how much more evidence is needed to evict the criminal in the White House? The first questions laid out by Mr. Nadler answered all my concerns. And Trump's response to these hearings was absolutely delusional.
8
if the democrats don't want to exercise power when that is the right thing to do in a given situation then what is the point in voting them to power?
6
So impeachment is less likely AFTER Mueller clearly indicated Trump committed crimes? What was the purpose of the hearings then? Only the New York Mets are under worse leadership than the Democratic Party.
9
Unfortunately, it appears as if people like drama and emotional reactions. Yelling and screaming, pounding on the table, wildly gesticulating with angry expressions on one's face and using effective catch phrases or words is what draws people's attention which the republicans so skilfully do (Lindsey Graham during Kavanaugh hearing). So when democrats stand here calm and composed and use words like 'Trump is untruthful' or 'taking umbrage' (heard John Brennan say on MSNBC) with what Trump is doing and then say there is an urgent need to save democracy and the presidency, people probably don't catch the urgency and the full import of how Trump is destroying our democracy. Give it to the voters straight with catchy phrases and some threatrics just like the republicans do.
With this president, being politically correct just will not work.
4
I must wonder where the NY Times digs up its journalists. Mueller reiterated publicly that Trump obstructed justice, that his investigation was unable to exonerate him and that he could be indicted after he leaves the presidency even if the AG would prevent any indictment of a sitting president.
Considering that Mueller also confirmed that there is a counterintelligence investigation into Trump and Russia meddling ongoing, that the Wikileaks investigation is proceeding apace; that there is an investigation into meetings with the Israeli election manipulation company, Psy-Group and that Alan Weisselberg is yet to speak since his immunity deal, does Mr Hulse really think that Trump will avoid impeachment? Pelosi is just waiting for the right moment, if he's not figured that out, how can he be taken seriously as a journalist? America would be in a much better state if its supposedly serious journalists treated politics as something other than a game show. Lack of electricity indeed; what arrant nonsense.
13
I am disgusted by the Times' decision to focus on the "lack of electricity" in Mueller's testimony rather than it's actual content. Doing so, of course, plays right into Trump's and the GOP's hands.
Instead of focusing on how Mueller looked or sounded, or on the fact that he stumbled over a word or two here and there, how about some substantive coverage of what he actually said, and some analysis of the import of the content of his testimony?
19
I don't think many people actually listened to Mueller. Not reading the report or actually listening yesterday.
Two very clear things he said were that the president can be indicted and charged after he leaves the office. And most important we have a clear and present danger that our nation is being cyber attacked and our next election is imperiled.
Pelosi may be right after all. Jail is more appropriate than a McConnell blocked impeachment.
'Problematic is an understatement' Are we putting in defensive measures to ensure a safe and democratic election?
It's a shame we are not focused in the media more on electing ethical effective leaders like Warren and Harris. We need to put the Trump show on the backpage. Not above the fold anymore. (Please?)
3
@Anne
Trump is actively attacking the defense of our elections by our intelligence agencies on TV. He attacked Mueller an average of twice a day for two years. That doesn't count Sessions and Rosenstein, who were also attacked. Trump attacks every part of our government, and every part of the Constitution (except the second clause of the second amendment).
We now have sworn testimony by members of his administration that they were protecting our elections against his orders.
The president attacks his own administration!
If Putin didn't plan this, he might as well have.
1
I disagree that Mueller's testimony did not hold revelations. When rated by the same press that changes headlines at the pace of speed dating, one would expect Mueller's testimony to be rated as dry. This is also why you are losing the trust and pulse of Americans. The press wants to move on, so they want to tell us "Nothing to look at here". Shame on you.
Has it ever occurred to these journalist that not everyone knows what is in the Mueller report? What may not be a revelation for those who know every detail and legal term described in the report, just may be for those people who are not subscribers.
In addition hearing a reluctant Mueller make points that conflicts Trump's and republican's assessments are significant. He IS non-partisan. I know that without being pleased with the focus of the questioning.
8
Mr. Muller. You had an opportunity to halt America's slide.
Instead, like a good Marine, you chose to follow the marching
orders Barr gave you.
What's more important Mr. Muller? Keeping your reputation
for integrity intact or the fate of American democracy.
4
It's official: Donald Trump is above the law, is free to defend foreign enemies who attack our democracy but attacks our FBI for investigating those attacks, and ironically enough, it is the Republican Party that really has destroyed America, and all for a man presidential historians have concluded is the worst president in US history.
5
@Virginia
“it is the Republican Party that really has destroyed America, and all for a man presidential historians have concluded is the worst president in US history.”
True. Obama got under the Republicans’ skin and some times they over reacted. But I don’t think they have destroyed the country because of him.
Democrats should have done the right thing with the Mueller Report. They should have proposed legislation to ensure that no country meddle in our elections again. They should have launched an impeachment proceeding, not to remove a President they despise, but to reinforce the legislative proposal by holding our politicians to a high standard of loyalty to country irrespective of the technicalities of the law. Instead, they sought political cover from an older gentleman who was unwilling, or perhaps unable, to provide it. They should have been noble warriors for a just cause, instead they are petty and incompetent. What a sorry state we are in.
1
@mp
The Democrats already passed legislation to help states defend themselves, and Mitch McConnell blocked it in the Senate.
I agree that it is time to start an impeachment inquiry though.
1
Did Donald Trump write this headline? More Democratic House members are backing Impeachment. The Mueller Hearings drove home the FACTS that obstruction was committed and Russia is attacking our freedom.
5
Mueller did not do it for them? This is the excuse not to act?
Is it Mueller's role to lead the insipid Democratic Party "Leaders"?
Or is it the role of the leaders to find the courage in their Neville Chamberlain souls to provide "the electricity" to do justice for all of us?
I am loyal to the Constitution not Democrats. I am that swing voter that you keep whining voted for Jill Stein instead of the second least popular candidate in presidential polling history*.
I have no use for a Democratic Party that refuses to take up Mueller's Impeachment Referral. (I know it is an impeachment referral because the report accuses Trump of Obstruction of Justice, which is the same federal crime that that Nixon resigned over and Clinton was impeached for.)
If Trump was a Democratic President, doing all of the same things he does now, the Republicans would have impeached him two years ago.
Trump commits High Crimes daily. The Democratic Party refuses to say "High Crimes."
When the media asks the Democrats about impeachment, they should say, why don't you ask the Republicans about removing a president that commits High Crimes all the time?
Then you just start listing High Crimes.
The establishment center, led? by Chuck Schumer surrenders to Republicans as fast he can. Schumer was literally fast-tracking Trump's judicial nominees last year .
I expect my Democratic Senator to go on TV and say Why the Left is Correct, and that taking the side of Russian Intelligence while attacking the FBI based on NO evidence, is wrong even when done by the Right.
FIGHT!
*The Clintons are hated because they only signed their names to Republican policy. That is why the Republicans had to make up such bad things about them, because they only did Republican Policy.
2
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been to many of the 30 states that voted for Trump. I live in one. I still cannot find a single person who says his or her vote was influenced by Russians or rogue emails or phony social media stories. Not one person.
Do the Russians love to cause trouble? Sure, they have for decades. Does it have any impact? Apparently only when Dems lose an election. The fact is, Democrats lost because you lost independent voters like me. And you will again with this obsessive, compulsive nonsense.
7
Let me see if I have this correct. If I committed crimes but the lead prosecutor delivered all the facts in a flat monotone delivery, my likelihood of an acquittal increases nearly 100%? That says to to me that Lady Justice is not only blind but deaf.
Who knew?
5
Impeachment for what? He wanted to fire Mueller. He didn't. He fired Comey. He has the power to do so. Bill Clinton fired his FBI Director.
3
There is still one reason only not to impeach, the fact that the Republicans simply do not care what Trump did. They will never convict him .
2
Imagine, just imagine, if the headlines were written to reflect the actual hearing.
Rather, the media (including the NYT that I am losing faith in by the day) created a narrative in advance of the event -- there will be no smoking gun; Mueller will not go out of the "four corners of the report"; Mueller will be boring, etc. Then the media, in all its lazy glory, stuck with proving that narrative correct.
Michael Schmidt played the stooge parroting this all "low energy" by-the-book drivel back on Morning Joe this morning. I thought he was better than that. Apparently not. Or is he towing the party line?
Let's see, how could headlines have read:
Mueller Says Clearly -- No Exoneration
Mueller Infers Trump Can Be Indicted Once Out of Office
Mueller Cites x Indictments of Trump Associates
Mueller Says Trump Lied in Written Responses
There. Your job done for you and done correctly. I am so angry at the misrepresentation of what went on yesterday. No better than Fox News. At least we know they are the side of Trump and not the side of truth. Et tu New York TImes?
36
@LindaP
Yes, and
Sometimes crimes are boring. They are still crimes that need to be investigated. An Impeachment Inquiry is necessary, to save the Constitution.
(Remember when the NY TImes was putting Dick Cheney's lies on the Front Page and burying all the evidence that it was lies in the International Section? I have been reading between the lines of the NY Times for a long time, but if they don't start calling high crimes HIGH CRIMES, I think thirty years of reading the Times may come to an end,
And to the Democratic Party from a swing voter. If you cannot be bothered to start an impeachment inquiry, you'll be blaming me when Trump wins, but it will be your fault.
Trump is committing High Crimes.
When the President imitates a politician body slamming a reporter to the ground, that is a High Crime, and when he says that doing that probably got the politician re-elected, that is two High Crimes in one sentence.
The Republicans say that kneeling is disrespectful?!, but making jokes at the expense of the Constitution is all in a days work for POTUS. I didn't see that in Article Two?
Why won't Democrats just say that Trump is doing the opposite of his job, because he can't help making the presidency all about him and that is not his job.
No one has a right to vote for that and expect it to not be impeached. It takes two third votes to make amendments to the Constitution,not 51%
Say High Crimes or I will find a candidate that will.
Start and impeachment inquiry NOW.
5
And how about one more:
-Mueller says DOJ policy prevented him from prosecuting a sitting president (despite 10 documented instances of obstruction).
3
@McGloin
I feel the same passion. Thank you for your words.
What is wrong with everything and everybody? Is there no one left to do what's right? Politics and saving face (Dem reps), or sticking to the narrative before all else (NYT and other media)?
It is too much to ask to put a blatant crook like Trump in jail? Now the Dems are completely complicit in upholding two systems of justice. One for the elite, and one for the rest of us.
I respectfully disagree that Mueller's testimony did nothing to help the case for impeachment. Many who never read the report have read the conclusions of his testimony and are now more aware of Trump's obstruction of justice and his disregard concerning Russia's interference in the last election.
It is very unlikely that the Senate will vote to impeach him, but Trump's total disregard for the Constitution, truthfulness, honor, integrity (indeed he completely lacks any virtue) makes impeachment by the House almost a necessity.
Trump may win the 2020 election, but if he does, our republic is not likely to survive. The Republican party is no longer viable. We have a choice in the next election to replace Trump and have Democrats control both houses of Congress. If this does not happen our democracy is likely doomed.
We are polluting our oceans and our air and the day is not far off before our planet will no longer be able to support us.
This is not getting the attention it deserves because News media can't stop making Trump the center of attention.
6
The president of the United States quite possibly has engaged and is engaging in conduct that goes way beyond policy debates, to serve a dangerous hostile power that has attacked our democracy and threatened the safety of our nuclear power plants and other infrastructure. The means to probe that conduct, including his foreign financial entanglements and quite possibly illegal activities, is via impeachment proceedings that could access his tax returns, other financial records, intelligence reports and other valuable data. Pelosi and the Democrats should be aggressively pursuing this, both as a matter of principle and because it could justifiably help defeat Trump next year. The failure to do so fails our country.
7
Exactly why is an "electrifying moment" necessary now? We've had more than enough information already to justify -- nay, demand -- impeachment.
11
It seems the American people by and large are unable to read and unwilling to watch anything that requires a moderate attention span. If this is true, I'm afraid our country does not have much hope.
4
@DMN
65% of the US population can't locate Canada on a world map ... Believe me.. "It" is very true.
@DMN
At least that's what "liberal media" tells us to think. Chuck Todd even yawned when he said it. Of course if it was really "liberal" media it would be saying that Trump is committing high crimes instead of asking Democrats about impeaching him.
If you are saying impeachment instead of High Crimes, you are helping Trump. You can't make chocolate without cocoa and you can't impeach without High Crimes. Pundits that discuss impeachment without using the words High Crime need to read their constitution. Its not about electricity. Its about the words in the Constitution. Journalists are supposed to understand words, even when Mueller says them, for the third time.
(Many said Mueller was old and slow, but he didn't fall for anything. It is the rest of us that are falling for it. Imagine how slow Mueller thinks we are. He at least knows what is going on.)
2
What? What?What did they expect Mueller to do? He only solicited ,heard and documented witness testimony. He was not a witness himself.
A simple acknowledgement and recognition of the facts was all that should have been expected. Mueller delivered on that.
It is now time for the House committees to do the hard work of obtaining the witness testimony , making it public and impeaching the President.
Get on with it.
7
This country spent $25,000,000 for an investigation that has proven Trump received gladly the help of Russia in his election and since has at least ten times obstructed justice in covering the fact up. We have all the evidence we need for impeachment. The tragedy is that the Republican Party is actually working hand in hand with this crooked administration and the Russians to sustain Trump's autocratic rule.
9
@Karn Griffen
The tragedy is that the Press, which only stays out of prison because of the Constitution, refuses to call a high crime, a HIGH CRIME.
Trump is attacking all of the pillars of our Constitution which has already been weakened by hundreds of years of the Right poking holes in it. Now Trump is trying to finish it off with a series of public High Crimes on TV and Twitter.
Calling for violence against and American Citizen without due process is a High Crime.
Everyone who is not a traitor should be able to say that sentence. The Constitution replaces political violence with debate and voting, while commanding congress to carefully regulate state violence with due process.
Due Process is how you protect the rights of citizens, the Rights Enumerated in, but not limited to the Bill of Rights. A king can say, "beat that guy up." When a president says that, it's a High Crime. A king can banish critics. When the President assumes that members of congress are not citizens and tells them to leave the country that is a High Crime. If Trump has evidence that someone is not a citizen, he should refer the evidence to the Justice Department.
Trump says the Press is the enemy of the people. It is not constitutional for POTUS contradict, or to make jokes that contradict, the Constitution. Calling for violence against the press is a double High Crime.
You all know that the Republican Party has called Our Government the "Enemy," for fifty years.
Doesn't Trump Prove it?
"Lack of Electricity in Mueller Testimony"? Just look at the people pictured in the headline. Not exactly sprinters. The old Democratic guard must go.
3
I can't believe I'm reading this.
Almost daily these days I question whether I should continue my Times subscription.
12
Nancy Pelosi is the smartest person in the room. If the Democrats win in 2020 she will look like a savant. But if Trump is re-elected she will have to wonder if she misplayed this one. Her premise that Watergate had the benefit of Republican support has a presumption of validity.
But these Republicans today are not your grandfather’s Republicans. They are much more cynical and much more “die hard” party-over- country supporters. They would most all jump off a cliff if Trump said so. That’s the honest truth.
So they were never going to get on board anyway. And as for the “blue dog “ Democrats, they, too, are afraid of losing their seats in 2020. So Rep. Pelosi is worried about them. I understand. But Trump can’t be indicted if he wins in 2020.
2
@Oliver
In the twenty years after Clinton was impeached but not removed, Republicans controlled the presidency for ten years, the House for 14 years, and the Senate for 16 years.
Impeaching Clinton hurt the Democrats not Republicans.
So much for the political argument.
The President is committing High Crimes.
Any public servant or member of the Press that is not saying, "Trump is committing High Crimes," is helping Trump win. And anyone that talks about impeachment without listing High Crimes is helping him twice as much.
If Nancy Pelosi was saying that she has seen large amounts of evidence that Trump is committing High Crimes and she demands that Republicans impeach their corrupt president, I would be behind that. But this surrender is just surrender.
Trump and the Republicans lost yesterday, but the Democrats surrendered in the face of a a hostile media that had announced weeks ago that Mueller could never live down to their low standards of entertainment over information, so nobody knows that Mueller said that Trump committed federal felonies and that he was referring this to Congress.
If the media were actually "liberal" this document would be the "Trump Impeachment Referral," not the Mueller report, because," the Constitution has another process...for accusing a sitting president."
If the Press and the Democratic Party don't protect the Constitution from attack soon, the USA will exist only as a totalitarian shadow of its former self.
Nancy Pelosi is the only adult in the room on this hysterical situation.
Impeachment isn't a Constitutional obligation ("we MUST impeach to preserve the Republic!"). It's a political issue and the votes aren't there, neither in the House and definitely not in the Senate. (It's not even clear there are the votes in House Judiciary Committee.)
Neither is this a popular or democratic question. Whether the loudest screamers in the country want impeachment, or even if a majority of the country wants it, this is NOT a question of popular opinion. That's why we have a representative democracy in our republic.
The young media stars in Democratic House may scream but Nancy realizes the objective is to keep control of the House in 2020. Moving forward with impeachment risks losing moderate seats in swing states and, with that loss, control of House. Not every district is NY-14.
Besides all that, impeachment is simply a waste of Democratic political capital and of time, displacing efforts at developing better policy. It's foolish and it's moot, doomed to fail.
Nancy - stay cool. Don't let Cummings, Schiff, or especially, Nadler bully you. You control the caucus.
Focus on 2020. That is what matters.
3
@Joe from Kokomo
Wrong!
HIGH CRIMES:
-Regularly, calling for political violence against U.S. citizens without due process.
-Accusing Our Intelligence Agencies of conspiring against him in a “coup” for years with no credible evidence.
-Obstructing an investigation into attacks on our elections by Russian Intelligence.
-Taking payments from foreign governments. The definition of an Emolument is a payment. The Constitution says that the president is prohibited from taking Emoluments “of any kind, whatever.” There is no mention of quid pro quo.
-Saying he would take information from another country to use in our elections.
-Demanding personal loyalty from public servants sworn to protect the Constitution.
-Saying the Press is the “Enemy of the People.”
-Repeatedly calling for violence against the Press.
-Talking about being “president for life,” which he then equates to “King."
-Saying that We the People should “sit in attention” for Trump, with “fervor.”
-Claiming that he can interpret the Constitution instead of the Supreme Court, going against Marbury v Madison which was decided in 1803.
-Claiming that he can decide who is a Citizen with an executive order.
-Using the assumption that four members of Congress are not Citizens, without evidence or due process, as the premise for his telling them to leave the country.
-Always substituting Trump’s personal interests for the interests of We the People. This makes every official act by Trump a High Crime. Intent matters.
I’m troubled by the Times’s cavalier, dismissive coverage of this event. The Times has a sacred duty to report the facts of this most grave of moments. Instead, it has chosen the path of frivolity. Deeply unsettling and profoundly disappointing.
7
Russian meddling in US elections is perpetrated by Russian military intelligence. It's the 21st century equivalent of having Russian troops on American streets.
President Trump and the GOP's reluctance to acknowledge and act on it is, in effect, condoning it. Why? Because it works in their favor.
The USA cannot afford to have these people running the country.
2
IT seemed clear to me that Pelosi was saying
they had proved obstruction and
were going through the courts to find out WHY
Trump has been obstructing.
I respect that.
But if in the end the Dems do not impeach
I will not vote.
Because they will have proved themselves to be
completely political animals.
5
What a great man.
I believe this exchange between Robert Mueller and Representative Debra Lesko marks the moment Democrats were declawed and defanged:
Lesko: Mr. Mueller, there's been a lot of talk today about firing the special counsel and curtailing the investigation. Were you ever fired, Mr. Mueller?
MUELLER: Was I what?
LESKO: Were you ever fired as special counsel, Mr. Mueller?
MUELLER: No.
LESKO: Were you allowed to complete your investigation unencumbered?
MUELLER: Yes.
LESKO: And in fact, you resigned as special counsel when you closed up the office in late May of 2019. Is that correct?
MUELLER: Correct.
So, all Trump did was wish the investigation would go away. In his place who would not? Do wishes now reach the level of high crimes and misdemeanors? I don't think so.
3
@GWB
I'm sorry, is the GOP party line that Mueller told the truth or that he wasn't a credible witness ?
I've heard both arguments floated in the last 24 hours
Make up your minds ...
@Marion Grace Merriweather
I quoted the transcript. I did not proffer any party's "line." Live with it.
@GWB
That doesn't mean anything.
There are many acts of obstruction in the report. There are a lot of ways to obstruct an investigation short of shutting it all down.
Mueller said that Trump's answers were not generally truthful, for one example.
Trump did not just wish. Trump acted on those wishes again and again, most of them on TV when he was directly attacking the integrity of the man that his appointee appointed.
1
It doesn’t help that Democrats are openly flouting immigration laws and that Madam wasn’t charged with obstruction of justice when she deleted emails containing classified information from her home computer as federal investigators closed in. Politicizing rule of law will only destroy it.
2
@God (Are you trying to be more narcissistic than Trump?)
Whatabout the Constitution.
I am not a Democrat. I am loyal to the Constitution of the USA.
The crimes of Democrats do not excuse the Crimes of Republicans or vice versa.
I voted against Hillary.
I voted against Obama after he weakened habeas corpus.
Trump is committing High Crimes regularly.
If you just count the times that he called for violence against American Citizens without due process, it probably goes into the hundreds.
He commits every category of High crimes and then makes up new ways to violate the Constitution.
The Party of Trump has spent fifty years saying that My Government is their enemy and trying to "shrink it so small it can be drowned in a bathtub." That is not what the Constitution says to do, and I blame the Democrats for constantly compromising with those that oppose the Constitution instead of following the Constitution without apology.
Read Your Constitution and compare it to everything Republicans do and say. You are for the second clause of the second amendment and twisting the 14th amendment to make corporations into citizens. That's about it.
Republicans are against Union, Justice, Tranquility, defense (demanding constant offense), the general welfare, Liberty, and Posterity.
Republicans are against taxing and regulating, but never tire of increasing payments to private corporations they have stock in. Look at Dick Cheney and Haliburton.
We the People want Union and Justice!
1
Bob Mueller is in Legion of his own.
He spelled it out .
Ignore at your peril.
7
No revelations? Mueller laid it out pretty clearly that Trump broke laws relating to witness tampering, obstruction (asking Don Megan to fire Mueller), pressuring Sessions to Unrecuse himself (as if that's even a thing), and making illegal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. What do you want, a brass band?
12
An impeachment trial would take too long and use up too many dollars. Our dollars. It is better to wait for the election. If he is reelected then impeach him. There are far more important things to do right now. A hearing would only embolden him. And he doesn't need more of that. He is a shameful president. But there are smarter ways to go about this.
5
Just going back to history. I wonder if anyone there read about Polish-Lithuania common wealth destroyed by Liberum Veto. I see many similarities, another empire squashed by Russia..:)
2
Trump can only win again if Democrats seems obsessively partisan and remarkably incompetent.
Mission accomplished.
6
Now, just imagine if Russian interference in the election was to Hillary Clinton’s advantage, and she was the president today.
Would New York Times readers be as incensed over that as they are over Trump?
Be honest now.
7
@Charlie By all means, I for one would have been very incensed. This, of course is an impossible hypothetical, given Putin's hatred of Hillary Clinton.
1
@Charlie
I'm incensed because Trump committed obstruction of justice.
The better question for you is: if Hillary, instead of Trump, did the same obstructive acts as described by Muller in Volume 2, would Republicans be so cavalier?
Be honest now.
4
@Charlie
Absolutely.
Foreign interference in our elections not a partisan issue.
That has me incensed at Trump, as opposed to Russia, is his conduct as described in Volume 2. Any president should be removed from office for such behavior.
The better question, in my opinion, is: would Republicans be willing to let Hillary off the hook if she were the one who committed the obstructive acts in Volume 2?
Be honest now.
1
It's hard to fathom how badly the Dems have handled this situation. They should have impeached him as soon as the report was released. Did Dems really expect Mueller to move the needle, after he said that his testimony wouldn't expand beyond the report?
The facts recited in Volume 2 are either true or false. If they are true, Trump must be impeached. It's that simple. He is a criminal.
The most depressing thing about all this is the GOP hypocrisy. Can you imagine if Obama were accused of this stuff? Give me a break.
We are really in trouble as a country.
14
The key difference is that the Republicans knew Obama could never be impeached so they didn’t try. The Democrats, however, think wishing makes it so. They have gone on a fool’s errand.
4
The best professional commentary that I have read is Jennifer Rubin's op-ed in today’s Washington Post, “Mueller didn’t fail. The country did.”
Many express similar sentiment in these NYT comments. Take responsibility, folks! Be realistic. Or Trump may be re-elected for a second term.
11
Oh please, everyone knew impeachment would never happen. I really don't see any path forward for this county other than Trump staying in office for another four years. During that time, I suspect he will try to find a way to stay in office longer. Beyond that, I think we should be more concerned about the fact that captial punishment is now legal for federal crimes and it would be a very small step to make the "crimes" of asylum seekers in the Trump Camps into federal crimes....does everyone see where this is heading? There's little any of us can do to prevent it, beyond taking small actions in our own community to safeguard those we love and care about. Remember the Germans who hid Jewish families in their basements.
1
good because the last thing when need is Pence
2
Who needs electricity when we are all fried?
Look just let this simmer. WE will plug in repeatedly to these exchanges between all these agenda-driven reps bothering old Abe; an honest man.
There is so much revealing stuff; this over seven hours!
Actually I could only watch the first three hours. During that time I recall black questioners getting it right; in pace, considerate and waiting for a 75 year old very private investigator (ready to stiff them for impudence or unfair probing) to answer their thoughtful questions.
The Republicans tried in vain to throw poltical shade as if he were a "player" from the get go. He blew them off with ease.
What we got with Mueller is exactly what all of us needed. A straight shot at the bone marrow of truth in all this mess brought to us by you-know-who. He got us to see the haiku viscerating cleaver cut-clean-to-the-bone focus he gave us in his chops.
The Democrats only wanted a game-changer. None thought Mueller would come out like Zorro or the Lone Ranger.
Now the facts have been illucidated in a mode palatable to the American ordinary Jack or Jill; live in color talking heads.
Let's study it until Nov. next year. Let's deploy it in our campaigns and reverberate off it to show how far down we have gone & the protection we need from treacherous tyranny.
POTUS's behavior is treacherous to Amerca's highest cause of justice for all.
The Russian web interference must be stopped as we speak.
Will we let them take it away again.
1
I continue to believe that the most rabid of the pro-impeacment crowd is composed almost entirely of people who did not vote, or voted for Jill Stein, or wrote in St. Bernie’s name anyway because Hillary is neolib corporatist, and who plan on doing so again.
Here’s a basic, folks: if you ain’t got the votes, you ain’t got the votes. Here’s another: you and the ten most-sorta-radical people you “met,” on social media are not anything like the majority of Americans.
And here’s one more: it takes long, slow, hard work to change things for the better. Might be good if some would srop sneering at the people actually doing that work.
4
What ever came of the current investigation investigating the investigation by the special counsel? Have they found anything yet? It would be interesting to see what they find if they find anything at all.
2
Forget about counting on the Senate to convict. But if this particular president is not impeached by the House of Representatives, will it not set a precedent forever in this country to disregard the mandates of the Constitution and keep in place whoever is in the highest office, no matter what misdeeds he or she has done? It is hard to imagine anyone in the future doing more in the way of abuse of power. No one will ever be held accountable again, as long as they were elected president.
6
Trump will not be impeached in a Senate trial, period. From what I saw and heard of Mueller's testimony there will be alot of inadmissible evidence because of ongoing investigations. An impeachment proceeding will not look any better than what we saw on Wednesday. We need to ask ourselves:
To what end will the House voting to impeach bring us?
Who or what source is giving people the false hope that impeachment proceedings will be good for the Democrats?
The Democrats rolled the dice - took a big risk. They were having a lot of trouble mustering the support needed for impeachment hearings, and needed some real drama to create a groundswell of support - not from those that already want impeachment, but from those that are indifferent, on the fence, or actually committed Democrats that think impeachment is a bad idea politically (and a lot of mainstream Democrats, and some very powerful members of the leadership are in this camp.)
The gamble failed. Badly. (Anyone that gambles takes that chance.) Impeachment hearings are now far less likely than they were prior to the hearing. And I think pretty much everyone knows it.
I will say, parenthetically, that I felt really sorry for Mueller. He had a long career as a genuinely dedicated public servant. He did the job as he believed it was defined - both ethically and legally. And now he ends that illustrious career with both the left and right disliking him or even hating him (for neither indicting nor exonerating Trump) ... knowing that no matter what else he did in his life, it is this he'll be ever remembered for.
He looked almost shockingly frail - and spent seven hours with people on both sides battering him around for their own political purposes. I reached a point of thinking this isn't a hearing, it is just flat out abuse. Of a guy with integrity, that truly did what he considered to be the job he was appointed to do.
I bow to you Mr. Mueller, deeply, and from the waist.
4
45 SHOULD be impeached — plenty of evidence for both impeachment and incarceration.
HOWEVER, the Democratic nominee in a race against 45 may stand a better chance of winning.
Besides, impeachment is moot, due to lack of morals, ethics and spines in the Republicans in the Senate.
We really need to focus our energy on a blue wave in 2020 and show the Republicans in Congress that support 45 — that both 45 and they are on the wrong side of history.
5
Name, blame, shame, that’s their game. I’m talking about the Left (although it applies to the Right, too). It is an autonomous reflex whenever anything bad happens. Many liberal Democrats want so badly to impeach the President that they have lost touch with reality, and resort to fanciful arguments about "duty" and "responsibility."
There’s nothing in the Constitution that REQUIRES Congress to impeach. Those who argue that Congress has a "Constitutional responsibility" to impeach are wrong. There is no such thing. Whether to impeach is a political decision, and has always been regarded as such. Congress is free to leave the judgment to the voters if it feels that is a less divisive and more certain means of redress—which at present it is.
To suppose otherwise is to believe the Founders thought so little of their new Congress that they would deny it the discretion to consider the practical concerns of the day—for example whether the Senate would vote to convict, or whether the very act of impeachment could further strengthen the president they were trying to remove.
It is with little hope that I suggest that these disappointing hearings should put to rest that obsessive desire to impeach. The Democrats have a winning formula. They need to stick to it: jobs, wages, health care, and the various other elements of economic security. If they talk about Trump at all it should be about his failure to deliver on these kitchen-table issues.
2
The inability of Democrats in the house to start impeachment inquiries make them appear to be more interested in re-election than defending the United States from the President's abuses of office, as outlined by the Mueller Report investigation of Russian attacks upon our national election in 2016. The Democrats are starting to appear really weak, unorganized, and too self-interested to put a core centrist issue like national security and the integrity of our laws, before their own agenda of pandering to identity politics voters that just further divide or alienate the base of Democratic voters as a whole. In short, their reluctance to just start impeachment inquiries based on all the current available evidence, as a method to protect the 20+ presidential election candidates and seats up for re-election in Congress next year, are basically handing another win for Trump because Republican voters are clearly not as divided on the question of accountability about their party's chief demagogue running in 2020 .
2
The media wants the electricity because the outrage it enables has become the mother's milk of ratings growth.
And the feedback loop then causes our elected officials to play to the outrage, rather than doing their job and pursuing the country's best interests.
This is all in keeping with Putin's playbook, by the way.
4
If impeachment isn’t appropriate or possible for President Trump, then we should go ahead and repeal it as a provision of the Constitution entirely.
3
Carl, you make it sound as if the democrats leaning towards impeachment were somehow defeated by the Mueller report.
Not so at all. Pelosi had already said there would be no impeachment as things stood. And good for her. I'm for waiting until they have an iron clad case against Trump and his gang.
4
What message does not impeaching Trump send to foreign powers anxious to interfere with the next election? It will be interesting to see both China and Russia interfere in our elections for opposite reasons... China may choose to back the democrat while Russia backs Trump.
5
If it's true that impeachment is less likely as a result of his testimony, then Mr. Mueller, it must be said, has performed yet another act of service to our nation.
Most Americans, while happy to entertained by any and all kinds of goofball if not insipid antics, retain the ability to discern the real thing when they see it and will set the former aside in favor of the latter when they know they must.
Consequently, what the Democrats need to do is to be that 'real thing'--which means to put forward a serious, consistent and concrete policy agenda, centered around climate change, multi-lateral engagement, economic inclusion, access to health care and last but not least, protecting the most meaningful Constitutional principle come election day, the sanctity of our voting process.
Impeachment will only further inflame the political landscape, depriving all of us of the oxygen we need to mobilize a positive, broad-based and sustained political alliance, one true to our democratic ideals and not likely to be confused for the hyperventilating, ego-centric hysterics so favored by Mr. Trump and his defenders.
Lack of electricity?
What on earth are you talking about? Are you equating governance with theater?
Governance is not theater. This is one of the labors of the TV age.
If Speaker Pelosi is not moving because she doesn't think the polls support her, she needs to step down immediately for abdicating her position of leadership.
This is not theater. We have been patient in her slow-walk tactics.
But her slow-walk tactics have made this entire hairball of legal, intelligence and power/authority issues not about the egregious, probably criminal behavior but instead about next year's election.
Why is she in this position if she will not lead the Democrats to an open impeachment inquiry? Why on earth have we even had to wait so long?
Whatever Mueller's testimony was, if she was hoping for fireworks to substitute for sticking her neck out, she needs to resign.
This is not what leaders do. This is not how leaders act.
We need to see some leadership coming out of Speaker Pelosi's office soon, or we need to support opposition to her position as Speaker.
5
Poorly crafted editorial. This is not even about "generating electricity." It's about what should be done to serve the public good. Pelosi fails in her test because she's such a calculating politician. Mueller confirmed that trump could be charged with obstruction of justice if he loses 2020. If the charges outlined in his report were presented to a grand jury, trump would be found guilty on all counts. The fact that congress won't budge on impeachment means future presidents can get away with trump's egregious and criminal behavior and our democracy remains in grave peril.
4
What should Mueller have done - a tap dance? Guilt is established by facts or the lack thereof. Mueller provided facts - plenty of them - that would oust any president were he not a Republican or named Trump. There's an expression, that can't be printed, about do something or get off the pot. It's time Congress did just that. All of them.
4
I have already suggested the press somehow needed a musical. Mueller wasn’t “entertaining enough”? Seriously?
2
I think Americans fail to understand how much foreign money and influence is exerted on our country, and our officials, every day.
Trump is an easy target because he readily, publicly, outs his own bad behavior. I have no doubt that foreign meddling has a long history in our politics.
I oppose Russian meddling in our elections and I hope our government acts to prevent it. I equally oppose all the foreigners here illegally who are meddling in our elections by changing the composition of the House of Representatives by being counted in our census.
30 million illegal aliens might, arguably, create a bigger political impact than anything the Russians might do. They dilute the representation of citizens in states without large numbers of illegal immigrants. A Representative in California and NC might each represent 747000 'constituents' but the CA Rep might only have 400000 actual citizens in their district. In 2016 CA had an estimate 2.2 mil illegals-- that is three free members in the House.
Please write more articles about those pesky Russians and their meddling!
1
No impeachment proceedings would possibly come before next spring, anyway. Don't rush it. Timing is everything.
1
This didn't have to happen this way. In a country with a free press that uses that freedom to keep people informed instead of competing to go viral, we'd have known months ago that the press was focusing on the wrong thing obsessing about Volume II when the grave treachery against our democracy was in Volume I.
But in a world where the fate of the country hangs in the balance and what matters to the average journalist was whether Mueller's voice sounded strong, the public is critically uninformed and not likely to become better educated with lousy messengers who's real allegiance is to the advertising buck and the shiny object.
1
How could the Dems take such a long shot on Mueller coming to their rescue? He had already said the report stands for itself. Then as soon as he opened his mouth at the hearing you knew something was wrong. His performance only lent credence to the charge that the whole thing was a hoax. He certainly did not write that report. He did not even know what was in it. Obviously he was just the respectable facade for what was basically a partisan witch hunt. The Democrats asked for it. The only question is how they could miscalculate so.
"Democrat Ted Lieu (California) sought to lure Mr. Mueller into saying he would have indicted Mr. Trump for obstruction if he weren’t a sitting President. “That is not the correct way to say it,” Mr. Mueller said. “As we say in the report and as I said at the opening, we did not reach a determination as to whether the President committed a crime.”"
1
WE NEED BETTER THEATER?! The chief investigator says Russia's interference in our democracy was widespread and continues "as we sit here." He says there were multiple contacts between this hostile foreign power and the welcoming campaign of a presidential candidate. Journalists and politicians sniff that they've read it in the report, and the investigator wasn't electric enough to get our attention. So defending democracy is ho-hum? We need better theater? If that's really how it is, get out your night scopes and automatic weapons - the journalists and politicians are calling for the survival games to begin. Generations of soldiers who gave their lives for democracy are already dead.
1
Nothing matters anymore. Trump, with the help of the squad and the booming economy, already has ensured his reelection. The demos candidates are absolite and their attempts to pull the USA to far-left to be continued in their next debate will just increase trump's victory. The best the Demos can do is Shut up the Squad and wait for another five years to try to win the next next election, which I doubt they will do. The NYT giving Omar the opportunity to express her far left antisemic anti-american ideology is shameful and further increases and galvanizes the Trump support.
3
“The Russians are coming!”
Meanwhile the GOP is actively allowing Russians to continue influencing elections in all 50 states. Two bills to address the Russian cyber influence were rejected today by GOP Senate boss McConnell. Trumpists know they benefited from Putin last election and will again need him to again sway the 2020 election.
1
Ok let me get this straight. Yesterday Mueller testified that there are 10 instances of obstruction of justice. And this is a loss for the Democrats because he was too low key? Anyone who watched his testimony saw that the Republicans had no interest in getting at the truth. I thought that members of Congress took an oath to preserve protect and defend the constitution. It looks like the Republicans only want to protect their phony baloney jobs. And to add insult to injury today the Senate voted down a bill to provide election security measures. We are seeing our democracy fall right before our eyes.
All it takes is to look at what's gone before, and READ the Muller report. And the unequivocal facts of what's gone before: many Trump associates convicted of lying, and then the matter of Trump's own behavior.
It's awful that Mr. Mueller agreed to be a punching bag for this latest round of political theater. The Dems are at fault - for expecting he'd do their job for them, when he already stated that the report was his testimony.
How far we have come from the days when all it took was a President lying about boffing an intern to get an impeachment inquiry going. I'm disgusted with both parties.
1
I think we all know there is sufficient evidence to impeach, it has been this way since the report was published if not before. I have a lot of respect for Speaker Pelosi but I fear she and the leadership are playing not to loose.
That is a dangerous game that in my experience backfires more often than not. They have a case and it’s a core part of their responsibility.
12
@Jeffrey McCaffrey
Except if they go through the process and he is not ousted from the Presidency, he will claim it as a victory. He’ll be obnoxiously claiming it as a victory.
Too bad he has so many Republican toadies in the House and Senate. Unfortunate confluence of the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Didn’t happen with Watergate. There were actually honorable members of Nixon’s own party who stood up for what was right.
3
Way to put all your eggs in a basket with holes in it geniuses. Your going to lose the election now too because you care more about special interests of extremists and discarded the working class and white male from your base. Losing again in 2020. And this is coming from someone that can't stand Donald Trump and is disgusted that he's our president.
9
The House under Pelosi has abdicated its responsibility. A sad day for American democracy. We deserve the government we get. Why can't we be more vocal like the Puerto Ricans? 'Cuz we're fat and happy? placated with bread and circuses?
16
To use a TV analogy:
Mueller is like watching Frontline on PBS, while Trump is like watching some outrageous reality show on one of the networks. Just about everybody might agree that one is well researched and grounded in truth but that doesn't stop most people in this country from choosing instead to watch something that most of us know is totally shallow and patently false. Unfortunately that is where we are as a country today and wishing it were otherwise isn't going to change anything to gain more support for impeachment, at least based on what we've been able to see so far.
It may not be the way many of us would prefer to proceed given everything Mueller has already documented but most likely our best chance for effecting change is for the House to keep digging with its investigations and the Dems to rally behind a candidate that can successfully take on Trump in 2020.
9
@Dick Carlson
Ironically, not even Judy Woodruff and her panel on PBS thought Mueller performed well or made his case. But I guess you'd know that if you watch PBS as your comment implies that you do.
Truly we live in an idiocracy. Trump obstructed justice. What do we need - a Broadway musical - to get the impeachment ball rolling? Ugh. Focus on substance and leave the theater criticism to the arts section.
22
I for one, am grateful impeachment is off the table. We have about a year and a half to remove this blight from the White House. If we are going to do it, we'd best use our resources well. Impeachment is a distraction. I agree w. Ms. Pelosi that such action would only give Trump a target. Instead, use footage from yesterday's hearing, strategically between 2019-2020.
7
@Lillies
If fulfilling their constitutional obligation to hold the Executive Branch is beyond the Democrats ability in Congress, why do they deserve the White House? The whole point is to replace a President who breaks the Constitution every day. We will recover as a nation only if we find someone, and a party, who will stand up for the Constitution.
2
Have a bipartisan group of Congress members who support impeachment approach the White House, (or else hold a press conference) and tell them they have 30 days to come up with a viable, real election security plan/legislation. If it doesn't happen, tell the crooks and liars at the WH that impeachment will commence.
The WH's and Rep.'s lack of action will tell you all need to know.
8
Trump's impeachment was never likely. His conviction by the McConnell Senate was an impossibility. Don't waste your ink on op-eds like this.
8
If they don't move to impeach now, it's a clear indication that Pelosi and friends are being led by the polls as opposed to....leading.
The facts of obstruction are clear with his comments to McGahn. The rest of the mess of circumstantial evidence of his wrongdoing is also worth filing for impeachment.
It's not important wether impeachment is successful or not. What's important is to do the job we put you there to do.
12
It’s not even that she’s following the polls (Pelosi) ; it’s that she is also a criminal and her crooked dealings will be revealed by an impeachment proceeding.
@M, "It's not important wether impeachment is successful or not. What's important is to do the job we put you there to do." - you said it!
How and why the headline on this piece is what it is baffling!
4
If it’s electricity you want, I suggest you go see a Paul McCartney concert. His show is three hours long. But even Sir Paul would wither delivering a 7 hour performance outlining the President’s crimes, while simultaneously deflecting the frothing attacks from the shallow remains of the GOP. I’m looking at you, Louie Gomert.
17
Impeach if they want but they’ll NEVER get a conviction in the Senate. God only knows what kind of “strutting” in the media (especially FOX) Trump will do with that!
On a practical political basis, there is no upside to impeachment for the Democrats if they can’t convict.
Forget Mueller! He’s yesterday’s news. The prize is the 2020 elections!!! The Democrats MUST take the White House and both Houses of Congress if our country is going to pull itself out of its rapidly increasing death spiral.
The Democrats have to put up a candidate that will get the votes of not only all Democrats, but also independents and moderate republicans ( yes, there are plenty of moderates who feel lost!)
In my opinion, Trump can be beaten IF the Democrats get real, come together, and put up people that a majority of people can vote for. The election is theirs to lose if they are foolish.
They can push their agenda once they take the prize. Without the wins...their agenda means zilch!
7
If we as a nation, a republic, cannot PURGE this criminal menace and threat, then we do not deserve the republic. WE will have squandered it. What on earth would it ever take to merit removal if not this.
13
Once again, “journalists” trying to find the best way to monetize the end of our Democracy.
19
I understood through all of my reading that the Democrats wanted Mueller to testify before Congress to educate the American public. We won't know if that helped until 2020 but the Mueller and Democrat bashers are revealing more about themselves than anything else. Get behind your favorite 2020 contender and work, please!
6
Why is Mrs. Pelosi still refusing to launch an impeachment
inquiry?
It would -- at the very least -- drive Trump crazier than he already is, which -- assuming he doesn't use it as an excuse to bomb Mexico -- would be a very good thing for the country.
10
...because she has questionable dealings herself that an impeachment investigation will expose!
3
Nancy Pelosi and House Dems: Do Your Job and uphold the Constitution. If you would not bring impeachment for THIS clear obstruction of justice in allowing a foreign govt to interfere with a Presidential election, what would you bring impeachment for???
I’m beginning to think the bad guys just care more.
10
Perhaps I missed it during the hearing....Did Candidate Trump authorize his campaign director, Paul Manafort, to share polling data with Russian operatives? When did Trump first learn of this sharing? Who at the Trump campaign knew this happening? If Trump did not authorize the transfer of data to the Russian's, then Manafort committed theft. It Trump knew he conspired with the Russians.
10
We've all been screaming for Trump's impeachment.
However, when you really think about it--
It'll be far more fulfilling to vote Trump out of office -- en masse -- than to have to sit back and watch just a few hundred politicians merely impeach the oaf.
5
Take the energy needed for impeachment and apply it instead to getting the vote out.
4
Trump lost the popular vote by some 2.87 million votes. That Constitutional injustice continues in the Senate. Every word from the mouth of this illegitimate president impeaches him. Impeach Trump and amend the US Constitution.
12
Without CA, Trump won by more than 1 million votes.
1
And your point is? That CA is effectively disenfranchised? 2 senators compared to Montana’s 2 senators with wildly disproportionate populations. Well I agree. And I also agree with you, a la notion of casting out those that disagree with him, CA should be cast out. Let them secede. You would be happy to move out of CA and they would be ecstatic. NY, CT, RI, MA, VT and possibly a few other states would join. Everyone would be happy. Divorce is often the very best for all concerned. Cut the rest off the country loose and let it sink like the ballast it is.
The only argument is who gets to keep the “USA” name. You might be - might - too embarrassed to assume the beloved “Confederate States of America”; so here’s a grand compromised so y’all can pretend you are not who you are: keep “USA”, we’ll find think up something like “New USA” or “The Progressive States of America” just for the fun of seeing your heads explode. You sure will miss all our tax subsidization.
1
This article simply serves to carry water for the Trump lawlessness.
Whether Mueller was a powerful speaker has nothing to do with his report...which in detail after detail reports the wholesale trashing of our democracy.
The piece concludes that the democrats will refuse to do their constitutional duty because of "public opinion" and the lack of an obvious "galvanizing reason" at the hearing.
That's baloney. Trump remains above the laws he is breaking because the leadership of the Democratic Congress prefers political calculation to their duty to democracy.
Their refusal to act makes them a pack of spineless weasels only marginally better than the racist troglodytes across the aisle.
9
Let’s see - which campaign, through a thinly veiled cutout, paid for information from a “hostile foreign power”?
2
As much as I would like to see Trump get his comeuppance, I believe that the Dems would ultimately end up looking foolish going after him at this point in time. The brainwashed ignorant masses that only know what Trump, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity tell them (and I mean that seriously) will never be able to grasp the nuances of obstruction of justice.
To the aforementioned masses, Trump is their tough guy -- the successful "business man" that tells it like it really is and they will not stand by while Trump is taken down. They honestly believe that this is all about Hillary losing. Gheeze.
3
This was not supposed to be a dramatic theater “performance”! Who cares about the theatrics!
Plenty of evidence exists on the unethical and illegal behavior by this president and his campaign officials. What more do we need to impeach?
10
Who are the 17 Republicans in the Senate who would vote to remove Trump from office if he were impeached? I cannot name one, and Mueller's testimony, however electrifying, was never likely to change that.
Nancy Pelosi knows how to counts votes as well as anyone in Washington. If there isn't a sliver of a chance to remove Trump from office, voting to impeach would be a major strategic blunder. It would only serve as noise to distract from the 2020 election and would likely harm many swing state members of Congress.
2
He cannot be removed via impeachment. However there are several ways to play this. Dems need to decide very simply what is most beneficial for their prospects of defeating Trump and the Republicans in 2020.
Do we want:
A.) lots of hearings and investigation, followed by an actual impeachment, followed by acquittal in the Senate
B.) lots of hearings and investigation to keep this in the news, without an actual impeachment. Censure vote instead.
C.) a decision to end any talk or investigation of impeachment, so Dems can focus on the issues in 2020.
I prefer choice A - an actual impeachment will force the country to pay attention to Russian interference and the numerous acts of obstruction by Trump. It's also the right thing to do historically and Constitutionally. It also will force the few vulnerable Republican Senators to make a very difficult vote shortly before the 2020 election. Dems can argue they did everything in their power to hold Trump accountable, but Republican Senators did not do their Constitutional duty, therefore the only way to hold Trump accountable is to defeat him in the election.
Choice B is an acceptable back-up. I don't see the upside in Choice C.
3
Like so many other commentators here, I am totally flabbergasted by the reality-show critique the mainstream media, including this article, has applied to the Mueller testimony. Even as one who has read most of the report, I found that seeing Mueller personally reaffirm its findings underscored their gravity.
8
There was never any chance - zero - that these hearings were going to bring any sort of breakthrough on the impeachment front. IF the Democrats want to win in 2020 (as any sane and decent person hopes they will) they must follow a clear but straight path to victory. Here's what Democrats need to do, ladies and gentlemen: they need to NOT alienate Caucasians (as the squad attempted to do in their attacks against Nancy Pelosi), they need to REAFFIRM their commitment to guaranteeing the rights of ALL races EQUALLY, they need to NOT attempt to take away private health care, to NOT open the borders to any and all, and they need to stay away from the subject of slave reparations. MOST IMPORTANTLY, they need to repeat how many times Republicans and Trump tried to take away universal health care under Obamacare and cancel coverage for pre-existing conditions and remind voters that this was saved by ONE VOTE (John McCain) and that every vote for a Republican puts at risk the right of everyone to have access to affordable and "on demand" health care. THAT is the basic strategy and for good measure, they can talk about the environment, minimum wages and so forth but they must stay focused on the main issues and stay progressive WITHOUT losing their minds and overreaching. Am I right, ladies and gentlemen?
4
I thought Mueller's testimony was pretty convincing. Impeachment is a moral imperative. To do less is to allow Trump's administration, how it got there, and all else it entails to stand as the new normal.
8
It's lamentable that what counts now is "electricity" - and not facts. Bob Mueller made the mistake of thinking that carefully presented facts would be met with a national response measured by the question of what is best for our country and future generations. Not the political and media circus that we're now observing.
Here's a fact that lacks "electricity" - Democrats need to stop chasing rainbows and sniping at one another and find a platform and a candidate that can bring the best of us together and beat Trump in November, 2020.
2
The likelihood that the Senate would convict is quite low, so the only thing to be gained is to hold hearings (like the Watergate hearings) so that more people get to understand that Donnie has been running a totally corrupt administration.
We need to get people registered, we need to get people educated, and we need to get out the vote.
We need to make sure that enough people are prepared to VOTE TRUMP OUT on November 3, 2020.
VOTE BLUE, NO MATTER WHO.
4
Remember all those times we didn't prosecute those criminals because their pre-trials weren't electrifying enough?
Me either.
6
Should have started impeachment INQUIRY months ago..much easier to get needed info from Trump administration.Do NOT go on vacay..remain in DC and burn the midnite oil and get INQUIRY
going.Individual 1 is already guilty of obstruction of justice and accepting help from Russia to get elected and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Then we have McConnell refusing to amp up security for our elections because "it's partisan"meaning w/o gerry- mandering and Russia's help the GOP will lose.What have we come to??
3
Two wasted years of hope in Mueller to save us from Trump! If I didn't know better, I would be prone to ascribe deliberacy to this long delay, during which Trump was almost entirely unchecked. He was able to hand billions to the already-rich, devastate the environment, attack our health care, make one disastrous appointment after another so as to wreck regulatory protections that took decades to get into place, institute cruel policies toward refugees and immigrants that have shocked the world, buddy up with every bully on the international stage, further the right-wing agenda to take our social security and medicare, etc. I wish Mueller had been our savior from all this, but very conveniently for the neo-fascists on the right who love Trump, he was not.
2
This is not a fair assessment. Trump is not less likely to be impeached as a result of Mueller's testimony.
Nancy Pelosi had already made it abundantly clear that she will not go after an impeachment....which is wrong.
Pelosi is wrong and the American people (and the world) deserve better.
He should be impeached.
The Mueller report made it abundantly clear exactly WHY he SHOULD be impeached.
There is a good segment by John Oliver on the question of impeachment and he comes firmly down to the side of impeachment.
John Oliver is right.
We should not allow a criminal President to proceed without impeachment.
This is a truly dark chapter in American history.
If we allow him to get away with all of his crimes, what can we expect from future Presidents?
7
I feel like my head is going to explode in frustration at this take. Especially it it's true.
It's saying that Dems will only pursue impeachment as a political move instead of because they are obligated to by the Constitution. The whole reason for impeachment is because POTUS is not fulfilling his Constitutional obligations.
Dems, do yours even if Justin Amash is your only claim at bipartisanship!
4
So sounds like old Robert Mueller isn't going to win this weeks rating sweep. He has about as much enthusiasm for this as you would expect from a 75 year old Republican watching the whole Party taken over by Trump. He's playing it down the middle and that's to be expected. Apparently form really is more important than fact these days and Trump is outperforming the Dems.
1
Short-Circuit? How does the "liberal" New York Times lead with a judgment like this? Yes, Mr. Mueller came off as a weary, even confused, and he lacked either personality, passion, or "electricity," but have we fallen so far that optics matter more the rule of law? Mr. Mueller said that Trump's actions were unpatriotic, unethical, and criminal, that he wasn't exonerated, that it's neither a witch hunt nor a hoax, that Trump committed obstruction of justice and other crimes, and that the Russians and other countries are already invading the so-called American elections in 2020, which it's clear Trump welcomes, also a crime.
An impeachment inquiry by the House is the right thing to do right right now. The Democrats could vote on some kind of Resolution of the House, without even sending it to the Senate. Put it in the record. We need this for history and the precedent it will set for future presidents, should we have any.
They must take a real stand before Barr's Republican Justice Department brings a real witch hunt to fruition. Actual charges will be brought against the government people who (rightly) started looking into this. Nancy Pelosi (whom I admire in many ways) is wrong not to begin a formal impeachment inquiry now, whether her caucus is there or not. Leaders need to lead. Why do the Dems continue to buy into Republican lies and spin; they need to stop bringing a feather in the wind to every Republican gunfight while the Republicans bring bazookas.
4
I'm baffled by the fixation on impeachment. The important goal is to get Trimp out of the White House. There are only three possible ways to do that: 25th Amendment, impeachment, or defeating him in the election. There is no chance of the VP and the cabinet using the 25th Amendment. Though the House could impeach Trump, the prospect of this Senate convicting him is almost as unlikely. That leaves defeating him in the election -- far from a sure thing, but the only realistic possibility -- as it has always been. That is where the attention should be.
Mr. Mueller told the Congress that his report spoke for itself and that any testimony from him would be redundant. He proved himself correct and consistent.
But the House Democrats are still looking for "cover" to impeach Mr. Trump; or are they merely lazy, cowardly, calculating or just confused
When a thing is right to do, it is wise to consult your reserve of discretion and measure the thing on the barometer of self-righteousness.
But the House Democrats have had Mr. Mueller's report for a long time and anyone who has read it, and I have, know that there are certainly grounds to commence impeachment proceedings.
You don't have to be a member of the "squad" to understand that Mr. Mueller's report was all that was needed to commence impeachment.
My party is looking to the elections. So am I. I hope Mr. Trump is soundly defeated. That would be the sweetest of victories, but to abdicate the responsibility of oversight is hypocritical at best and ineffective at worst.
1
Carl Hulse must have watched a different version of Robert Mueller's testimony and read a different version of his report. The version I watched made it quite clear that
1) impeachment is the way forward
2) there is ample evidence of obstruction of justice - numerous times
3) the only reason Trump is not in jail right now is the un-constitutional directive from Justice Dept that essentially claims the chief executive is above the law
Get off your perch, Pelosi, and do your job. Begin impeachment proceedings!
5
By failing to bring up impeachment now, Nancy Pelosi allows amplification of the narrative that Trump was proven innocent by the Mueller report. Even though Mueller himself said the very opposite.
Ms. Pelosi walks a tightrope. It's clear that most Americans reject the 'mainstream' of both parties. The Republicans, weakened by Bush II, were not able to hold their center. The Democrats are at risk of losing theirs.
The American people are fed up with the influence of money on our politics. I think by now the American people, save for a few 'deplorables,' are fed up with Trump as well. We want elected officials to represent us, not just the uber wealthy.
But both parties, particularly the mainstreams, are now addicted to corporate money. Nancy needs to defeat the fascist Trump but not run the money changers from the temple. That makes impeachment difficult.
The Times coverage of Muller's testimony was disappointing in their references to Muller's performance and in the following statement: "In the meantime, Mr. Mueller’s testimony did not provide an obvious galvanizing reason for the House to vote to open an impeachment inquiry." It seems that Times reporters do not recognize nobility of purpose when they see it. Muller was not bombastic in his approach in the hearings in the same way he was not bombastic in his approach to the two years of investigation. Instead, his actions were carefully constructed to avoid as much as possible a politically partisan reality television atmosphere. After three years of the media following Trump around with his bombastic approach, it was a real pleasure to witness nobleness of bearing and intent. How could a reporter write that Muller's testimony did not provide and obvious galvanizing reason for an impeachment inquiry. Is the reporter suggesting that there was no galvanizing reason because lying, trying to make money off an election, encouraging a foreign adversary to attack our elections, and other of Trump and his cohorts deeds are normal and not criminal behavior. If so, the reporter and the NYT have become part of encouraging, through their reporting, a disintegration of the noble purpose that Muller enacted through deed and practice; and ultimately the ongoing downfall of what has been called the greatest country.
2
An impeachment inquiry is what we need - going straight to a vote on impeachment itself would be a mistake.
1
A lack of "electricity" has nothing to do with impeachment! This is not a TV show with producers deciding if it merits a second season...
This is about high crimes and misdemeanors. The House must vote to impeach, otherwise it just tells Trump that he can get away with his crimes and act as if he's above the law.
If the House does not vote to impeach, another bad consequence is that it discourages people from voting at all when we need an overwhelming turn out in Nov 2020. I always vote but I suspect lots of people will think Why should I vote for the Democrats when they are so weak they didn't even vote to impeach?
4
This article highlights the major shortcoming of our current culture. We've moved from an agrarian economy to a manufacturing economy to a service economy and, now, an entertainment economy. An item's worth in our culture is now based primarily on it's entertainment value. And if it's not entertaining -- if there is no electricity in one's performance -- we have little use for it. Donald Trump understands that, and the NYT is moving closer to the same superficial value system.
I don't need the NYT or Carl Hulse to interpret Robert Mueller's "performance" for me. He did our country a great service and yesterday he told the nation our president is a liar. And no, that's not electrifying -- as Hulse would have liked -- it's chilling. If the Times or Hulse can't see that, then perhaps they would they have us think Brett Kavannaugh did the nation a great service with his "electrifying" performance at his confirmation hearings.
The NYT should have run this piece in the Arts section, along with all the other stories on the entertainment industry.
4
So in the USA, it is a moderate position to let a president who clearly had lied about treasonous events, obstructed justice, and all the other rigamarole, to get away without facing consequences?
So the Constitution doesn't matter anymore.
Moderates believe it is ok for them to ignore the law, the rules this country was founded upon.
How is that a moderate position?
To me it looks like the chickens are in full force and ultimately they will be treated as chickens are treated.
Maybe if those chicken Dems in so called purple states would do some leading, people might come around. If everyone is hiding out, then there is no one to lead this country in the right direction.
Impeach now.
Pelosi is looking for bipartisan support? That is a pile! She knows like everyone knows that will never happen. It is an excuse. The GOP has obstructed their way this whole time and continues to make bullying lying statements and the Dems never grab hold of the narrative.
Even the NYT is delivering a pile in setting the expectation of some kind of revelation everyone knew wasn't coming and pretending that was a requirement for changing course on impeachment proceedings. It is nauseating to read. Characterizing the Mueller testimony as tepid was a pile. It was powerful stuff if you paying attention and weren't looking for a remake of "Jaws".
NYT, I wonder about the integrity of your reporting.
3
Robert Mueller reflects the ethics of an earlier time. He did the job he was asked to do and did not want to become the third ring in the Congressional and Presidential circuses. He wanted his report and the facts to stand on their own. The basic findings were:
1. that the Russians did attempt to interfere and influence the 2016 election, with the intention of favoring the Trump campaign over the Clinton campaign.
2. that the Trump campaign did not instigate, solicit or conspire to produce the Russian interference, but they did welcome it and utilize it while also denying it, did not identify it as criminal. and did not report it as such.
3. that President Trump did attempt to obstruct the investigation by repeatedly trying to have Mueller fired, by demanding that Attorney General Sessions assert himself to intervene on his behalf (after Sessions had appropriately recused himself as a member of the campaign), and by urging subpoenaed staff to lie on his behalf. But Mueller also stopped short of a determination of criminality on the part of Trump, as this is a power given to Congress in the Constitution, or for later adjudication after Trump leaves office.
These are the results of a fair and just process by a fair and just man, who wants his work to stand on its own merits. I applaud him as an example of what is truly great about America.
12
"that President Trump did attempt to obstruct the investigation by repeatedly trying to have Mueller fired, by demanding that Attorney General Sessions assert himself to intervene on his behalf (after Sessions had appropriately recused himself as a member of the campaign),"
The Constitution Trumps any law Congress makes. The Constitution gives the President the executive authority which includes firing. How can a law of Congress make firing Mueller a crime when the Constitution explicitly gives him the executive authority.
The aggregate investigation has many ethical / legal issues itself and seem to be an attempt to overturn Trumps election or impede his ability to lead. Knowing he was innocent of any Crime regarding conspiracy with Russia over the election I would hope he would have Mueller fired because he distracted the President from what he was elected to do.
In the end not one Compaign member was convicted of conspiracy with the Russians to fix the election which I believe was the excuse to open this damaging investigation. Instead many crimes were process crimes not in line with the purpose of the investigation, by crimes created as a result of the investigation.
My hope is transparency will continue to be brought to the investigation and crimes related to the FISA court and lying to the FBI to damage the administration will be prosecuted when found and the guilty face jail time.
1
@John
The President has the power to appoint members of the Justice department. The Justice department has the power to appoint special prosecutors. A President does not have the power to replace the special prosecutor. This is why Sessions appropriately refused the request, he was following the law and the Constitution.
Nixon tried to do the same thing with the Watergate special prosecutor, it led to his resignation. But that was in a time of stronger ethics and higher expectations of our leaders.
The report was clear that there was no conspiracy, a prerequisite of that is prior agreement to act in concert. But the help offered by the Russians was accepted and utilized in the campaign, so the effects are similar. Even worse, while the aid was accepted it was simultaneously denied by the campaign, which was a lie. The proper course of action was for the campaign to reject that help and report it to the FBI as a breach of election law and a threat to the integrity of our government. That did not happen, and Mueller was empowered and correct to investigate that and report his findings.
"The President has the power to appoint members of the Justice department. The Justice department has the power to appoint special prosecutors. A President does not have the power to replace the special prosecutor. "
By statue which is subordinate to the Constitution? The law of the land includes only laws pursuant to the Constitution.
From Constitution:
"2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land;"
Trump did not try to fire him directly according to you post. On that basis he could order a subordinate to fire him and replace the subordinate (like Jeff Sessions). Fortunately we have a fully functional (not recussed) A. G.
It sounds like Dems were hoping Mueller would do their jobs for them and come right out and say that Trump should be impeached. Sure, they got him to lay out a laundry list of corruption, lies, and obstruction, but we already knew all of that. The question is: why have Dems failed to do anything about it? They waxed on and on about Trump's lack of ethics and disloyalty to country, as if they've been powerless to do anything about it. They're not! They can be far more aggressive in their oversight efforts and they can move to impeach. It doesn't matter that the Senate won't go along with impeachment. It is symbolic and, more importantly, it is their constitutional duty. Trump has violated his oath of office and Democrats Congress must do their jobs and hold him accountable. Leave concerns about the "optics" to the clueless pundits on the teevee.
4
Your title should read: "Media determing that Mueller was Boring Short-Circuits Impeachment."
The Russians are continuing to interfere in our elections. The President obstructed justice and would have been charged if he weren't in office. Mueller said so in his report and he said so yesterday.
There is a factual right and wrong here being buried under the daily scorekeeping we're seeing in the media. Please, stop covering this as a horse race. Please stop trying to be fair to all sides.
20
I am so disappointed in the press coverage of Mueller’s testimony. I don’t care what pundits or experts think, I care that the news reports his testimony to the public about what’s in the report and his warnings to us. The headlines are terrible way to inform anyone who has not read the report what is in it. They have been terrible ever since Barr’s press conference before its release.
10
Instead of calling Mueller's testimony un-electrifying, not dramatic enough is showing a very smart, intelligent and diligent prosecutor a total lack of respect. He has laid out the facts. Now it is Congress's turn to act on evidence laid out. Blaming Mueller is killing the messenger.
6
Impeachment on these facts (tor threatening to fire a person you have the authority to fire, however unwise) would amount to an attempted coup to overturn an election result liberals never liked.
5
@Conservative Democrat
To subvert an investigation into his own wrongdoing. He knew all the bad acts that would turn up so he asked people to fire the special council. Getting rid of the independent council and going with a special prosecutor kind of indicates that the subject shouldn't fire council without cause.
2
Should an impeachment be based on fact or drama?!?
10
@Jim
Considering all of Donald Trump's time in office has been marked by drama and a lack of facts, it's hard to tell.
Trump is playing chess. The Dems are trying to understand the rules of tic-tac-toe.
2
@gratis : Trumps idea of plying chess is making up his own rules as he goes along and changing the rules when ever he pleases. I think he also has a joker or two up his sleeve he thinks he can slip into a chess game.
4
Mueller did not “perform” as Democrats hoped...but he did respond as promised
Nevertheless the facts he investigated and uncovered remain unchanged. It is and always was the imperator the Democrats to prove to their colleagues and the American people that Trump’s reign of error must be brought to an end.
It is up to the House Democrats to proceed...Mueller ‘s testimony was not entertaining...but he provided a detailed report for the Democrats to follow through on.
2
Quoting: ““This should be the end of the chapter of this book that we put America through,” said Representative Kevin McCarthy.” Actually, Kevin McCarthy what you are referring to is as a drop in the ocean of suffering that you and enablers like you for Trump have put this country through. I trust that someday history books will mention Trump and the Republicans as having dragged the whole country through the mud just so that Republicans of your stripe can claim that you stood proud in your loyalty to the Party and Trump placing it above the well-being of the country itself. Shameful as that is, I’m afraid that you and your kind are too far gone to take note of anything beyond narrow partisan concerns.
4
The House committees need to call Mueller's staff. The longer the cancer of trumpism continues, the worse this country will be, and the harder it will be to restore some semblance of democracy and civility. Evidence of impeachable offenses is there. It must be presented over and over like slaps across the faces of Republicans until it can finally be affected. If they get Bill Clinton for consexual sex, why can't they get Trump for likely treasonous behavior?
2
In the face of all the additional evidence that will be uncovered in an impeachment inquiry, the impeachment process will, by rights, have to begin.
So,.. what if the thief McConnell refuses to act on the evidence and leaves the criminal in office?
This should be added to every other obstruction McConnell has hurt the country with.
During election time, list his trashing of what is good for the country, including his refusal to protect our Nation from Russian meddling.
Refusing to protect us from an enemy should land him in prison, as a traitor, in league with that enemy.
BTW, what is the penalty for being a traitor?
2
Poor hapless Dems. All the evidence, all the issues, all the real world facts on their side, and they just haplessly flail away. They keep on expecting their same failed strategy to pay off, just a little while from now.
I will never vote GOP. They offer nothing I want or need. But the Dems just want to make me cry.
6
Well that's just your opinion man. I disagree. Plenty of meat for Democrats to sink their teeth into and I expect they will. When they get his tax returns it will hit the proverbial fan. But you go ahead and place some money on that in Las Vegas. I'll put my faith in Nancy.
6
You know when I watched the hearings, I felt so sorry for Mueller. He was clearly no longer as sharp as he once was and at time I kept wondering if we seeing a great public servant who is suffering from the start of Senile Dementia or even worse Alzheimer. It was cruel of the Dems to force this man to testify.
1
I wish I could inhabit the minds of McConnell, Nunez, Collins, Graham, etc. for just a few hours. I find it difficult to believe that these men are simply stupid and blind to what Trump has done (okay, maybe Nunez is). They have clearly circled the wagons to protect their party above all. Do they believe they can simply manage Trump well enough to minimize any long term consequences? There must be some kind of strategy they have in mind for dealing with him and the damage he is causing longer term, right? Who knows, with just a little time to observe the inner workings of their brains, I might find myself comforted that this disastrous presidency will not end the American experiment... or I might emerge even more terrified that it will.
1
The House can proceed with impeachment hearings but we all know the Senate will not lift a finger. Democrats need to focus on removing Trump the hard way: November 2020.
3
The Dems might have had much more success in boxing in Trump if they had actually come out with specific acts rather than generalities. For example just what did Trump actually do to collude with the Russians? How exactly did the Russians affect the presidential election and what what were the quantifiable results? Obstruct justice? How? The American people are able to comprehend the specifics but that's not how it was presented. And expecting them to read through some 400 odd pages to find out is out of the question. The Dems painted a picture about Trump's alleged crimes with broad brush strokes but exceedingly little detail. Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff made big statements regarding how they had the goods on Trump but they never delivered. But Trump's still guilty, of something, right? One thing is certain, the Democrats have wasted a lot of legislative time and taxpayer money for this crusade and all its bought them is embarassment and strengthened Trumps hand.
4
Read the Mueller report. It’s all there. You’re just exposing yourself as someone who truly has no idea of what they’re talking about.
@Renee
So if it's all there Renee why aren't the Dems celebrating?
A superficial analysis.
If the Mueller Report didn’t persuade Republicans that the man occupying the WH is a national security risk, Mueller’s testimony was not going to move the needle.
I’ve yet to see an analysis taking the Republicans to task for acting more like they were auditioning for Conspiracy Times or Fox News than asking Mueller intelligent questions.
6
Well, just because a bill to impeach based on the "send them back" comments failed doesn't mean that Democrats as a party are unwilling to tackle the issue.
Still, it begs the question: if a dishonest, self-serving, arguably treasonous lech like Donald Trump isn't worthy of an impeachment vote, who is?
Pelosi, et al, might be playing it safe, but it's not a good look.
1
The impeachment train has already left the station, and with it the likelihood of 5 more years of Trumpism. If Trump has been consorting with at least one of our most formidable sworn enemies and this can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then that must surely be ruled as a high crime and called for what it truly is: Treason. If not, then what is it called? And when Republicans have proven themselves to be complicit and complacent in enabling this illegal and immoral behavior, then there must be a much wider net of corruption, collusion and obstruction that continues to take place and spread through our land which, if not stopped,
will result in this country's democracy becoming a fascist nation.
Without prominent current and former leaders of both parties decrying this destruction by speaking truth to power, America will
self destruct much sooner rather than later.
We all must wake up to this deadly alarm while we still can.
1
I disagree strongly with the conclusion of this article. An impeachment inquiry such be highly probable. Why? It was very clear that Mueller did not exonerate Trump on the obstruction charge, as he did on the collusion charge, because there was lots of evidence that he did obstruct justice. However, he could not indict or even consider whether Trump was guilty because of the standing Justice Department opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted. That leaves the matter squarely in the hands of Congress which now has the duty to examine whether Trump obstructed justice and thus committed an impeachable offense.
The only way to do that effectively is to start an impeachment inquiry.
3
Lack of electricity? Is that really what the Democrats were banking on from Robert Mueller? Electrically charged and dynamic testimony?
That he would, single-handedly, put the impeachment train back on its track, make it apparent to the entire nation the breadth and scope of what his report revealed, and make Donald Trump cower in the corner of the oval office, (which has no corners)?
Time to reassess the political battle plan don’t you think? Any choice will do considering the Dems just delivered a huge political gift to Donald Trump.
2
I’m against impeachment because it will neither remove nor ‘expose’ Trump. We know what he is; some care, some don’t. It will not be a statement of ‘idealism’. The sycophant repub senate will never Impeach. Process will be a vehicle for the bufoon to puff up his chest; interview after the hearing is a preview.
Schiff & Nadler successfully presented specific accusations which Mueller could respond to & agree with. They were numerous and damming.
The dems should propose specific, workable legislation for our many problems. Immigration - environment - economy - underemployment - Propose a visionary program for the future. Accuse the slaves of big oil, less regulation, tax breaks of pushing a quick fix at the expense of the future - call it cowardly complacency. Propose awesome legislation packed with facts & vision. Force the republicans to defeat it. Inform the public on a day to day level.
Republican hypocrisy is not new; under Obama their silence in the face of blatant tea party lies and racism. During their primary more cowardly silence in response to Trump’s statements and behavior.
Dems; be passionate & energetic, no matter who the nominee is. Accuse Trump and the repubs. Let them wither on the defensive.
Remember; Trump is desperate to be re elected, but not for any ‘grand plan’. Because of the numerous fed, state, local charges which will bury him when he becomes a private citizen.
I can’t wait. I am not alone.
2
This article states the following:
"Mr. Mueller also made it clear in his bare-bones testimony that Mr. Trump had been “generally” untruthful with him and had committed other acts that no doubt would have led to congressional action against other presidents."
Please - NYTimes or it's readers - tell us where or when Mr. Mueller said President Trump "committed other acts that no doubt would have led to congressional action against other presidents."
1
This article/headline exemplifies how the media is responsible for the decline of this country. How dare you decide for us? How dare you tell us we should not expect impeachment. How dare you be the dictator of opinion and propriety? How dare you reinforce/prove to people that nothing matters; that doing the right thing doesn't matter, that just because it wasn't "electric" Congress's responsibility goes away? How dare you keep making it partisan when it is really about the country and its institutions?
The media, including the NYT, brought us trumpism and you are responsible for keeping it alive. The media, hammered away telling people to expect some sort of bombshell when actually most people did not. You built it up and imbued him with some super powers. WE did not necessarily expect that. But now you tell us we are and congress should give up?
ALL we wanted was the truth and to expose what's in the report. The well-orchestrated Dem questions did just that. The GOP questions were disputed. disagreed with or didn't warrant a response.
Congress must impeach if there is any hope of the Dems winning in 2020. Moreover, to save the democracy. He gets away with it now, it increases manifold in 2020 as Mueller said. No one can beat a cheater, law-breaker, someone with no moral conscience unless that person is thrown out of the game or exposed in a big way. Congress needs to do its job and show they are an equal power or we they have licensed dictatorship.
2
I feel bad saying this, but it was hard not to see Mueller as pitiful up there. He seemed lost, confused, and completely ill-equipped to stand up to even the most inane Republican aggression. It is impossible not to wonder if his mind is slipping. And given this, it is also impossible not to wonder if his appointment was not more calculated than it appeared.
What could Mueller have done to give a headline saying things had changed for the better? Nothing. Just cover the news, and don't make our conclusions for us.
4
I am not satisfied with this coverage at all. Give me opinion on the editorial page please. I watched the hearings and gleaned that: The Russians interfered with our elections; Trump's staff or agents worked with the Russians in an attempt to get "dirt" on Hillary; The President and his staff interfered with the investigation; 4) Trump was not exonerated; Were he not President, Trump would have been charged; He could still be charged once he leaves office; Rep. Collins tried to get Mueller to agree that "collusion and conspiracy are similar" means "collusion and conspiracy are the same thing" which is different; Mueller was asked to go "off the report" by Republicans knowing he could not; The Press wants instant gratification and a gotcha moment or it's a failure; and many of our own Citizens have sold out there own country out of ignorance or spite against the Democrats. NY Times don't go Chuck Todd on me. I can get that on some cheap free website.
3
Why can't the Democrats think strategically? Impeachment is, if not anything else, a political move that takes popular support. The Dems went backwards yesterday, to the back of the room with a failing grade, because in their arrogance they were only seeing glory and not planning for Muller being the reluctant witness he was. I am blown away by the simplicity of the Democrats collective minds.
1
Most bothersome and disturbing to me is how the Republicans are viewing Trump and his dictatorial tendencies as "normal" and "acceptable". His actions should be objected to regardless of party, and any Republican who views his conduct as acceptable deserves to be removed from office also.
McCarthy, McConnell, Collins, and so many others are sickening in their excusing his anti-democratic conduct. This isn't party politics folks. This is the heart of American Democracy and the Republicans have repeatedly showed that they will excuse anything to hold onto power.
1
Oh, no, it wasn't Mueller. It was Seniority killed the Hearings.
Committee Chairs need looks or personality.
Democrats pick Chairs on Seniority and this batch is mediocre at best.
Look at Nancy - her face says its all.
A bitter disappointment for the Democrats - a win for Trump
In her defense, she knew it, but she had to accommodate her left wing
5
@Colonia
This fever did not start with her left wing.
It was the centrist Hillary supporters who were dumbfounded that she lost - and concluded that the only rational explanations were Russian help and Comey knifing her.
3
Mueller didn’t want to testify, for good reason. He had done his work already. As a prosecutor, he had to ensure he stayed detached from the political process, presenting his findings in a manner that did not make it appear he was choosing a side or advancing an agenda. One slip of the tongue could be used to undermine his team’s work.
In the long view, the verdict of history depends most of all on Mueller being seen as nonpartisan, measured and above the fray—an operator whose work is unimpeachable and can be relied on (now, or after Trump’s term, or years from now) as a bulletproof statement of fact. So all the little details of the case that members were trying to ferret out pale in comparison to his ability to maintain that status and be seen as a reliable agent of impartiality. During the hearing, that was clearly his goal. In doing that, he succeeded, and history can thank him for it.
It was clear from the start he knew Democrats wanted to use him as a prop to bring the findings of his report to life as part of a push for an impeachment inquiry. Mueller went out of his way to avoid regurgitating the contents of the report, wary of creating sound bites that could be used to suggest he supported impeachment. He swatted away Republican attempts to elicit answers about the origins of his probe as readily as he ignored Democratic attempts to get him to make their case against Trump.
3
In our lawyer friendly household, this was riveting testimony. Not always easy for the lay person to follow, but that's why we have the media, to explain difficult concepts, put them in some sort of context--does this President deserve your vote?. I am astonished at the use of the word "optics" as though Mueller's purpose was to somehow gin up support for impeachment. Mueller is a prosecutor. He believes his legacy is his written word or that of his staff. I found the media coverage of an important day in American History lacking. The new fashion among various media outlets: 7 things we learned etc. does not do justice to what was said as well as the important fact that there are still on-going investigations--"currently" as Mueller put it. The high-fives at the White House and the banners at Fox News are premature.
6
I disagree. Republicans have their tyrant king. Why shouldn’t they celebrate? It means everyone else will face extreme suffering if he gains a second term.
1
Impeachment really doesn't solve anything for Democrats. Even if they could get Trump removed, he would just be replaced by Mike Pence, who would have a much easier time getting elected in his own right. Building a case for the 2020 elections is much better, because there is the possibility of winning the White House outright. The only reason to consider impeachment at this point would be to get around the "non-legislative purpose" argument the White House is making. However, that is premature at this point; the argument hasn't been tested in court. Pelosi is pursuing the best strategy available.
1
Meuller's testimony did two things:
It demanded that people read the report. Some have. But, to be the most telling exchange was the following. One Senator asked why he didn't demand an interview from Trimp by subpoena. Mueller argued that it would have taken time, and that it would actively impede progress, and harm those "under a cloud." The Senator asked, well then there must be three reasons for not dragging Trimp before a grand jury. 1) There was nothing there. 2) Meuller flinched. 3) He had what he needed.
The report does indicate that an investigation was warranted, and that the SC had legal authority. He said he hoped he hadn't flinched. So that leaves us with #3.
The data is there. Just connect the dots.
Amazingly, Trimp supporters state here and otherwise that there's nothing there. Mueller clearly stated that the report speaks for itself.
Mueller correctly understood that impeachment is not about criminality, but just removal from office. As such, it is 100% a political event. If impeachment were successful, then there would have to be a trial. In the Senate. Trimp would never resign, and would force it to trial.
Mueller understood that you cannot speak direct words to these people. To get it on the record, you must stack it up, and let the political process do its job. The politics are not favorable for the political action of impeachment.
Trimp and his supporters are correct: impeachment equals re-election.
So Chill Out.
1
Why blame Mueller? It was a near certainty that virtually nothing beyond his redacted report would be testified to by Mueller. Mueller assured that by getting "advice" from the DOJ as to the parameters of what Mueller was "permitted" to address.
The Dems were forewarned & yet proceeded to waste their shot to advance impeachment because it was just so important that each got a chance to have a viral moment. The Dems even knew far in advance what the Rs talking points would be & not a single Dem used their time to counter those talking points which would have been a better use of time then repeating the same questions ad nauseum to get the same unchanging answer
But whoever could expect Dems to work together & coordinate their questioning & countering of the Rs? But that would mean loss of a chance to maybe become a star.
Mueller could have been asked why Mueller simply didn't subpoena Trump & then negotiate terms if Trump wanted to agree to an interview; that way the court battle would have been over before there was pressure to complete the report. The Dems could have pushed back on the claim of "angry" Democratic prosecutors but didn't
I believe the "lack of electricity" is due to too many of the Dems seeking to become reality TV stars. Just compare the performance of Rep Nadler who very effectively asked questions that elicited one word or short answers that were designed to make his points with some of the others who proceeded knowing Mueller wouldn't answer
The problem with Robert Mueller's testimony yesterday was not lack of electricity. The problem was that he seemed confused and uncertain, and had difficulty speaking. His answers sometimes seemed non-responsive and contradictory. In a courtroom I would have questioned his competence to testify. It was that bad.
4
Don’t you get it? Russian interference in the 2016 election is a “hoax” — just like climate change. A mere 108 degrees today in Paris.
8
Elizabeth Warren before any candidate warned us that "the system is rigged" and unless we fix it we will lose our democracy. The GOP's misinformation and falsehoods to protect their president from paying for his crimes is a classical example. So is their intentions to allow election interference from our enemies in order to win elections as they did with their current fascist fraud president.
We must follow our latest political messiah to make our government for and by the people as opposed to for and by the GOP plutocrats. Politicians who speak truth to our plutocracy is not easily succumbed to them.
3
President Abraham Lincoln once spoke about slavery and the slave trade to abolish it. "We must prevent these things being done, by either congresses or courts — The people — the people — are the rightful masters of both Congresses, and courts — not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it —” [Library of Congress, Lincoln Notes]
As he faced a Constitutional Crisis of the South seceding from the Union, Lincoln met the challenge to preserve the Union and our democracy.
Today, the United States faces a Constitutional Crisis. Yesterday, Robert Mueller III testified under penalty of perjury the United States of America was and has been under attack by the Russian Federation on our elections from 2015 to the present. Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans are no different than the Southern Democrats who attempted to secede from the Union. They ignore it, welcome it and trivialize it. "I love Wikileaks...."
The challenge today is whether men and women of good faith in our democracy in our House of Representatives will preserve our Union, or allow treason to continue into the elections of 2020. Impeachment now is a necessity, not an after thought.
2
There never was going to be impeachment. There never was a scintilla of evidence for Trump impeachment.
The only evidence adduced was the fact that this whole thing was a deep state attempted coup orchestrated by the Clintons, Team Obama, the DNC and their deep state cronies like Comey, Brennan and Clapper.
They all tried illegally ousting a duly-elected President. Now the conspirators need to be brought to justice.
4
I think I’ll wait for the completion of the FOURTEEN criminal investigations Mueller referred to different jurisdictions because “they were not within the purview” of his investigation.
1
I’m sure they will make something up that benefits them. Honesty isn’t a strong suit with people like yourself.
1
Not a defining moment? What did they expect? Robert DeNiro as Mueller letting 'em have it? More than enough was said to start impeachment proceedings! Ridiculous! With this logic, not only will Trump get away with everything, he'll also be re-elected, thanks to the spinelessness of the Democrats.
1
Can anyone imagine what the Founders would say about the racist Trump, the scared Dems, and the evil GOP that allows Trump to exist? It is the House's responsibility to impeach Trump, but either due to idiocy, sheer selfishness or both, Trump will not be impeached. This may or may not be good for 2020, but one thing I know for sure is that I do not understand most politicians and their lack of morals. The Clinton scandal seemed bad in the late 1990s. Our lack of morals as a society today makes the Clinton scandal seem like an episode of Bubble Guppies.
2
@Anthony
I think the Founding Fathers would cry at the corruption of the GOP and the cowardice of the Dems. And worse, how their Constitution has been trashed for corporate profits.
1
@gratis
The people who had slaves, made millions for generations off their subjugation and the subjugation of women didn't care about corporate profits above all else? Ha!
Yes, the very people who enacted laws that made corporations unaccountable would "cry" at the Constitution being trashed for corporate profits. Sure.
1
As a Democratic voter, I think the more focus there is on impeachment, the more Republicans can sell voters the argument that Democrats are concerned mostly with getting Trump out of office rather than governing for the common, American good. The Democrats should use what’s left of Trump’s term to reiterate his failures while showing they can govern instead of giving folks on the fence about Trump’s behavior the impression that the Dems can’t focus on the issues that impact Americans. Let Donald Trump self-destruct in the meantime, and hone in on depicting him as the indictable, co-conspirator that he will be as soon as he is voted out of office.
1
I'm so heartened, having heard it would be quite possible that, if he loses the 2020 election, Trump could be indicted, tried and imprisoned for obstruction of justice, among other charges.
Wow. With that on the line, the voter turnout rate for Democrats and independents could set records.
4
I am mystified as to how so many news outlets are saying Democrats lost ground or that Trump gained anything. To quote Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post today: "[Mueller] confirmed that President Trump accepted help from a hostile foreign power and lied about it, that he lied when he claimed exoneration, that he was not completely truthful in written answers, that he could be prosecuted after leaving office and that he misled Americans by calling the investigation a hoax."
People who didn't know there was anything negative in the Mueller report now know that our election was compromised (and that the Republicans don't want to do anything about it!), and Trump committed multiple acts of obstruction that Mueller said would have gotten any other human being charged with a crime.
And Trump's still calling it fake news. Amazing. And hurling insults and calling news people liars for saying what happened at the hearings.
If Mueller had hemmed and hawed less, would pundits be saying it was such a failure?
5
@outraged reader
Yes, because Trump's approval ratings have only gone up since this whole circus started.
In surveys where people are asked about priorities, practically nobody names the Mueller report/impeachment.
Those are not the markers of a successful campaign.
1
@Viv
Trump is still under 50% and he hasn’t breached his high of 46% approval. 51% disapprove.
Biden is beating him in polls. But Sanders and Warren are only a percent behind Trump.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/25/biden-trump-2020-election-ohio-poll-1433607
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
There are two core issues as I see it.
1. Impeachment will not prevail in a Senate trial. The voting public gets annoyed with this waste of time, tax dollars and resources.
2. Impeachment will weaken if not eliminate the ability to prosecute either Trump or close associates after he is no longer a sitting president.
Therefore, the focus needs to be on the appalling record the GOP and president have thus far like taxing the poor and middle class to feed the rich. There also needs to be a massive push to get the vote out.
1
It was not a “performance.” It was serious testimony by a thoughtful person who was trying to avoid making misstatements or letting misinterpretations stand. It was not a performance.
3
Listen! Regardless if Mueller had been as monotone as Ferris Bueller's teacher, Mueller did his job before these hearings. He presented an extremely detailed analysis of potential crimes which were damaging against Trump. While not being charged, Trump was certainly not exonerated.
However, the Democrats squandered any opportunity because of a lack of focus and strategy. They deserve any fallout as a result. I only hope and pray that a potential 2020 Democratic candidate can get them the party back in the running to take over the White House!
1
Subpoenaing Mueller and forcing him to testify had very little to do with his report
Mueller's testimony is just one part of the circus the Dems are running in their (what will be) failed efforts to win in 2020.
Make no mistake..for the Dems - it's ALL about the elections and not about "constitutional justice" or any other higher cause..
The nation does not need "electricity" to crawl out of the ditch in which we find ourselves. The nation needs a spine.
The path forward as been adequately described by me and by others more eloquent. We know this senate will never vote an impeachment conviction. Notwithstanding, the impeachment process takes several steps. The process itself, stopping short of a referral to the Senate, will do all the damage necessary to the GOP's presidential and congressional campaigns.
There is ample evidence that the Trump campaign engaged in a (wink-wink) conspiracy to undermine the 2016 presidential election. There is more than adequate evidence that the Trump administration made and continues a full-press effort to obstruct justice. There is no question but that defensive measures to fend off Russian and other foreign assaults on our electoral processes are being bottle-necked in the Senate.
These facts, accompanied by a half-competent media messaging effort regarding legislation passed by the House and blocked in the Senate, will at least compete for the news cycle. A bit of editorial discretion on the part of "legitimate" media would help, of course.
I have urged support for the Speaker up to this point but my patience is at an end. The "Art of Practical Politics" demands that Dems go on offense to affect how Americans see the scandal in the WH!
We will not survive 4 more years of Trumpism.
2
@Patrick Borunda
The problem is we have a media that plays the middle and calls it even. It doesn’t help that the other half out right lies in order to attack our society and force their agenda down our throats and the worlds.
1
There is clear evidence that Trump committed multiple crimes. Where is the rule of law? This is about more than politics.
4
There's no way that Trump could ever get to 350 electoral votes in 2020 on his own...
But, with these kinds of enemies - who needs friends...
4
So when, if ever does the US impeach? That should be the next NYT op ed.
The GOP has pulled the center of our politics way to the Right. They will tolerate and rationalize anything Trump does.
Meanwhile, the Dems are afraid of the 'moderates and independents' for 2020, if they even start an impeachment inquiry to fully air the issues, to protect the country from an exploitive autocrat.
So, the face that the so called 'moderates' are in effect REGULATING the Democratic party. But the right wing has been setting norms, with the aid of GOP state media FOX News across the country. They’ve been regulating the Dem moderates, preventing them from moving 'left'. They define the limits of policy.
Moderates as they're called, have been conditioned over time by the GOP rw to see progressives as left wing radicals.
Even progressives who just want health care for all--(pretty please, can't we have it in 2020, like other countries??) are labeled extremists. The media goes along, also scared to be slapped with the 'radical' label,
So, the rw is in effect 'regulating' our govt. They have defined what is the center of our politics. We are stuck and can't redress our grievances, or move forward.
The next lurking swamp creature watches this and will eventually come to the surface. He/she will manipulate the public to take power, to exploit, and disregard our rule of law. What will be the mechanisms to protect our democracy?
1
Are you kidding? I watched the hearings in their entirety - I am simply a citizen not a pundit or a politician and I do not need “ electrifying comments” to understand the undeniable fact, as presented by Mr. Mueller’s report and testimony, that the current occupant of the White House committed and/or attempted to commit obstruction of justice - a crime. Mr. Trump must be held accountable for his actions, as anyone else in this country would. It is infuriating that political calculations, electrifying comments, the search for the perfect sound bite enter into this discussion at all. Congress (and I address this to Democrats - we know that Republicans will not) - do your job! Many of us do not care about the “political fallout.” We want to believe our elected officials actually can tell the basic difference right and wrong and more importantly, care enough to pursue the ethical choice, regardless of extenuating consequences.
3
You don't impeach Trump because you think it will be popular. You do it because he broke the law, egregiously and repeatedly. If it negatively affects the Democrats in the next election, you have your integrity. If you don't impeach him because you're afraid it will hurt election chances, you've already lost.
1
The media should be asking Republicans why they are not impeaching a president who is accused by his own investigator, hand picked by his appointee, and accused of the high crime of obstruction of justice.
Someone ask that master of misinformation McConnell doesn't it disturb him that we have a President who sees nothing wrong with cosying up to Russia? Then ask him about cosying up to China, because he doesn't want to hear that, for sure. He'll shut up and walk away, before he tries to devise a way to hurt you politically, with plausible denial.
And what's with all these indignant republicans? Some of they were asking "questions" as if they were angry at a three year old child, as if THEY had been somehow wronged. Like their heads were going to pop.
Can the media please stop with their impeachment obsession? Just stop asking the questions. It's easy. If and when it's a real thing, report it. Meanwhile, report on the bills the House has passed that Mitch McConnell throws in his trash can. Like the election security bill he just tossed. Imagine that on the same day Robert Mueller warned about continuing Russian election sabotage! And how about that $15 minimum wage bill he trashed last week? Thanks to Senate Republicans, our constitutional democracy is being subverted right under our noses. Get obsessed with that.
15
Please everyone!! Listen to Pelosi, not the Squad, especially my Congresswoman who is extremely enjoying her day in the limelight. We have to be strategic, not focused on soundbites or headlines that separate us. We have to get rid of the cancer we have in the Executive Branch.
3
Pelosi is right. Concentrate on uniting under the strongest candidate to beat Trump and serve him with criminal indictment papers after 12 noon on 1/20/20. Mueller said as much.
1
@Philip W. Obama left office in January ‘17.
4
@Philip W
Listening to Pelosi is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Pelosi should have held the GOP accountable for the Great Recession, and investigated Bush's rush to the useless MId-East wars. She did not. She will not impeach regardless of anything.
I am a 68 yo man and totally for the Squad. Moderates have nothing to offer me or my kids.
1
This is all built on a ridiculously false premise: that Trump will be able to claim vindication because the Senate will fail to convict. The truth is Trump will claim victory if the Democrats fail to pursue impeachment. He will simply say they had nothing and might convince more people that this is true, which will only strengthen him. His crimes must be made a matter of record. The Dems look like a bunch of calculating cowards and I fear that will cost them the election in the end.
4
@theresa
I'm afraid I have to agree with you. Teflon Don skates again.
Mueller was the effective, dispassionate expert required for the situation and he was on point throughout, representing his teams work. That, despite the pip-squeak JAG guy, the dependably odd and off-task nunes and other peanut gallery players. All those critiquing Dir. Mueller's so-called "performance" (gee, I thought it was testimony?) ought try it one day. Get questions flung at you without citations, mostly, so you have to ask and then flip to the page to be accurate. Figure out which direction the question is coming from and decipher the rapid fire, often unintelligible, words while trying not to use too much of asker's precious time. Oh, and trying not to color outside the lines ag barr made up. Bravo, now Dir. Mueller has exceeded his civic duty, delivering unflinching exemplary service to his country - and all of us, even those with no respect for the law. Let's hope he never looks back.
2
In my humble opinion, any impeachment without the chance of removal from office is a complete waste of time.
6
@Antoine
IMHO, the Dems should do the right thing. That is to impeach. Do the right thing, regardless of the outcome. Courage of one's convictions.
@Antoine
Maybe, but with McConnell running the Senate absolutely nothing is going to happen legislatively. They literally have little else to do.
Doing so will disenfranchise independent voters, and it absolutely will fail in the Senate and the Democrats will lose the election. Period.
For the life of me I can not see the value of this impeachment thing if it means giving trump 4 more years.
Mueller confirmed that Trump's written answers, which were under oath, were not true.
Lying under oath, you will recall, was the basis of the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
Trump's lawyers are now claiming that Mueller didn't say what we all heard him say.
Of course it's an impeachable offense. It's a crime and it violates the oath of office. Add it to the pile.
8
I don’t know why anyone is surprised about this. Robert Muller gave us plenty of warning that this hearing was not going to reveal anything new. I wish this could be a wake up call for the Democrats to just shut up and listen to Nancy Pelosi.
6
I made a comment earlier today on the "Lack of Electricity" headline and story and the Times refused to run it. As a subscriber, I find that offensive, as I do horse-race journalism.
The coverage of Mueller's testimony by the Times' writers was superficial at best. The interference in our election by Russia and the encouragement by the Trump campaign should be disturbing to every American, and not be dismissed for lack of theater or held to a reality-show standard.
6
One has to wonder which side the NY Times is actually on with this article. Trump needs to be impeached. Leadership (hello Nancy Pelosi) means you lead and use your bully pulpit to explain to and persuade the public why it is necessary to move forward. Trump is much less popular than Clinton was when he was impeached; she is looking at the wrong impeachment. Look to the impeachment of Nixon; Trump is so dangerous to our democracy and to the world at large, that he must be stopped and impeachment will be the tool.
4
"Lack of Electricity in Mueller Testimony Short-Circuits Impeachment"
Hurray for our criminal president! Impeachment, as an element in the Constitution, is nothing but a bad joke. The Democratic leadership clearly sees it as a bad joke. Trump and the Republicans in Congress see it as a bad joke. Now, if Trump had a sexual affair with an intern, would he be impeachable? Is impeachment all about sexual affairs with interns?
2
If Trump is to be impeached--More Squad-Less Pelosi. Pelosi is supremely competent, but as a white women has no clue what it's like to be on receiving end of racism. The Squad Knows. They know heightened misery, exponentially under Trump. Pelosi does not. This is War and it cannot wait........
4
It is painful to find such superficial opinions in the NYT. This obsession with the performance rather than the facts is deeply worrisome, and it may be the main reason that the democracy is so threatened. The facts speak for themselves and Mueller confirmed, clearly if not loudly, that Trump definitely obstructed justice.
Fortunately there are occasionally serious articles such as this one by Ms. Rubin in the WP, definitely worth reading
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/25/mueller-didnt-fail-country-did/?utm_term=.d36682045480
7
Which looks worse optically? Mueller's dry, but factual testimony, or Congress doing nothing about it and letting Trump continue to erode American democracy? Not everything is a Nixon vs. Kennedy event. Sometimes you just need to do the right thing and not care how you look. That's sometimes referred to as courage, which democrats lack as much as republicans lack spines.
5
It is simple, Mueller basically confirmed what was in the report which is different than what Trump and Barr said was in the report!
1
Personally, when Mr. Mueller said, "...they are doing it right now", I felt a chill go down my spine. Are we Americans going to sit here and let Russia take over our country without our even putting up a fight? They can put anybody they want in office by changing the numbers! What are we going to do?
3
Paper ballots counted by hand?
The rule of law, the principle that no American is above the law, specifically one engaged in treasonous criminality, is secondary to "an electrifying Washington moment" according to...the corporate media. How unfortunately right Neil Postman was when he predicted in his book "Amusing Ourselves to Death" that perpetual entertainment would be the death of our democracy.
2
Impeach now! trump lied under oath during his written testimony and clearly there is obstruction of justice. If we let this go without the impeachment process, then America is already lost and can no longer be the Beacon of Democracy and Law.
The question remains, will the republicans stand on the right side of History or continue down the road to perdition because all they care about is power.
There does not need to be any electricity in the Mueller testimony as he clearly laid out the path forward to impeachment in his report and investigation.
Re: "But that is very different from a vote in the full House to formally declare that an elected president had committed high crimes and misdemeanors, for only the second time in history. (Andrew Johnson wasn’t elected.)" Neither was Donald Trump.
Proceed with impeachment hearings!! Subpeona any and all people to testify. Then consider actual drafting of Articles of Impeachment, if there is sentiment for a vote to impeach in the full House. And don't fall into the trap of the Senate's most likely failure to convict. That has never happened in history.
1
Exactly how short-sighted is the media?
You’ve all dined out for years on the idea that you are on balance protectors of democracy.
And yet, when democracy needs you, you want to do horse-race coverage, not (for example) relentlessly focusing our attention on the many ways Trump and Trumpists are subverting the rule of law and our democracy.
I’m disappointed.
Not everything is a horse race, and covering impeachment of this illegitimate stooge is probably the one of the most consequential topics in the history of this paper.
3
To bad our country no longer cares about reasonableness and integrity. Mueller is representative of a dying America - one that no longer rewards honesty and doing the right thing.
Mueller was non-partisan and brilliant. The long view and time will reflect his reports importance.
The Democrats needed to stop worrying about polling numbers and start being more authentic. Who cares if an impeachment inquiry looks bad - ssh! You are judged on your actions not your intentions.
3
I don’t agree with any of the talking points presented by the media regarding Mueller including the headline of this article.
I’m a fan. Mueller has integrity and provided a solid stance in not being biased in any way, in fact restrained in his opinions.
When the right questions were asked, he confirmed what many felt they knew:
1. Donald Trump conspired with his son in the details released to the media regarding his meeting with Russians.
Doesn’t matter to me if nothing came from it. It’s a Nixon style cover-up.
2. Trump is campaigning to stay away from an after office indictment as he will no longer enjoy the restraint of the current special situation he enjoys (as Mueller began to say and was interrupted by the congressman, this isn’t like other situations. It’s a special situation)
3. Mueller recognizes Trump as corrupt, unpatriotic and a liar. Mueller also has the strength to allow the American people to make the decision in what to do about it.
4. Republicans have a unified advantage in party and talking points. Their echo of misleading points on repeat makes it hard to find the truth or remain interested in what should be on American’s minds. This needs to be countered by facts on repeat coupled with moves to create legislation that isn’t divisive.
5. Those same Republicans are covering for a corrupt President and are complicit in the lack of effort put forth to safeguard our election processes. This all for the sake of the presidents ego.
Chris
Mueller stated several times that Donald Trump is a criminal who committed criminal acts.
The problem is not Bob Mueller but Congress and the American people.
1
@Maggie
Oh, he did not. You are infusing your wish into what you heard. This kind of commentary diminishes us. "Hey, did you hear that Mueller specifically stated that Trump engaged in criminal acts?" Who knew?
1
@Wine Country Dude
GOP men are now also deaf?
Mueller's investigation led to the indictment of 34 Trump associates and 3 Russians.
"Problematic is an understatement."
"...and criminal."
“The finding indicates ... that the president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed.”
Mueller most certainly did testify that Trump in his written answers lied about receipt of stolen emails and other questions, that Trump was not in any way exonerated for obstruction of justice crimes and "multiple acts", and that Trump could be charged for criminal acts once out of office.
Mueller indicated several times that the DoJ protocol of not indicting a sitting president was the only reason Trump was not indicted.
Shame that Mueller didn't subpoena Trump. That was a fail. He claimed it was to move along the investigation. Fair enough, as Trump repeatedly refused to testify over those 22 months.
If I were a democrat, I'd prolly agree with Pelosi.
As I am a citizen, I mourn -- once again -- having to vote to elect the lesser of two evils.
1
In short, Mueller failed in his task as investigator and prosecutor by failing to present the case against the clear ring-leader of a massive criminal conspiracy in a way that was clear and compelling enough to move the jury and the judge: the Congress and US citizens. All he managed to do was prosecute and jail some of the underlings like Flynn and Cohen, who clearly acted under orders ftom Trump and to further Trump's corrupt ends.
Imagine if Archibald Cox and Leon Jawarski had only managed to prosecute Haldemann and Erlichman and left John Mitchell and Nixon in power?
IN 2019, the nation remains in the death-grip of Trump and his criminal conspirators, acting in clear concert with Putin.
The course of real justice was, and is, clear.
And now, Justice weeps, blind as she is.
1
You can't have a short-circuit if you don't have any electricity. What a botched metaphor!
...and what a poor analysis. The country was watching all day, and Mueller withstood some mean attacks. I though it was riveting.
Anyway, do facts need to be exciting to be actionable?
1
I am a republican and I am appalled by this situation since Donald Trump should be impeached and thrown in jail. The Republican Party has turned into something unrecognizable when they refuse to understand that the environmental issues caused by climate change, the global issues caused by Donald Trump’s stand on immigration and the trashing of American democracy right before our eyes and the world’s is just appalling. I say turn out the lights on the hill and send everyone home. Send some regular everyday Americans to Washington to make sense of how the USA should be governed. And hey throw out all those lobbyists. Reconnect with the people who have to live their daily lives with the consequences of the decisions of a sociopath.
Am I the only one who heard the special counsel say that his report was intended “as a flag” to the indicate to others in government that there was a role for them to play here?
Also, to echo other comments, since when does testimony need to be “electric” to determine whether the constitution is adhered to?
We’re all to blame here. The president is a clown, and that clown is us. For decades — centuries — we’ve told ourselves myths about America. Greatness. Fairness. Bravery. Vision.
But the fact is we’ve never had a true reckoning with our roots as a country, and we probably never will.
Here we are scratching our heads that Mueller didn’t testify in a Speedo. But we still haven’t had the conversation, as a nation, that George Washington had dentures made out of the teeth of (living) slaves.
This is fantasy, Mueller testimony would not have changed Pelosi cynical calculation one bit. She remains glued to the false equivalence between the Clinton impeachment and all impeachment efforts.
The entirety of the Russiagate scandal has washed over the memory of what is the center of the affair. That being Clinton's emails.
Having read a large number of the emails, I can state I do NOT care if the Russians hacked Clinton's emails. What I care about is what they said.
Those emails revealed that the corrupt power structure of the Democratic Party stole the election from Bernie Sanders, and then gave us Clinton who anyone could see would not beat Trump.
So while we are discussing if Trump is a Russian puppet, no one has investigated the theft of the Presidency of the United State of American from Bernie Sanders.
2
I am saddened and frustrated by the response of Democrats and the media with regards to first, the Mueller Report and now his testimonies. This is not reality TV. This is a hearing before House committees regarding the "high crimes and misdemeanors" of THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. How many times was it said that "any person committing these acts would be indited". How many times was it said that when Trump leaves office, he could be indited. The talk of 2020 is assuming he will lose the election. Russia is watching and aware that Democrats anticipate a victory. That has a high probability of not happening. And can any of us stand another 4 years of Trump?
We are talking about the integrity of our country. Our government.. We watched Bill Clinton be impeached for "lying" but really sexual misconduct. We watched Nixon's Impeachment. The word on the street before his proceedings were as skeptical as with Trump. Once the American people are faced with the day to day of the proceedings, it will be hard to believe that even Senate Republicans would not move forward with impeachment. And they are as bad as Trump if they do not.
I am concerned about the integrity of our government and the ability of Congress to do its job if impeachment proceedings do not start after the hearings. We were not watching Judge Judy. Hearings are not entertainment they are for gathering information. Many of the American public are actual grownups that know this.
1
I can't believe that all of those brilliant pundits on CNN & MSNBC are panning Mueller, as if he's the second coming of Clint Eastwood and his chair. Mueller did a fine job of outlining the specific sins of the president. Were they expecting Robert Deniro quality delivery of his lines? I for one think that Trump and his minions were always going to push this narrative and the msm commentators fell for Beltway group think. But what do I know, I'm Canadian!
Democrats should put aside permanently any notion of impeaching President Trump after the Robert Mueller 2 1/2 year inquiry and yesterday's Mueller's testimony before the House. People have had enough and want to move on and have the politicians get some things done. These investigations have been a waste of time and money. Millions of dollars have been spent and for what? No new information has been found to surface and President Trump is still innocent of all charges.
The voters will not put up with much more of this nonsense and will take out their anger at the ballot box. The Democrats are walking a thin tightrope already and it would permanently damage their chances for winning elections in the future. Only the radical left would want to continue investigations and they would be in the minority. They would not gain any new information that has not already been discussed. It would be a death sentence for them.
I think President Trump is secure in his reelection chances and now more than ever since yesterday's testimony. The economy is booming, the stock market is gaining and minority employment is the best it has ever been. Yesterday's performance was a gift to the Republicans and especially President Trump. He should thank them for their help in his securing a second term.
2
It's a little early before the next election season to be pulling a halo out the box and polishing it, don't you think? At least Mueller's responses were more interesting than the GOP scripted summer "Hillary Reruns". Well over half the Senate seats, let alone the House seats, are up for grabs. Voters are SO ready for some of them to walk the plank. Tick Tock.
The media (including the Times) has done something... really strange about the Mueller testimony.
First, they hyped it up as a grand event that would present new information, while simultaneously (accurately) reporting that there would almost certainly not be new information. Then, because there was no new information, they're telling us all what a let-down the testimony was, even though everyone knew that would be the case.
I am legitimately having a difficult time wrapping my head around this. It's difficult to not see the media story here setting up yesterday's hearings to fail. The truth is: People keeping up with the story expected anything new, and people not keeping up with the story learned new things. Why is this not the framing?
I look on Twitter, and I see conservatives repeatedly insisting Mueller was a big let-down and non-event, but providing no evidence or reasons why. They just assert it over and over. Simultaneously, I see liberals quoting the testimony itself.
Is the New York Times suggesting these are equal? I am absolutely perplexed.
1
The idea that we need to depend upon a 'Washington moment' to 'electrify opinion for impeachment in the face of the unending abuses of power by Donald Trump is dis heartening in the statement it makes bout our electorate. Everything that we have heard and seen concerning Donald Trump form his misogynistic groping of women, his mis use of the military and president edicts not to mention the things revealed by Mr. Mueller would warrant it. Will Trump give up power if and when he is defeated in an election? That this question needs to be asked at all as a response to Trump statements should be grounds for impeachment. But here we are and an election next year seems to be the best hope of ousting this con man from the White house and ou consciousness.
1
Mueller's testimony was the coup de gras for the feckless Democrats. I've voted almost entirely for Democrats during my lifetime. Now I'm wondering what the point is.
The house democrats were given enough for 2 impeachments with the Mueller report. They claim that they are fighting for the American people. Really? What good does it do to pass bill after bill when they are all DOA in the Senate.
Nancy Pelosi has single handedly strangled the life and fight out of house Dems. I have lost faith in the party, their extremely poor messaging, and their resolve to truly fight for everyday Americans. If it's too much to ask for that, then it's too much to expect people like me to vote in 2020.
2
I didn’t listen to everything but the early questioning re Manafort contacts with Klimkin seemed like all they needed. But the questions I heard afterward were so poor. Even when M said “we can’t let this happen again” no one asked what this? Thats law 101. The Dems really seemed weak.
1
Democratic expectations were raised to unachievable heights. There was nothing to suggest Mueller was going to have even a single John Dean moment during his testimony. One could dream, but Mueller never saw himself as America's savior, except to the extent he could ring the Russia alarm bell.
I suspect Mueller, like most sane and informed people, holds Trump in contempt. But he's the consummate professional lawman in his public doings.
As far as impeachment, the redacted Mueller report sets a floor for two aspects of Trump's wrongdoing. There's more to his unfitness than Russian collusion and obstruction of justice. At a minimum, he likely violated campaign finance laws, and committed tax, insurance, and finance fraud, per Times reporting.
House Dems have a target rich environment. They should march ahead as they have planned, seeking public testimony and records as needed. The more adverse publicity, the worse Trump will look. Meanwhile, formal impeachment articles will accumulate.
As an aside, it’s odd that Mueller apparently did no counterintelligence investigation of Trump. This would have included his prior Russian contacts, finances, and potential kompromat. Certainly, motives behind potential collusion should have been explored. Maybe counterintelligence efforts have been compartmentalized from the beginning, or perhaps they were spun off later. Regardless, these efforts often don't lead to law enforcement actions that ever become public
I think it was AG Barr who sealed the deal. His oh so convenient and totally false 'summary' of the Mueller Report set the stage, proceeded through all 3 acts and closed the curtain on impeachment. Mueller's testimony was never needed knowing him to stick to his script as directed to by AG Barr.
Trump's fixer did his job and was hired at the exact moment he was needed.
1
If, as they will, impeachment hearings document the many and varied crimes of this man and his corrupt administration, it doesn't matter what the Senate does if the House votes the articles. If after all the evidence comes to light, they choose to ignore the findings, it is they who will suffer in the eyes of the public. But, if an impeachment inquiry is not started, Trump will have every right to say that if there had actually been something there, the Democratic house would have done something. Not to begin the process is to play into his hands. At the same time, the Democrats have to have a clear and well-explained agenda that they are trying to move forward. Impeachment will not be enough.
I didn't need to be entertained. This is serious. All I wanted was to hear what's in the report. And I heard what is written in the report:
Trump refusing to be interviewed, conspiracies to influence the vote and make money with the Russians, Obstruction of Justice so we never found out the truth, And it is NOT a Hoax and is NOT a WithHunt.
I also learned that Mueller is a Marine of the highest integrity. Semper Fi.
1
How can you impeach someone for being a dishonest, duplicitous, immoral, manipulative, self-serving, crook when that's exactly what he was when we elected him. It would be like electing a rattlesnake to be President and then saying you want to impeach it for biting people.
It really would not have mattered what Mueller said or did yesterday. Does anyone really need to be told who or what Trump is at this point? We—and I mean "we" in the sense of the country that elected him through our established democratic process—willingly chose to sell our collective soul when we elected President Donald J Trump (a string of words that will forever shame this nation) and he is no different now than he was then.
Those of us who cannot shake the moral and existential nausea that we have been feeling for almost three years straight need to face that we failed to stop this travesty in 2016 and focus all of our attention now on stopping it from recurring in 2020.
Ummmm...based on what I’be seen and read, there’s a verifiable cornucopia of evidence and proof of obstruction of justice and other high crimes and misdemeanors. This is what Mueller reported and said. A hostile foreign government that hates the US meddled in the election and will continue to do so. This is also what Mueller reported and said. What is so hard to understand?
This is not a tv show; this is our democracy. Is there anyone anywhere that will stand up for it?
This wasn't Celebrity Apprentice. This is the way inquiries are supposed to go. I don't remember anyone talking about John Dean needing to use jazz hands. The Report itself is enough and has enough bombshells to recognize the corruption, malice, and greed continuing to flourish in this Administration unchecked. I didn't need some guy raising his voice and waving his hands to hear that.
The opinion that Mueller's testimony makes impeachment less likely is another example of what is wrong with America. The Fourth Estate was protected in the Bill of Rights to protect our democracy. Mueller's testimony pointed to direct evidence the current resident of the White House violated the law more than ten times and cooperated with a hostile foreign adversary to undermine a national election. Once, Americans cared if their politicians were crooks and newspaper journalists were the catalyst that brought them down. Journalists who justify the complacency of House Democrats are equally culpable in the erosion of American values, civil society and common decency with Trump.
Speaker Pelosi has been right all along. The "impeachment trail" is a loser in more ways than one. The only way to defeat "Trump and Trumpism" is at the polls. And that requires voters to do their duty. Scrutinize the facts (not the fakes) and make an informed, courageous, and correct decision. The Mueller report laid out the fact and that is what he essentially did yesterday (and the many days before yesterday). Voters of America: wake up, read, listen, and, above all, vote. Otherwise, you get what you deserve - actually, you'll get that no matter what you do! So do the right thing and vote.
If I remember right, Pelosi said that she would be likelier to try to impeach the president if members of Congress found that voters in their districts wanted it. But what if she said "Go visit your constituents, listen to them respectfully, and see if you can convince them that our democracy is in danger of becoming a dictatorship but that it is worth saving? Point out to them that when leaders signal that they would enjoy being dictators, we should worry. In the past, they have usually meant what they said. Isn't that what leaders should be doing when overworked or distracted people have been successfully misled by propaganda (some of it coming from the Russians)? I get the point that leaders need the voters' support, but why not work harder to get it?
If I had wanted "electricity" or entertainment, my preference would have been Netflix, or a rerun of the "Real Housewives of the Potomac."
I watched because I have not read the Mueller Report, and I thought that was one of the purposes of these televised hearings.
Having watched both, it just solidifies my position that, although impeachment will not remove Trump, it will at least hold him accountable for being, in my view, a corrupt, racist, occupant of the White House, who is, apparently, only President to his "base" base.
The Democrats are not meeting the task at hand with any backbone -- in my mind, to do much of nothing makes them as complicit as the Republicans.
Mr. Trump and his administration are a very clear and present danger. This is not about politics and holding onto their respective seats in the Senate or the House -- nor is it about voters who want "this" or "that" -- it is about changing the destructive course this nation is on collectively -- I believe it is just that serious.
1
There seems to be considerable confusion out there between Netflix and real life.
3
Impeachment was never likely; throwing Trump out of the White House was a non-starter. How is any of this news?
So - even though it was CLEARLY stated that when Trump leaves office, he's likely to be indicted, impeachment is LESS likely? Really, so, we Americans are okay with having a now proven criminal in our White House (obstruction of justice IS a crime still right?)? That's okay now huh? I cannot believe we've sunk so low.
1
I am reminded of poor George W. Bush, who obviously was in over is head and stumbled and fumbled around. And yet his ratings remained high and the American public reelected him. Then came Katrina, an event over which he had no executive control; and further, a disaster almost entirely caused by poor planning and administration by the City of New Orleans. But for whatever reason, the public decided to blame Bush anyway, and from Katrina forward Bush was abandon by the public. One can only be perplexed and ponder, what straw will it be that finally breaks the camels back and brings Trump crashing down.
No, there was no "Perry Mason Moment" that would make banner headlines on TV. Just the clear facts, re-stated from Mueller's report, that Trump lied and obstructed justice.
Trump's followers would not be convinced to denounce Their Leader no matter what. These facts are too complicated anyway. They prefer the simplicity of Their Leader's rallies - the carnage, insults, yelling "Lock her up!" and "Send her back!".
Trump is a vile person who deserves to be impeached. But is isn't going to happen and will serve no purpose. It is time for the democrats to unite behind something positive to show that they can really do something, or are at least trying to do something to help this country and the people in it. IMHO they should be working hard to make sure that there will be no foreign influence in the next election. Yes, McConnell refuses to bring votes on this to the floor but this is where the battle should be. Every voter should know that the democrats are trying to safeguard their votes and that the republicans are being obstructionist. This is a battle more worth fighting.
1
None of that changes the truth he presented and the clear and present danger Trump represents to this country if not the whole planet. The man (Mueller) took a bullet for this country and went back into combat after healing. He has unlike Trump or any of his cabal served this country with courage and integrity.
Semper Fi is more than a motto to some of us....
The Mueller testimony is important for one reason only: it will serve as a historical marker for the moment when the Republican Party abandoned America and became nothing more than the sycophant enablers of a reckless, lawless, immoral, corrupt president.
3
The MSM seems upset Mueller didn't start his testimony with "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night." I thought style over substance was so 3 decades ago?
1
Due to Barr's interference and Mueller's reticence the devastating evidence against Trump has lost its public impact. As long as republicans are willing to embrace an incompetent unindicted felon and admitted sexual predator of questionable loyalty to the nation as their leader, impeachment will accomplish nothing. Unless the evidence against Trump can be presented in a coherent and compelling manner that would sway public sentiment I don’t see the point. In any impeachment proceeding republicans will be in full obstruction mode as they were with Mueller and unlike a criminal prosecution, the strong case against Trump will be obscured in a republican smoke screen.
4
I really don’t understand, short of sensationalism, why this did not bolster the idea of impeachment.
Rep. Ken Buck directly asked Mueller, “Could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?” Mueller: “Yes”.
“Yes.”
The President could be charged with obstruction of justice after leaving office, no longer protected by the OLC opinion’s influence over Special Counsel, nor by the Special Counsel’s determination on “principles of fairness”.
The president could be charged with obstruction because the lack of determination by special counsel had NOTHING to do with a lack of evidence. It had to do with navigating the DOJ.
The president could be charged with a crime based on evidence.
Why is this not being plastered everywhere? And why did no one ask Mueller to clarify this during the 7 hour hearing???
5
Are we now so superficial that the way a man talks has more impact than the facts being presented?
It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a nation of fools to end a democracy.
5
An entirely factual and well reasoned analysis with a ridiculous “electricity” headline that undermines it’s credibility. Mr Mueller’s testimony provided little to nothing that will move the legislature nor the citizenry toward impeachment. “Electricity” had nothing to do with it. 21% of Americans favored impeachment as of July 14 prior to the hearings (NBS /WSJ poll). My guess is that number does not go up after.
1
I found this article to be re-affirming in that: journalists (like Hulse who isn't terrible) are human just like everyone else and can make errors in their analysis. I (and maybe others) assume sometimes that because someone is in an official capacity in some area (be it journalism or whatever) they're experts, that they know more than us, etc.
In the age of the 24 hour, MSNBC, CNN, Fox news cycle, everything is supposed to be brightly colored, have vibrant graphics moving all over the screen, good looking anchors, etc.
All of those things capture peoples' eyeballs and generate ad revenue.
Policy, substance and old people who are thoughtful and speak slowly 'aren't electric' and wonkishness doesn't typically seem to be rewarded.
Yesterday's testimony was substantively electric for many reasons:
"Did you exonerate Trump"?
Mueller: "No."
"Did you clear him of obstruction?"
Mueller: "No."
"Was Trump truthful when you were investigating?"
Mueller: "Generally no"
"Would you indict Trump if he was a private citizen?"
Mueller: "Yes"
"Did Russia interfere in the election to help Trump?"
Mueller:"Yes"
In the same way that the report didn't seem to be all that much when it came out - but then turned out to be 'all that much' - I hope assessment of his testimony evolves in the same way.
8
I watched the entire testimony live. Director Robert Mueller's testimony was captivating and urgent. What Mueller described are federal crimes committed by the President. What precedent will it send to future occupants of the White House (and to the world) if we are derelict in the duty of an impeachment inquiry just because it is speculated that it may hurt us politically and isn't electric sound bite television? Instead of stories like this one, why not write more on how citizens can get involved and turn this democracy ship around. Yes, I am horrified, appalled, disgusted and outraged. But in the struggle for the soul of America, there can be no by-standers. My members of Congress have already heard from me today. Have they heard from you?
6
With or without Mr. Mueller's testimony, it is baffling that House Dems haven't opened an impeachment inquiry. It is their constitutional duty to do so yet all we see is a political circus with the same old delay and do nothing outcome. Oops. I forgot we are dealing with Congress, right?
3
This was likely the whole time. Mueller is not the cause. We don’t want to do this for a couple of reasons. 1) do it too soon and Trump’s supporters think he’s innocent because the Senate won’t vote on it. 2) do it too late and the House is interfering in an election.
Mueller was never going to say more than he said.
1
Mr. Hulse spins this entire story as Democrats "losing" the impeachment fight against Corrupt Don's administration, despite the understanding by many (and Mueller's own statement) that Mueller was not going to provide any additional information outside of the report. To say there was a "lack of electricity" simply because his testimony served as televised coverage of the Report while not dropping any bombshells is a gross characterization. His testimony provided historic confirmation of Trump's many crimes documented in the Report.
While it remains incredibly difficult to watch as Trump continues desecrating our country, the media needs to pull it together. New bombshells will not drop daily, or even weekly. Rather than focusing on how Pelosi and top ranking Democrats are working to organize an ironclad case against Trump's crimes, the media continues to cast it as a losing battle. Not as the immense war it really is.
This is a war to protect our country's democratic institutions. It is difficult to keep waiting, but this impeachment must be recorded as the most thorough and substantive cases in American history. That is the only way we can begin regaining respect on the global stage. The Democrats are attempting that, even despite the current administration's unlawful stonewalling of subpoenas.
As difficult as it is in 2019, patience is key.
2
My guess is that left leaning voters, like me will realize that it doesn't matter who we elect. The president, aided by the GOP will do whatever he wants to do and the rest of us will sit back and collectively do nothing.
There's no point in having elected representatives if they don't fight for our democratic ideals. Frankly, I'm not sure I care any more.
3
Oh, Nancy Pelosi is "painting a picture" of his crimes, I see. So when his term is over, we will have a nice picture of a president who was completely above the law.
11
Any of you who thinks that all this impeachment stuff and all this racism stuff will help us beat Trump raise your hands.
All of you with your hands up go to the back of the class.
Just popped in for the comments. Still some folks looking for impeachment. Amazing.
If I were a democrat I'd focus more on the fanaticism being displayed by my party and doing my best to erase AOC, Omar, and the other radicals from the minds of the American voter. The DNC has successfully lost a second presidential election with this russian hox and the push to the extreme left. 2020 is in the bag for the big man. And thats good news for the citizens of our country, who, you know, live and die by the ECONOMY.
1
Media, for 2 years, while standing on a gigantic pile of smoking guns: “No smoking gun, no smoking gun, no smoking gun...”
Also media: “Support for impeachment is very low.”
This is what is called a feedback loop.
The US media has focused, for over TWO YEARS, on downplaying the President’s participation in various crimes. Then they pretend to wonder why support for impeachment is so low. I say pretend because they know what they’re doing. It’s no accident.
Impeachment support is low because the media perpetually blasts daily articles about how unlikely impeachment is.
The media has complete control over how these issues are framed. Show me ONE front page/home page article from The NY Times, Fox News, CNN, ABC, NBC, WaPo, etc. that clearly outlines ALL of the credible/substantiated accusations against Trump from 2015-present.
You can’t. Because it doesn’t exist. I’ve looked for it. Hard.
But there are close to ONE HUNDRED substantiated allegations of various abuses committed by Trump or his inner circle just since 2015. There might well be more than 100.
The reason there isn’t more support for impeachment of Donald Trump is specifically because of the US media and their desire to destroy a shared objective reality in the name of driving “engagement” and ad revenue. Journalists don’t care one bit that migrant children are dying in ICE detention. The only thing they care about is how pictures of dead immigrants “plays” with rural voters in Iowa. It’s a stain on our time
8
Impeachment was never even close to likely. You lost the election, at some point you'll have to grow up and realize that your party is way out of touch and your candidates are horrible. Get better and maybe you'll win in 2024. Simple as that.
2
Please go ahead and Impeach this President so you can check that payback box for what happened to Mr. Clinton.
@Xochitl If I thought protesting en masse would get him to resign I'd be hitting the pavement every single day until my feet were bleeding.
2
“I thought Robert Mueller did a terrible job. But in all fairness to him he had nothing to work with.” - Donald Trump.
Agree 100%.
1
At this point I don't believe the Democratic Party leadership would start impeachment proceedings even if the current White House occupant actually did shoot someone on 5th Avenue.
4
He did everything but connect the dots. Maybe Congress forgot its crayons.
7
OK so impeachment isn't working, so the next thing let's do is organize a Ten Million Man/Woman Protest to get rid of him ... in September in Washington to coincide with the opening of schools.
It worked very well in Puerto Rico, and would be fun here too.
5
Trump is a criminal president since the start. Mueller's metered testimony is not what has derailed impeachment proceedings against him, and anyone who has read his report should be riveted and enraged by its findings against Putin's plaything in the white house. It is the republican, radical fascists in the Senate led by Mitch McConnell who make it clear that impeachment will not proceed. They are all in dereliction of duty, bowing down to a dictator.
2
The US citizens will kick Donald out of the WH in 2020.
4
The Democrats are the ones that need a jolt of electricity to their spines. Mueller said it was a "crime" for Trump to accept Russian aid, and Trump has said he'd still welcome it. Mueller repeated that he could not "exonerate" Trump of obstruction of justice, and the Democrats led him through five powerful examples in his report. Mueller said the Russians were still working to influence our elections, but Trump still denies any Russian interference and is doing nothing to impede it which violates his oath to "defend the Constitution." This should be shocking. These are seven articles of impeachment. Sadly, Nancy Pelosi is still unwilling to abide by her oath to "defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Mueller made it clear to everyone that we have a foreign enemy in Russia, and a domestic one in Donald Trump. As the nation returns to what is, day-by-awful-day, becoming an autocracy where it's governed by "the rule of Trump." With the Constitution defenseless and the nation defenseless against increased and more effective Russian meddling in our elections, Pelosi's gamble that the election will not be rigged any more than it already is by Republicans will allow Democrats to win in 2020 may turn out to be the biggest gamble since Neville Chamberlain returned from meeting Hitler in Munich and declared "Peace for our time."
6
It's all because of Pelosi's reluctance to bring impeachment to the floor for full house vote because not enough Republicans are in it and her worry about moderate Democrats losing out next year. She is politicizing it. Unfortunately, impeachment is usually a political tool and it usually takes enough political backup to implement. I am amazed at how ignorant the press and public are about the scoundrel in White House and Russia's efforts to influence our election. I am sure Putin is sitting happy in his dacha somewhere. Believe it or not, by not taking very strong action right now, we are pretty much sort of becoming a Russian republic right now as the idiot in White House is pretty much Putin's puppet.
3
Put on you’re Fox News, Mitch McConnell glasses. Now, imagine if Obama, while campaigning, publicly begged a foreign adversary to dig up on an opponent. Imagine if Michelle had a sit down with Russians connected to Putin to find incriminating information on an opponent. Imagine if an Obama White House tried to create secret back channels to Moscow out of the embassy. Then imagined a concerted effort from Obama to thwart an investigation which Robert Mueller would detail as criminal in a report. Where would we be then in today’s political climate? How fast would Obama be doing a perp walk out of the WH? This is not just about Mueller; this is part and parcel of a crooked political system owned by a plutocracy that owns the Senate and is run like a banana republic with a buffoon at the helm.
2
Cowards, depending on Mueller to bring "electricity." Are you not familiar with the man in the slightest? What about anything he has ever done, his cautious nature, his measured statements, allowed you to think he would somehow frame the issue in a way you haven't yet managed to do? Did you confuse Mueller with Robert De Niro's portrayal of him on SNL?
I think the truth is, Dems against impeachment never planned to change their position. If Mueller had delivered a "crystallizing moment" you'd be backing away from it and disclaiming him as too partisan. You're terrified of white voters. Pathetic.
2
@sedanchair
Pelosi is just running out the clock, she will never start with impeachment.
I found Mr. Hulse's writing less than riveting. I conclude from that that Mr. Trump should leave office, immediately, to seek psycho-social adjustment. Barr-ing that, House members should begin preparations for a nice impeachment-pie.
1
Donald J Trump: I could shoot and kill someone on Fifth Avenue, and no one would care.
Mueller: I found a dead body on Fifth Avenue with Donald Trump standing over it and a gun in his hand.
Congress: We don't care.
10
Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you cannot possibly convict this man. It would be a gross miscarriage of justice. Because, as is evident to everyone here, these proceedings are entirely too boring. There is not one iota of zazz in the courtroom. The defense rests.
3
This entire matter can be whittled down to a single but perplexing question: What's a democratic republic to do when it's president is a moral-less criminal?
Impeachment and/or election seem unsatisfactory and inadequate options.
1
@StanC
the word is "immoral"
@GMooG
I was trying to get to an extreme of immoral. Perhaps I tried too hard.
1
I'm so depressed about Mueller's testimony. I'm beginning to think there is no one -- no one -- in the world, let alone the nation, who has the moral authority, universal respect and admiration and, frankly, the guts to denounce Trump as unfit for office AND unequivocally convince the American people to remove him from office or, at the very least, to not vote for him in 2020.
Someone who could stand at a podium with a microphone and articulate with every fiber of his or her being: "America, for whatever reason you voted for Trump, or thought to give this man a chance in a spirit of adventurous political abandon, it didn't work. Your democracy and the beacon of liberty it represents to people and societies around the world, your institutions of justice and free speech, your spiritual values--are growing meager by the day and in grave danger. Your president must go."
I can't think of anyone in the world. Can you?
3
@James L.
Do not despair. The testimony was not designed to be the end all decision for impeachment. While there is ample evidence for impeachment, the Democrat leadership wants a bulletproof case. We must wait till the legal battles for the Congressional subpoenas plays out.
It is incredibly difficult, but patience is key.
1
Don't look for the knight in shining armor. He/she doesn't exist. It's up to the American people to vote out Trump and the GOP toadies who do his bidding. Get involved. Take action.
The obstruction of justice charges are going to look like small potatoes after dems get access to Trumps financial records. (That has to be why he is so concerned to stop or delay their access).
The Republican Senate will not convict him on obstruction charges. Just listen to the public statements they make. The Republicans in the Senate dont have the courage to stand up to Trump on anything like immigrant abuse, his attacks on members of congress, or obvious incompetence in his management of international relations. Their behavior is a very strong argument for term limits. Those people will do anything to protect their cushy jobs.
I suspect that there are a lot more compelling misdeeds to be found where the democratic committees are digging now.
My only concern is that the committees are not going back far enough to capture the data that will demonstrate the level of financial control the Russians have over Trump.
And then there is always the hope that some interesting facts will come to light as a result of the Jeffery Epstein case.
2
Couldn't Russia have been involved WITHOUT collusion? Plenty of people stump for politicians without any connection to that politician. Russian involvement doesn't entail collusion.
While I'm no Trump supporter I do think he wasn't involved initially. Putin just wanted to make sure HRC wasn't president. But Trump sure has worked out nicely for him.
Why isn’t Pelosi impeaching? WHY?
Don’t tell us it’s because a 74 yr old “lacked electricity”. We have enough to impeach Trump just from Stormy Daniels and the hush money. That’s a felony.
We have obstruction locked down.
Why did Pelosi strike a deal with Mnuchin to raise the debt ceiling until 2021 without resistance, and increase defense spending by $22billion? She took away our right to decry the stratospheric debt incurred by the .01% and corporate tax cut.
I think Pelosi is giving Trump a pass because her Donors don’t want to lose their tax cut. She is conflicted. Complicit. We are going to LOSE this election because our leadership is craven. She had to GO.
4
So the STYLE of the hearings leads to the conclusion that impeachment is impossible? Does the fact that Mueller clearly, if haltingly (he is obviously an exhausted man), reiterated that the president would be charged with criminal offenses were he any other citizen make no difference? We really have amused ourselves to death I guess...
2
Their Job is to act if impeachable acts occurred, not on based on public opinion, nor for political reasons (how it will impact the 2020 election)
House, do your job. If you don't impeach, then Trump did not do any impeachable acts.
2
Your headline doesn't make sense to me. The many potential grounds for impeachment, ranging from obstruction of justice, to blatant violation of the Emoluments Clause and self-dealing through use of his office, to various episodes contrary to the dignity of functions of the office such as improper use of executive orders, threatening the press, or violating the terms of treaties ratified by the Senate still exist. I'm not sure what the House has been waiting for all this time.
2
"The absence of an electrifying Washington moment in Wednesday’s two-stage testimony by Mr. Mueller not only deprived Democrats of the crystallizing episode they needed to drive public opinion on impeachment, but it also meant Republicans had no reason to budge from their anti-impeachment stance."
Sure, because for today's GOP, things like decency, integrity, morality, leadership, justice, AMERICA...none of them would be reasons to do anything.
2
At some point folks will understand House hearings are always useless. None of the congressmen are good cross-examiners. Their time is too short. They make these grandiose speeches without asking relevent questions.
If anyone sat through that farce yesterday they are a mark of the first order. No exceptions.
The Democratic party fails to understand, to realize the simplicity of the current situation involving the GOP's success. Trump is just a symbol, a man reflecting the values of the GOP party. The Dems fail to see what Agassi said many years ago: "perception is the name of the game." And if one can't see what is being said, then it only reinforces the point the Dems are a party with close eyes. They don't understand the American people don't stand behind the Democratic leadership of today. And why, because you don't defeat Trump based on the terms of the past, you defeat him on the language of today. You have to speak his language in order to understand his strengths and how to defeat him.
2
Sad that prosecution of a president's crimes are dependent upon ratings and 'electricity'. That said, the Senate is why there will never be an impeachment - that and a soulless GOP perfectly content to partake in the wholesale theft of the treasury under the Grifter in Chief. When it's all said and done, it will take the Democrats 2 terms or 8 years of austerity budgets to dig the country out of this fiscal mess - if there is still a country or planet to bother digging out.
All of the so-called "moderate Democrats" in "swing districts" who are so fearful of their re-election prospects if they speak a word in favor of impeachment should just stop the charade and go ahead and join the Republican party. Then they can fall into line behind the rest of the Trump enablers, and at the same time lobby their State counterparts for a gerrymander that will keep their district from "swinging" back to the Democratic side.
4
Mueller isn't solely responsible for saving our democracy.
Puerto Rico appears to be ridding itself of its questionable Governor by demonstrating in the streets. Unfortunately for us on the Mainland, it's going to take the hard work of getting as many anti-Trump voters to the polls as possible to stop the Electoral College debacle we had in 2016.
2
Reality check.
Impeachment was never going to happen anyway.
Not because of all the things Donald Trump says: "No Collusion". "Witch hunt". "Fake News:, etc.
But because it would be D.O.A. as soon as it reached Mitch McConnell's desk and the lock-step Republican Senate.
In short.
It makes no difference what Robert Mueller did, or did not say -- or how much electricity he generated, because the dice was rolled against him by this president, the Attorney General and the Justice Department before he even sat down.
And if Americans continue to be victims of their own thirst for entertainment no matter the cost, there's no reason to doubt it will be four more years of the Trump circus.
1
As a very experienced lawyer, Mueller knows that one word true answers are often the best way to shut down an interrogation. Try it yourself in a conversation. He told the Democrats repeatedly not to force him to testify. They did it anyway. I think his “performance” was strategic and effectively made his point, including the difference between morning and afternoon.
The man did his job. It’s all in the report. Now Congress needs to do its job, and the rest of us need to do ours — use the Constitution to defend the country. If you want excitement, go to the circus.
4
A huge story waved away in this article is the Republicans’ blithe dismissal of Mueller’s findings about Russian interference, and the President’s lack of truthfulness and obstructive actions. Trump lives for spectacle and in asserting that the impeachment needle didn’t move because of the lack of fireworks is just buying into his Big Lie version of reality. The Republican lawmakers who shamelessly are willing to support the President’s lawlessness need to be held to account.
It is clear that trump's crimes are far more serious and numerous than Nixon's. Those with their heads in the sand regarding trump's lack of ethics, principles, character and honesty don't care about his many misdeeds. They don't seem to care that Russia interfered in our election in order to aid trump. The Democrats need to start impeachment proceedings. The politics do not matter. The Constitution matters.
Impeach trump. Lock him up.
1
I'm with Pelosi. Trump needs to be convincingly repudiated at the ballot box. All Democrats need to work as hard as they can for that. Impeachment will evidently fail. What good is that?
So congress should simply go on break and stay on break. Why should they do their job when any and all efforts will fail once they get to the senate...including all of the key “kitchen table” issues.
Can’t have it both ways.
They need to do their job.
It’s a pathetic excuse.
If the Democrats think they have enough to impeach the President, then they should do it. Impeachment is a political act by one branch of government as a check on another. They don't need Robert Mueller and his team of attorneys, who happen to work for the Executive Branch, to find evidence for them. Their problem is that they lack the will to act. They are not leaders but followers in a group of 435.
1
The point of the exercise was to get Mr. Mueller to speak the words of the report so that people who are unaccustomed to reading legal briefs might hear what the report has to say. With few exceptions, yesterday's spectacle was a failure. The president's false "no collusion, no obstruction" narrative continues to resonate with poorly informed voters who have neither the ability nor the inclination to read the report for themselves. In the fullness of time the truth will be revealed, but at the rate things are going by then it will be too late.
2
Is everything measured by its entertainment value now? If so then we’ve become just like Donnie and his base in wanting to be captivated with drama rather than by facts.
Sorry, I’m staying with facts.
1
Where is the committee whose sole job is to make sure that we use every technical and other tool at our disposal ( including retaliation) to prevent Russia or anybody from ever again even trying to interfere with our election ? I'll tell you where - it's nowhere because it doesn't exist.
We really don't care at all about fixing the problem. All we care about is assigning blame and gaining partisan advantage. And while we have been doing this, the Russians, with much amusement, have probably been devising even more methods of not only intruding into our elections, but eroding our core confidence in Democracy, something at which they have been very successful thus far.
If the calls for impeachment evaporate, and, definitely after the 2020 election, you will never hear anything, ever again, about Russian interference. Why? Because there will no longer be any partisan advantage to it. And without partisan purpose, everything is irrelevant.
1
Robert Mueller was a marine and served in Viet Nam. He was shot at and wounded in battle. He was a homicide prosecutor. He was the Director of the FBI. All of these prior positions required him to remain cool, calm, level headed, and focused at the situation at hand.
Folks and headlines complain that Robert Mueller lacked excitement and electricity in his testimony, but that's not who he is. Maybe folks were expecting a demeanor along the lines of the president - shooting from the hip, careless, reckless, saying whatever comes to mind. But that's not who Robert Mueller is either.
He was extremely adamant about where he drew the line in what he was willing and able to disclose. He made that fact crystal clear in his May press conference. Why would yesterday's testimony be any different?
I thought Mr. Mueller did an exceptional job of remaining cool and professional while various Republicans were doing their best to denigrate and tear down Mr. Mueller professionally and in his report.
What Mr. Mueller gave everyone was his unbiased conclusion of the real threat the Russians pose to American democracy. And he was extremely candid when he stated he thought the president's hearty endorsement of Wikileaks was "problematic".
I was more concerned and geared to what Mr. Mueller had to say rather than how electrifying or entertaining he was in his delivery. Being the former FBI Director, he was all business with no flair. And I respect that and him.
5
Marge Keller, the problem with Robert Mueller's testimony yesterday is that he seemed confused and uncertain, and had difficulty speaking. In a courtroom I think most judges would have questioned his competence to testify. It was that bad.
1
@John Smithson
The morning did not go well, however, he was much better and more talkative. It was also a different committee.
But I understand your sentiment. The AM was not his finest hour.
1
There seem to be those who have held and will always
hold that Trump should have been impeached the night
he was elected President and if the Constitution did not allow
that, then the day of the Inaugural and every day he has been in Office and in the days after he leaves office.
There are others who see evidence mounting ever higher and now think it is time to begin the impeachment hearings.
There are some who think it is too late to begin the impeachment
hearings as the Primaries will soon be upon us and the national
sentiment is not crying out for impeachment.
Then those who think impeachment will only strengthen and motivate Trump's supporters which might lead to Trump
winning again in 2020.
Finally there are those who see no reason or cause for impeachment.
I can only think back to the attempt to Impeach Governor
Huey Long and how it failed and thus made Long even more
powerful.
I wrote two years ago that the Democrats need to get all
their ducks lined up and then strike quickly otherwise the
Impeachment hearings will be dragged out as long as
Trump's lawyers and advocates can stretch them and
the cause for impeachment will lose its momentum.
How you are going to convince the Republican Senate to
follow up with a trial and a conviction is a mystery.
2
My recollection of Watergate was that it was initially reported as some 3rd rate burglary; there was no initial public outrage demanding Nixon's impeachment.
It was only on account of congressional hearings, that the public was shown the extent of Nixon's corruption. From there, the tide of public opinion shifted.
So much of the post testimony commentary I'm hearing is caught up in this American Idol mindset.
We are a republic where the rule of law is supposed to be king. Why do you think courtrooms are designed the way that they are?
Congress won't get off the dime and commence hearings unless we the People demand it. What just happened in Puerto Rico demonstrates that the people do have power.
I’m more than a little tired of the talking heads telling us how Mueller did and what it means. Trump’s base may love being told what to think, but I don’t and neither do the other 70% of Americans. We can see, hear and judge for ourselves. Based on the questions asked by the Democrats, and Mueller’s terse answers, a prima facie case was made for impeachment on the basis of at least four instances of obstruction. The meme about old tired Mueller began when he’d been in the witness chair less than an hour, allowing reporters to focus on a sideshow at the expensive of the actual drama taking place.
Putting Mueller under oath was a tactical disaster, as was the Dem's unrelenting, tunnel-vision focus on Russian collusion.
If we end up with four more years of Trump, those "savvy" Democratic leaders, Pelosi and Schumer, will have a significant share of the blame.
1
Avalanches begin with a small amount of falling snow cascading into ever bigger amounts until it is an awesomely powerful force pushing and overwhelming everything in it's path. The Mueller report is a revelation of things to be further examined. Whether the will to do so exists, is in doubt. The will to act just to show conviction is dominating the public discussion, but that would be futile beyond expressing rage. It would change nothing.
"The absence of an electrifying Washington moment"
If we want entertainment, we have movies and Donald Trump,
The substance of the report, highlighted by the Democrats' questions (and ignored by the party over country Republicans) makes it clear to anyone serious about democracy and the rule of law that Trump should be prosecuted for obstruction of justice, and is guilty of treason not only for welcoming foreign interference to install him in the Presidency, but also for failure to protect our election systems, probably because he* is counting on the same thing happening again.
*and the Republicans in the Senate who voted to put McConnell in charge---McConnell refusing to allow a vote on HR-1 (election protection legislation passed by the House)
Time waits for no one. The Dems have already lost so much opportune timing for impeachment. If they're going to wait for election 2020, there is no guarantee they are going to unseat Trump. The way it's looking right now, there is a good chance he's may get re-elected.
IMHO, I don't see any charismatic candidate among the current slate to galvanize the Dems, independent and never Trumpers GOP. Add to that a wide range of extreme left wing policies that are not appealing to moderates of both parties.
There is a statute of limitations to the alleged crimes he has committed.
If he gets re-elected, he may never be held accountable. That will be a sad page in US history books, not only because of Trump going scot free but for the failure of House Democrats to perform their constitutional oversight duty.
1
The "crystallizing episode Democrats need to drive public opinion on impeachment" is for elected democratic house members to get off their collective duffs and themselves begin remonstrating for impeachment. The fact that they are unable and unwilling to do so suggests two things: they are unable to do so because the only political skills they have are the quid-pro-quo arrangements they have with their corporate funders and they are unwilling to do so because they lack the basic political messaging skills to overcome the Republican Spin-O-Rama-Lie machine and are worried about 2020 elections. They have no basic messaging skills other than putting out press releases designed to placate people. Trump has broken multiple government laws, emoluents clause stuff, and they sit there in office normalizing his behavior.
1
Seems to me that after Muller's testimony we should be more eager to impeach Trump. Perhaps voters will impeach him by replacing senators and even the President. I am still hoping that the next election will take care of impeaching the President. One never knows.
1
Impeachment is not a matter of public opinion. It’s a matter of principle.
1
The photo will long be remembered as the moment when our Constitution, our "rule of law," our democracy, our Union that millions of Americans have died defending was lost. It was an unconditional surrender to an authoritarian who now will continue not only to be "above the law," but be the law as he recently announced. It's a "Profile in Cowardice" and refusal to abide by what is, or should be, the "prime directive" to defend the Constitution when the evidence was unequivocal and their duty was clear. To treat Mueller as Cassandra is to remove the last obstacle to a Trump triumph of "No Collusion, No Obstruction, No Impeachment" and a second term with Russian aid in 2020.
1
If Congress fails to impeach Donald Trump on accusations of obstruction of justice, which seems likely, we risk losing the presidency as an institution responsive to the rule of law and with it our form of government as we currently understand it.
The problem, or so we are told, is that no one cares. Republican lawmakers and administrators, who are happy to trade not only the rule of law but decency itself for a chance to implement their agenda, certainly do not care. But the Democratic leadership, which seems at pains to point out how poll after poll show tragically little interest in impeachment, doesn't really seem to care either.
Whether this is all the result of lawmakers mistaking the business of politics for their actual duty, fifty years of the wholesale abandonment of American civics and history as a major component of American education or just some collective media-induced lunacy at work will be the judgement of future historians. But make no mistake: they will judge, because they will be living with it. They will be our children and our children’s children. What kind of country do we want to give them?
1
The Congressional Oath of Office and Article 2, Section 4 of the constitution obligate members of the House to initiate an impeachment inquiry, at minimum. Trump is already guilty of a felony (mystifyingly rarely mentioned by Mueller or the Dems) that aided his ascension to the office (and for which his personal lawyer is behind bars), criminally welcomed and "boosted" foreign election interference for the same reason, committed 10 counts of obstructive behavior for which he may be indicted after leaving office, and on a daily basis orders administration officials to defy congressional and legal oversight activities.
By not impeaching, Pelosi is placing political expediency (along with a public perception of weakness) over principle, using the misguided analysis that public opinion must favor impeachment before an inquiry can begin. History says otherwise: 70% of Americans opposed impeachment in June 1973, and after all 3 impeachments, the impeaching party won the presidency.
True leadership involves guiding others in support of a set core principles, in this case through an impeachment inquiry and a regular recitation of Trump's myriad criminal acts and corruption. The path to political power lies in upholding our principles, and your own sacred oath.
1
Pelosi is sooo faithful in the system that she is willing to let Trump take his chances in the 2020 election.
But Nancy,
-- Mueller already told you that Russians are rigging the system right NOW
-- Trump already told you that he's quite happy to accept election assistance from foreign governments
-- Trump has already demonstrated that he will accept help from foreign governments
-- Mitch McConnell already blocked a Democrat-proposed bill in the Senate to help strengthen American elections against foreign interference and make it illegal to accept help from foreign governments
It looks like we're going to be under Trump's authoritarian rule for a while. Thanks for refusing to enforce the law.
2
Ms. Pelosi, why not start the impeachment inquiry now because all politicians of good faith and intelligence need to exert their maximal probative powers to uncover the facts about who committed crimes. Impeachment inquiry is not formal impeachment.
Pelosi seems to be one of the few intelligent Democrats left. She knows that impeachment is a non-starter out of the gate. Most Americans are tired of political theater anyway. It's time to figure out what being a progressive actually means in the year 2019 and get that message out.
The hearing showed that Mueller clearly did not have a good grasp of his report. It also became apparent he took a hands off approach and his staff did much of the work. Congress needs to subpoena his staff to get the information they need.
1
Nancy Pelosi called this one so well.
She realized that there would be nothing in Mueller's testimony that would cause even one Republican lawmaker to call for Trump's impeacment. And, unlike many NYT commentators, she understood that for impeachment to succeed, it has to be a bipartisan effort.
She has saved the Dems treading water through an impeachment process that would end in Trump's "exoneration" in the Senate.
The Dems have to do a little backing down - but it's from a far lower height than it could have been.
Hopefully they'll now pick a strong candidate and concentrate their efforts on getting him/her elected next fall.
2
It seems to me that the most pressing issue is getting information about the Russian (and other?) interference in our elections. If the Executive Branch refuses to permit people it can control (and why exactly they had any control over Mueller's testimony is hard for me to understand) to testify under oath about that issue it could use an Impeachment Inquiry to force such testimony. Otherwise the House Committees could spend months (years?) in the courts trying to force this testimony from reluctant witnesses.
I agree that Pelosi has good political instincts and it might not be useful to press for Trump's impeachment but if it was understood that Impeachment was being utilized to coerce testimony needed to help protect the 2020 election, the whole thing might fly.
4
Muller's report and testimony emphasized, in the strongest terms possible, the past and ongoing foreign interference with elections. Trump denies it and has done nothing about it. Failing to protect elections is arguably a "high crime & misdemeanor" adding to the instances of obstruction.
46
@M. Toole
So I guess this applies to Obama too since a lot of the Russia meddling happened while he was still in office, knew about it, and did nothing.
Donald Trump’s behavior makes him unfit for office. It was evident before Mr. Mueller testified, it was obvious before his report was finalized, and it will continue to be obvious to everyone moving forward, as he befouls and runs roughshod over U.S. democracy. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s failure to impeach may taint her outstanding congressional legacy with parallels to Chamberlain’s appeasement of Hitler. Mr. Trump makes no secret of his affinity for white supremacists and despots. Half-measures and tiptoeing around a wannabe dictator are responses doomed to fail. It’s past time for an impeachment inquiry.
38
@J Adler...Unless and until Republicans decide that Trump needs to be removed impeachment is an irrelevant exercise. Far better to concentrate on legislation that serves the needs of the American public and dare the Republican Senate not to pass it. Build up ammunition for the 2020 election and with a little luck perhaps Trump will do something else to eliminate himself in the interim.
@ J Adler It was evident and obvious when he was running for election that he was unfit. And he still got elected.
1
@J Adler: Interesting comparison between Pelosi and Chamberlain... and pretty much on the mark too...
What a sad commentary! Mueller's written report detailed at least 10 instances of obstruction of justice by Donald Trump as President. The report itself was an "impeachment referral," which Speaker Pelosi and many Democrats chose to ignore until the "optics," i.e. superficial appearances, looked right and public opinion, always fickle, swung in that direction. Without hearings to expose the evidence in detail and test the truths embodied in the report, there was never going to be a way for the optics to chance and opinion to swing, It's not Robert Mueller's fault that didn't happen in connection with his testimony yesterday. Even if he was the most charismatic figure in history--which it turns out he isn't and never was--waiting two months to hear him had no chance of moving opinion into a groundswell of support for impeachment. Impeachment itself, initiated soon after the report was received, was the only thing that had a chance. Now, we are stuck with a President who should be on trial for obstruction of justice still in office to continue to obstruct justice. It is pitfall.
16
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a realist. Most Americans do not understand the foundations of liberal democracy nor how truly exceptional our liberal democracy is in history. Authoritarian regimes that deny freedom to their subjects have been the rule for human societies throughout history. It is the form of government that societies most naturally fall into. America is a great experiment in a constitutional system established in an attempt to sustain liberal democracy and to minimize the likelihood that we would ever be subject to an authoritarian regime. This is the reason for Congressional oversight over the Executive. It is the reason for the independence of the courts. It is, in fact, the reason that the founders established the electoral college, which was intended to be a deliberative body of thoughtful citizens able to prevent an authoritarian populist from being able to take the office of the president even he wins the popular vote.
Nancy Pelosi has a realistic view of the degree of our ignorance. She understands that an authoritarian populist may violate any law without losing the support of his base. She understands that Trump cannot be removed from office by impeachment. She understands that Democrats cannot even use Trump's assault on our constitutional liberal democracy in their campaign against him and the Trumpian Senators and Representatives. It has no traction. Given our ignorance, they have to campaign on kitchen table issues. Weep for your country.
19
@Gordon R Green I agree.
The fact remains that as long as Mitch McConnell is Majority Leader and the Republicans control the Senate, any Impeachment effort will fall flat, and just be more fodder to whip up the uninformed base that is Trump's. The goal should be to get the independent and moderate vote out to get the country back on Constitutional footing by defeating Trump and the Republicans.
1
@Gordon R Green If by "realist" you mean a craven bottom-feeder intent on only salvaging a sliver of power and the rest of us can just go "move on" with ourselves, sure...that's what she is.
2
I wish we could take a lesson from the people of Puerto Rico, who had their voices heard by their government and pressured corrupt Governor Bosello to resign. They marched and protested daily (in the thousands) for over a week until he resigned. That is the power of the people. They didn't wait around for Government officials to do their jobs. They demanded justice and received it. I know Puerto Rico has a much smaller population, and I know they are a homogeneous country, but the point is there are more of us on the mainland who want justice to be served by Trump, than believe he is a great leader. Kudos to our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.
37
“Good TV” got the country into this mess with people enthralled by a reality television star. So “good TV” was supposed to dethrone Trump? The Dems, as usual, messed up believing Mueller was Perry Mason. The Republicans performed brilliantly and shamelessly in their demonization and taunting of the witness no matter the ethical repercussions. Get ready for four more years of this madness.
2
Absence of "electrifying " moments. We've been getting poked with a cattle prod for the past 2 1/2 years.
41
@Rick Brown
Since 2015.
1
The coverage on Mueller's testimony is sickening.
This isn't a Hollywood event of glamour and climax. This is a series of dense, somber, constitutional proceedings to be studied by informed representatives and private citizens who have a sense of civic duty and the intellectual capacity to comprehend the information.
Having read the entire report, I find it frightening that the Office of Legal Counsel, under the supervision of the Attorney General, could document such findings about the Executive administration and produce such little political effect on the majority of citizens' psyches.
I also find it alarming that the NYT is treating this as if it were a summer blockbuster action movie. This is a serious event for serious people that should produce grave discussions and ramification in both the public and private landscape.
77
@Remarque
I don't see how Russian involvement is so bad. I don't like Trump, but I see the issue as petty. We live in a culture of manipulative advertising. If voters can be swayed by such things, perhaps they shouldn't be able to vote. To me, campaign tactics are trivial matters. They are unsavory, but I don't see them as worthy of impeachment. One can dislike Trump and wish for his removal without feeling that he's doe anything worthy of impeachment (aside from being himself). I feel like the left has discredited itself with this hunt.
1
@Anti-Marx
The Mueller report concludes that Trump sought Sessions not only to intervene into DOJ investigations while recused, but that he specifically requested that Sessions limit the scope of the investigation and dictate its outcome in positive light to Trump.
Given the fruits of the investigation, the succesful prosecutions of Cohen, Flynn, Gates, Papadopoulos and Manafort, to name a few, it’s beyond a doubt that the actions are obstructive. As Mueller says in the report, the existence of grand jury proceedings during this time was public knowledge.
Article II gives the Executive authority over the DOJ, but it doesn’t enable Trump to employ private citizens into intruding DOJ investigations into his misconduct (as he attempted to do). Mueller writes, “Substantial evidence indicates that the President’s effort to have Sessions limit the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation to future election interference was intended to prevent further investigative scrutiny of the President’s and his campaign’s conduct.”
This is just the tip of a long list of findings/conclusions in the report. To any person with a sense of civic duty who is able to comprehend the contents of the report, the conclusions should be as electric as being hit by lightning.
5
@Remarque
Maybe I'm dense, but I don't get it. You're saying that Trump's meddling and abuse of his authority is worse than the original accusation. But is such meddling impeachable? It may be morally repugnant, but is it impeachable. I grew up reading about Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and listening to the Dead Kennedys. I think this whole Russia scandal is so minor compared with the atrocity that was the Vietnam War that it's not even worthy of discussion. I don't like Trump. I find him loathsome. But he hasn't done anything as bad as Vietnam or Iraq. Dems would try to impeach trump for using a salad fork to eat chicken.
But this may make his reelection less likely.
6
I agree! People, most of us listened.
@Michael Livingston’s
On what universe could that be true??
It’s not a Nixon vs Kennedy event. It’s truth and facts vs lies. No electricity needed - just the courage to stand for your convictions and to do the right thing.
13
Impeaching Trump and leaving Mike Pence in the White House wasn't anything like a sane solution to begin with. If you want to get rid of Trump, defeat him in the election.
13
And then take Trump to court!
Lack of electricity? The problem was that Bob Mueller looked senile and incompetent. That's not his fault, of course. Nature and age spare no one. But his testimony made clear that he has not been in charge of this investigation -- someone else has.
Compare Bob Mueller with Bill Barr and there is no comparison. One sharp, one confused. One fluent, one hesitant. One with a firm grasp of the issues, one in a fog. One still in his prime, one past it.
There are still some zealots who think Bob Mueller and his team found something worth pursuing. Or that Bob Mueller's testimony was valuable. They sound like those who found wisdom in the vacuous words of "Chauncey Gardiner" in the book and movie "Being There".
Realists like Nancy Pelosi are wiser. There won't be any impeachment. Yesterday's hearings made the Democrats look foolish. They forced an old man to perform on a stage where he was humiliated and shamed. Shame on them.
8
Yes, Mr. Mueller looked like something was wrong. But I disagree that there won’t be impeachment. Stay tuned.
Democrats were serious and respectful of Mr. Mueller!
Republicans acted like bullies!
1
John, you seem to suggest that the ten instances of obstructive behavior and the clear evidence of Russian interferes are not worth pursuing.
Whether impeachment is viewed as an expedient and effective way to remove trump from office is a separate consideration from whether the information painstakingly detailed in the Mueller Report deserves follow up action.
Barr, a political appointee hand-picked by the object of an investigation, saying that he doesn’t want his petulant boss bothered with all this shouldn’t be the end of it in a supposed nation of laws.
I don’t think one needs to be a zealot to see this.
1
Mark, the Mueller report was the end of his investigation. He finished his job and resigned. There will be no legal action against the president.
Whether the House wants to impeach the president is up to the House, as it has always been. But to insist that Bob Mueller provided any relevant testimony yesterday is zealotry.
1
The scope of the Mueller Investigation was did Trump or his campaign officials conspire with Russian agents. The answer was no. And that was with all democrat lawyers from Mueller's team with connections to the Clintons. All other alleged crimes are nonsense because you can’t be charged with obstruction on a crime you didn’t commit. What’s so hard to understand? If your only evidence is a joke @ a campaign rally, well you wreak of desperation. No person in US history has been able to fight & win over the left wing MSM and politicians from both parties. Trump has done it. That’s why people like & respect him, and will vote Trump in 2020. Myself included.
5
Actually, you CAN be charged with obstruction even if there is no underlying offense.
3
@JOSEPH
ROFL
The "left wing MSM", as you and Fox News call it, are all giant global corporate conglomerates. Even Fox News is. None are lapdogs to anything but bottom line profits. Right up the Republican alley.
Folks at Fox News have lots of "electricity" but no substance.
I'd take substance-rich Mr. Mueller over the entire substance-free cast of Fox News any day. Heck, add Mitch McConnell and all other Republicans in Congress, and Mr. Mueller still wins my vote.
8
What an awful NYT False Equivalence article! Mueller did exactly what he said he would do, except for one or two places where he made it patently clear that impeachment is appropropriate without uttering the words himself. Schiff, at the conference photographed, said that it was time to go beyond Mueller's testimony to gather more facts. Keep up the drumbeat, and even though the Senate would never convict, impeachment is far from off the table, if only as a way to provide evidence to anybody who still is willing to think about the corruption of the GOP in all of its branches. You could have framed it that way, but the Doctrine of False Equivalence prohibits it.
8
I wish Mueller’s mother appeared to him in a dream asking him to make the country wholesome in his congressional testimony.
Please, enough. Our Constitution provides the most effective method of getting rid of the president. It is called an election. And it's coming next year. What, are we the people too dumb to make our own decisions? Or, are we so gullible that we believe and will be influenced by foreign propaganda? We have enough to contend with partisan propaganda and negative ads which are probably far more misleading and vicious than foreign propaganda could ever be.
I would feel far more comfortable in making my own decision about who becomes president rather than handing it over to a group of politicians who will act only in their partisan best interest and never in the interest of the nation. If there is even one elected official who will risk re-election in order to stand up for principle and what is best for the country, please identify yourself. No takers ? I'm shocked.
6
“Democratic strategists believe that an effort to remove the president — an effort that the president and congressional Republicans are certain to define as overtly partisan and unwarranted — could be fatal to those more moderate Democrats next year when Democrats now believe they have a very good chance of holding the House and winning the White House.”
Where do I begin....
I am far from a liberal lefty, but I am completely frustrated and annoyed with Ms. Pelosi.
2018 was a moment for “kitchen table issues” and a check on the President.
But now, the Dems are as political as the Republicans and only interested in holding their seats.
The occupant in the WH only respects power and the Dems - both in the house and on the trail - look weak.
Nancy is playing “not to lose”. Trump and team are playing to win. The former is NEVER a winning strategy.
Is anyone surprised that the Rs will define anything impeachment as completely partisan and “unwarranted”?
The weak and always-reactive Dems are allowing the occupant to get away with upending this experiment of democracy.
And believing (hoping) they can hold the house and win the WH is “playing not to lose”. Remember: there is no path to victory for Trump, HC will win. And while Garland didn’t get a hearing, a HC victory would get Garland-like judges confirmed. 👎🏾
Finally, this isn’t about party. It’s about the soul of the country. Thank GOD for moderates like Katy Porter. Wake up Dems and grow a spine.
6
At this rate Trump will win reelection in 2020 and after leaving office in 2024 a large number of liberals will still be talking about impeachment and Russia and the Mueller report...
15
@Yan Shen Sure, if he doesn't find a way to jail all of his opponents, without trial.
@Yan Shen I doubt that the Democrats will be as obsessed with this subject as the Republicans are with
Hillary Clinton. Still.
I feel sorry for Mueller. Clearly, his reluctance to appear before Congress had nothing to do with his integrity or the law, but everything to do with his realization that he has lost a step. He seemed feeble, distracted and weak. This seems health-related and it raises the question of his competence throughout the entire process. That said, the report -- whoever wrote it -- is damning and provides evidence enough of Trump's High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Congress must impeach Trump, regardless of Mueller's fading "electricity."
4
Somebody needs to say this. Mueller is a Republican. If Obama was investigated by a Democrat, the Republicans would impugn his integrity non-stop. Why does all this hinge on a Republican former FBI head?
6
I am disappointed that this opinion piece is the leading article on the Mueller Report Testimony on your web site. Seems to me that all of this superficial attention on Muller's presentation skills is more important to your editorial staff than the actual information in the report. No wonder Americans are distracted from the shocking and bombshell conclusions the report contains. Your reporting helps Trump deflect public attention away from the critical issues at hand.
21
In 2016, there where those who were furious because they thought Hillary stole the nomination from Bernie.
Now, they're furuous because they think mysterious Russians forced voters to vote against Hillary in 2016, and for Trump.
Moderates in swingstates voted against Hillary, and there wasn't a Russian pointing a gun to their head when they did.
Democrats need to stop trying to find bad guys to blame things on, and focus on issues that Americans actually care about.
10
Read the report and then comment!
@joe - the notion that nobody saw Russians physically in the voting booth, which is a silly idea that many Republicans keep pushing, is missing the point. It was the pervasive and “sweeping” efforts by Russia through fake social media accounts and “news” on Facebook that duped countless Americans to believe fake news. By that I mean actual fake news, not the claptrap that Trump keeps spouting.
So please, stop trafficking in this ridiculous idea that there were no big, menacing Russians in the voting booth and therefore there couldn’t have been Russian interference. If you care about our democracy, you should be concerned about foreign intervention in our elections.
1
I will consider it a success if the President and Congress collectively agree that there was foreign interference in our elections and we should do something about it. I do not really care for impeachment. The next election will settle that matter in any case.
5
@SridharC Remember that trump will be getting foreign help in 2020, and McConnell has assured that by refusing to address it. He has a lock on another term.
Like many other writers, I watched almost all of the proceedings. If anything, I saw that Mueller is a man of his word and steadfastly refused to be drawn into the tug-of-war between the two parties while defending the integrity of the report and his team.
It may seen today that yesterday's hearings did not produce any immediate results for the Democratic party. Mueller's testimony will endure and speak well of those Representatives that treated him with respect. The Mueller Report was always going to be a slow burn; we may not see an impeachment immediately but we will see consequences in the very near future.
Mueller's testimony is also a reminder that democracy is messy.
9
Let me add that one of the best pieces of advice I got when I first went to graduate school was from my advisor, who said some of the best professors you will have are not the most entertaining ones but the ones who may appear boring to some students, and even have that reputation. Watch and listen carefully, these are often the hardworking, dedicated scholars, who may know the most and do the best research.
The advice was absolutely correct in one course. The professor--a boring lecturer to some in the class--became my dissertation advisor, and he was a goldmine of information, experience, patience, ethics, and encouragement.
Not always, of course, like that elderly undergraduate economics professor who, instead of lecturing or having class discussion, read from his textbook at the podium every MWF for 1 hour.
Yes, I know, these days it's form over substance, and we can certainly see where that leads.
6
Is the mainstream media -- that I support -- exacerbating the situation by throwing wet blankets on what should be really substantial news events ? Do they only consider it news if 'bombshells' are dropped?
I watched the full hearing, all 7 hours, and I for the first time realized the full extent of the offenses and the chain of events from beginning to end. Even 1 of these attempts by any other President would have bought him (there has been no 'her' yet) down, but this article suggests that even after hearing the report corroborated by Mueller himself in live testimony, there is no 'there there'.
Has the media got so inured by crying 'breaking news' so often and so very early on, that when the real wolf shows itself it forgets to cry out?
18
We, like Rome, are starting to outlive our relevance. And we have our Nero. What is a country that cannot govern itself, literally paralyzed? We seem to have a very short time to right the ship.
5
"Lack of Electricity?" This is Congress, not Broadway. The hearing reinforced my belief that Trump interfered with an investigation, that he and his people told lies, we have a problem with election interference that's probably more serious than we think, and that Congress needs to act in a bipartisan way to address these issues.
We shouldn't need to be dazzled by a hearing in order to comprehend its significance. Governance isn't performance art.
14
Members of Congress are simply violating their duty to this country in favor of political opportunism.
History will just say this one day.
Nothing else to say about it.
4
So no 'shock and awe' viewing? Well, sorry, it's a hearing. It's Robert Mueller. It's Congress. It's about doing the right thing. Oh, and it happens to be about saving our democracy. But if 'electricity' is needed to excite the American people into impeachment mode, then it's about leadership and Speaker Pelosi is the short-circuit.
7
What kind of electricity does the TIMES need? "Yes" mean yes; "no" means no. The hearings did not refute criminal conduct or conspiring to the same on the part of POTUS. As dry as the witness may have been, the evidence of the report does not change and the witness does not deny the evidence. Impeachable offenses are like a floating balloon over the current administration. Some balloons will not go away.
3
Within the NYT comments the past few days, have been thousands of calls for impeachment. I think most people today are also aware of the media’s culpability in Trump being elected, so excuse me if I don’t agree with you. Congress does their duty to impeach or risk their future jobs.
7
At this point, I will vote for the Democratic candidate who will promise to defeat and indict. Impeachment means nothing.
4
Instead of looking at what was said and the horrifying implications, the news media has been far more concerned with the style over substance. In many ways this has been true of the entire coverage over the Mueller report.
Worst of all it appears true of a vast number of Americans.
The bottom line of Mueller's report and testimony is Russia did everything possible to put Trump in office; they will likely to do everything they can to keep him there; and neither Trump or the Republican Party will do anything to prevent them.
Furthermore Trump did everything possible to coordinate with their efforts and try to block the investigation into Russian interference.
If that weren't enough, everything Trump has done since being in office has benefited Russia and weekend America by undermining the relationship with our allies in Europe and around the World. He could not have done more harm to the Country then if he were a treasonous spy or being blackmailed by Russia.
There is a reason he will not release his Tax Returns.
The nation has more then enough to be shocked by what is known. The problem is not Mueller or his report but with us.
6
When Robert Mueller and his team launched their investigation of Trump's alleged wrongdoings, I was hopeful their findings would confirm those wrongdoings, and that all Americans would receive justice against the rogue president.
But that hope instantly waned the day last spring that Mueller, in presenting the Mueller Report, said he felt no compulsion -- no sense of responsibility -- to speak about its contents.
Mueller's yawning, apathetic, at times delirious, testimony yesterday about the Mueller Report put any remaining hope of justice against Trump on life support.
2
The Honorable Robert Mueller III looked like he might have Alzheimers yesterday. He just wasn't there.
Secondly, what point is a Special Prosecutor if they are under the management of those being investigated and that their findings are proprietary to those same people? Congress needs a better check on the Executive branch short of impeachment.
1
In an ideal world we would be impeaching Trump. However in this point in time "Impeachment" seems to be one single bullet that Democrats have. They have to aim it right and fire it at the right time to hit a target that seems to be ever moving, partially obscured and obstructed from view and buried inside molasses! There is a great chance that it will miss it's target. The downside being that it'd cost Democrats a lot of time, energy and clout. So this has to be weighed very carefully.
1
The Democrats walked right into the GOP's trap on this. Mueller wasn't just boring -- he was unwatchable -- it was physically painful to experience.
When the Special Counsel couldn't recall his first Presidential appointment (Pres. Reagan named him U.S. Attorney for Mass.), it was all over.
There's only one Hail Mary pass left for impeachment -- let's see the NY State tax returns!
5
What I got from the article is that Pelosi believes an impeachment attempt could cost the Democrats the White House and the House. “Electricity” is important because we’re a democracy and not enough voters or congressmen where swayed by the hearings. She’s a political realist and that means she counts votes. She thinks impeachment would do more harm than good to the Democrats.
I’m confused about the passionate impeachment crowd. If the Senate refuses to convict, wouldn’t impeachment be strictly a symbolic statement? It happens to be a statement I agree with 100%, but I also trust that Pelosi is better than I am at counting votes, and the possibility of losing the White House and the House is about a trillion times more important than a symbolic statement.
@Chris Jones: Why should impeachment boil down to counting votes? Every member of that chamber took an oath to protect the Constitution and our nation. If the FACTS support impeachment then it is their DUTY to pursue it regardless of the odds of it's outcome. If others want to be corrupt and put party before country let them... but Dems will be no better if they play that same game.
1
@Michael The article implies that Pelosi is counting votes. She thinks too many Democrats in swing districts will lose re-election because of anti-impeachment backlash. I don't know that she's correct, but that's what the article says. It might be fair to say that winning is the only thing she cares about.
She's counting voters in congressional districts, and she's also counting votes of the congress itself. Since there was no shift in the vote count of congress before and after the hearing, the odds of impeachment have gone down. This is the point of the article.
Forget “electricity” and theatrics—
There is no president in our history more deserving of impeachment—by orders of magnitude—than Donald John Trump.
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Problem here is that the DNC Politburo--Nadler, Schiff et al.--keeps hanging our Sovietized mass-media out there for more public ridicule and deserved derision. Poised to pounce but nowhere to go, save to chagrin again.
7
"Lack of electricity in Mueller Testimony Short-Circuits Impeachment."
If that is how easy it is to put the House Democratic leaders back into their dream state, I have little hope of a long future for our Republic.
10
The saddest thing with all this was not the lack of electricity, the absence of rabbits jumping from Mr. Mueller's hat, or whatever. The saddest thing today was watching and taking in the so-called news cycle, especially in NYT, CNN and other Trump-critical media, framing the hearing as a disappointment. Talk about setting the scene.
I happen to think (the majority of) the American people are not yet limited in their perception to movies not books. So get going.
18
Whether or not Impeachment Hearings are held is the defining battle that will determine whether the Rule of Law survives in our Country. It doesn't matter if the Senate convicts, the failure to hold hearings would be to acquiesce to lawlessness by the Executive Branch. The Democrats are cravenly holding their fingers to the political winds while the Republic trembles at the precipice.
7
I think Mueller looked like a man who was very frightened.
Nervous, frightened and terrified because "someone" had gotten to him and warned him about saying the wrong thing.
Completely believable with trump in charge.
7
@Judy Johnson
I'd bet against someone who served in Vietnam being "frightened" or "terrified".
He went to Vietnam & aggressively investigated Russia.
For people to say a 75 year old man "looked" frightened or old (he's 75! that's old!) or not as sharp as say 10 years ago are falling into the ageism trap.
To repeat, who do you want to land your airplane in the middle of the Hudson river? The old guy. Who do you want leading a 2 year investigation that includes Russia, & the president of the United States. The old guy.
The investigation lead to the indictments (that's very serious, you don't want that) of over 30 people, multiple jail sentences including the presidents campaign manager, the presidents personal #1 lawyer and is still going.....shows the veracity of anyone who was in charge of it.
Your interpretation is incorrect.
1
The only way to impeach Trump is for congress to somehow make it "must see TV"? What is the point of even pretending that we have a rational law based republic. The whole system has become as absurdist as a Vonnegut novel.
8
This country has completely lost the moral courage to stand up for what is right.
21
Exactly, we need to remove Omar immediately.
7
We’re giving too much power to Mueller (and the media). At least Democrats in the House are. There’s enough evidence to pursue impeachment and the integrity of our democracy depends on it. The public will follow as the facts emerge for those too busy or impatient to read the report.
6
Every day I hear folks say that Trump gets away with everything. He will continue to get away with everything as long as we and the Congress do not hold him accountable for anything. It's clear from the public record and Mueller's testimony that Trump should be impeached.
The House should not hesitate to open an impeachment inquiry. The politics of the moment must not stop us from demanding that our elected Representatives honor their oath of office.
To say no to impeachment means that we and they are turning a blind eye to the corruption and criminality so clearly defined in Mueller's report.
Impeachment is not removal from office. It is the process of charging an elected official with “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Conviction by the Senate is irrelevant to the obligation we and the Congress have to say loudly and clearly that we will not condone Trump's blatant efforts to flaunt the rule of law, and abuse the powers of the Presidency.
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 today! We must make our voices heard as if our future depends on it...because it does.
6
I don't understand Mr. Hulse's reasoning. I listened to Muellertestimony yesterday, which repeated his written report verbatim could possibly aid or comfort the Republicans. He did not recommend impeachment in that report and didn't recommend now. It wasn't his job to advise Congress how to punish Trump's crimes. His job was to expose them and present them to the House. He did that with professional thoroughness, but, as he pointed out repeatedly, Justice Dept. rules would not permit it.
So he left it to Congress to deal with Trump's crimes then and left it to Congress now. I am at loss to understand why Republicans, Mr. Hulse, or anyone else would think Trump Trump won yesterday.
1
Director Mueller's testimony was not a "performance," the ongoing discussion by both citizens and their representatives about impeachment is not "chatter" and the last time I checked The Times was not supposed to be a source for infotainment. The coverage of Mueller's testimony has been shoddy, superficial and deeply un-serious. You are a lifeline to me and many other citizens in these horrible days---for all our sakes please channel Woodward and Bernstein rather than the National Enquirer.
7
Mr. Mueller's testimonies were arid, clinical and informative. One needed to be somewhat intelligent to follow along and weed out the noise. But of course the president says, "I love the poorly educated.". One more thing bugs me: why are Trump and the republicans attacking the man they just recently claimed to have "totally exonerated" him?
6
Sad what is happening to this country... do facts now have to be smothered in a dose of "electricity" for them to be accepted and acted upon? Is Justice now just an abstract term that must have it's popularity and ratings assessed before acting? It is CLEAR from the testimony that Trump asked McGahn and others to fire Mueller. It is also clear that he had a guilty mindset as he asked McGahn to create a phony White House paper trail to hide his asking him to fire Mueller. It is also clear that Trump orchestrated illegal campaign payments to pay off Stormy Daniels, thus being part of a criminal conspiracy. How much more does it take to act for crying out loud? The saying "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing" comes to mind.
6
The evidence is compelling that we have a criminal in the white house. Yet, I'm good with no impeachment at this time. Lock him up in 2021.
Can the Dems spent their time and energy on improving the lives of all Americans? And then actually talk about it in a way that resonates with all Americans? That will move the needle on the election - with a stronger house, senate and a president who actually care about the majority of us.
But what about the atrocities taking place in the immigrant detention centers?
The problem is, given Pelosi's and Schumer's vapid centrism, there is no real opposition party to respond to any of the vile policies of the Republican Party.
Trump and his family and friends will face justice. There are Americans who are in it for however long it takes.
Trump will learn crime does not pay.
Trump will end up like Epstein cowering in some dark prison cell.
4