Mueller Tells Lawmakers That His Report Does Not Exonerate Trump
Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Public Citizen
Note: Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller appeared before the U.S. House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees today and confirmed the facts contained in his 448-page report that show Russia orchestrated an effort to influence America’s 2016 elections in favor of Candidate Donald Trump. In contrast to his claims, President Donald Trump is not “totally exonerated.”
Mueller’s testimony today finally gave the American public a long overdue counternarrative to the misinformation of this administration on his report, reminding us that: Donald Trump benefited from Russian influence in the presidential election and that if Trump was not occupying the Oval Office, he likely would be under criminal indictment for obstructing justice. Despite Trump’s social media campaign to hinder Mueller’s investigation, as was stated by Mueller today, the president has not been exonerated.
Mueller’s investigation resulted in nearly 40 indictments, seven guilty convictions or guilty pleas and at least 10 possible instances of obstruction of justice, some of which involved the president lying to FBI investigators. These instances are a reminder that Trump must still account for his possible crimes and that Russia still presents a grave threat to America’s election security.