This is going to be a short one:
I have seen a disappointing number very very cool people here discuss how very cool they are in dismissing that Mueller is “in the tank” and basically said absolutely nothing.
I am more than willing to bet that anyone saying that is unfamiliar with how lawyers and judges speak, at least the good ones, as well as a large consideration for not going poo-flinging monkey insane from the podium attempting to bury Trump.
Not much to say, bear with me:
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Critical Point Number One:
Well, “No collusion. No obstruction” is dead, never to come back, at least in any real news organization, perhaps even Fox.
Mueller stated very clearly:
1. Barr lied his ass off in an attempt to spin.
2. It was not “no collusion,” it was “we did not have enough evidence to make a determination regarding collusion — which was a different question than obstruction because it was his initial assignment.
3. It was NO HOAX, it was real, and real serious.
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Critical Point Number Two
No Obstruction is deader than fried chicken.
Mueller stated very clearly that no matter what they found, they had determined very early that they could not indict a sitting president.
1. He DID say that had they had evidence to clear Trump, they would so have said. They did not.
2. He utterly knee-capped Barr’s assertion regarding “non-traditional prosecutorial decision, leaving it up to Barr. He said no such thing at all. He mentioned, “under our constitution there is one means to charge …” — That is Congress’s job, not Barr’s. Again, demonstrating Barr lied his ass off.
3. Obstruction relates to number one, “finding sufficient evidence” is near impossible when the main people are obstructing, lying, won’t talk, etcetera.
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Most importantly, he did not say Trump could never be indicted, only could not be as sitting president.
Mueller, more than anyone, knows that this is far from over. He will be attacked. He will be called before Congress. His investigation will be scoped more times than a redneck by aliens.
He is not about to ruin his credibility now on his way out the door, knowing he’s got far more to do on the matter, much as he may not want to.
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Many here understand that, and have the patience.
MANY here do not.
Of course I wish he came out and said “Trump is a lying sack of shit that I cannot believe hasn’t been removed from office a week ago.
And Repubs would then say “SEE!!! It’s a hoax by people who hate Trump!!!”
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Don’t hang heads.
Don’t give up.
We didn’t get shut out.
Some damn important stuff was said, it’ll just take a bit for it to sink in for those not used to this type of stuff.
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Peace.
And for godsake, breathe.
Yay! Are you here for good!??
Saw this article at DK earlier…glad you’re here! Honestly, I feel screaming at some of the impatient folks you’re talking about until my throat is raw over this. Why is it that the closer we get to the end of ugly matters like this, the more batshit people get?
That, and assuming that because Mueller is acquainted with Barr that he’s a friend and will protect Barr.
Ok I will breathe; because i am freakin angry at Muller, pelosi, Schumer and any Democrat who can’t see that we need to move with “ALL deliberate speed” to END trump’s reign of terror from the WH.
I waited a week to post a reply because I wanted to make sure that my initial feelings held up over time. They do. I don’t believe you were referencing me when you described “very very cool people” because that just doesn’t fit. But I do think something is very strange about Mueller’s behavior.
Did Paul Revere pause to decide if he should ride around Massachusetts alerting people of the British invasion or instead write a 400 plus page of dense narrative and expect people to drop everything and read it? I don’t think so, and I’m glad he didn’t.
Far more people are expressing consternation over Nancy Pelosi’s behavior than over Robert Mueller’s. However, Pelosi is a politician. She should be expected to move in a manner that maintains broad public acceptance. We can debate whether her perceptions of how fast to bring things forward is correct, but nobody should criticize her for not doing an extremely important job as fast and sloppy as possible. I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that she is moving things in the right direction, but doing it in a way that causes the least blowback early on and builds a solid foundation for future actions.
Mueller, on the other hand, was given a task of determining if the Chief Executive – and people around him – committed serious offences. He now knows more on this subject than anybody else. And all he will do is issue a dense report, and refuse to answer questions? WTF? And this is even after the same targets of his investigation have grabbed the spotlights and mischaracterized his findings. People have described Mueller’s presentation as if he were blinking “Impeachment” in Morse code. Is he a prisoner of war? If not, why is he behaving like one?
I can only speculate. I don’t have any inside information. But looking at events unfold, it seems to me that there is something of a Mexican standoff between Mueller and the bad guys. They have something on him, so he can’t go full blast. He has so much on them, that they won’t go all out after him (yet) and risk him leaking more material. But in this situation, the administration would seem to have the stronger position long term. They can slowly – at their own pace – undermine him until he has become sufficiently damaged to be less credible when he decides to fight back.
I agree with everybody that the Mueller press conference moved the ball forward. That is good. But everything about it makes me more apprehensive, not less.