Robert Mueller’s ‘final statement’ was a disgraceful mess

[Right_in_Virginia]

Robert Mueller’s ‘final statement’ was a disgraceful mess
NY Post, May 29, 2019, John Podhoretz

[…]

His statement was only 8 minutes long. The report is 400 pages long. It matters what he chose to repeat from it and what he did not. He wanted the American people to hear him speak those words. He wanted to emphasize this point.

The “I couldn’t exonerate him” point is discomfiting for another reason, which is: Since when do prosecutors exonerate people? That isn’t a prosecutor’s job. Maybe in the aftermath of a wrongful conviction, with irrefutable physical evidence, prosecutors will say something exculpatory. But even in most of these cases, they usually drop charges on grounds of insufficient evidence, not positive proof of innocence.

The obvious rejoinder here is that the president of the United States isn’t just any person and that it is bad for our government and our country for a dark cloud to hang over the president’s head. Therefore, in theory, dissipating that cloud would be a good thing (even if such a purpose was not in any way Mueller’s charge when he was hired in 2017).

Mueller wanted the American people to hear him say he couldn’t dissipate the cloud. And by announcing that, he just spread it out over the president’s head again. This is why his peculiar locutions and soothsayer ambiguity represent a terrible failure of his mission as a public servant in this case.

He hasn’t clarified. He has muddied.

[…]

Mueller just made sure all the oxygen in Washington will be sucked into talking about the president’s post-election conduct and not Russia’s 2016 conduct. And he will reinforce the president’s willful refusal to take Russian hacking seriously (because he wrongly thinks if he does so, he would somehow be acknowledging his election was illegitimate). Mueller cannot be blamed for how Trump reacts, but he just made reaching bipartisan consensus on the need for cyber-protections against electoral interference far more difficult.

If I could exonerate him on this point, I would so state.



More:  https://nypost.com/2019/05/29/muellers-final-statement-was-a-disgraceful-mess/

[Right_in_Virginia]

[skeeter]

This from a former never-Trumper.

He's absolutely right.

[jafo2010]

How many times do the American people need to hear about some great man with integrity who proves time and again that they are no such thing, and in fact part of the Deep State perps that are part of the coup?

With the exception of a handful in Washington, Trump is alone out there battling adversaries that will pull any stunt necessary to do harm to this president.  Trump on the other hand has proven to be the eunuch concerning the issue of agencies that are way out of control.  The FBI should be abolished, and merged into Homeland Security.  Get rid of all the brass at the FBI.  Everyone above first line supervision would be given the boot!

Same is true for the IRS.  With the advancement of computer systems, we no longer need to do tax returns, no longer need the corrupt IRS that makes it their mission in life to ruin people's lives.  Plus, I know so many people that have NEVER filed a return, making six figure incomes.  I never did understand how they managed that, but they do.

[dfwgator]

How many times do the American people need to hear about some great man with integrity who proves time and again that they are no such thing, and in fact part of the Deep State perps that are part of the coup?

With the exception of a handful in Washington, Trump is alone out there battling adversaries that will pull any stunt necessary to do harm to this president.  Trump on the other hand has proven to be the eunuch concerning the issue of agencies that are way out of control.  The FBI should be abolished, and merged into Homeland Security.  Get rid of all the brass at the FBI.  Everyone above first line supervision would be given the boot!

Same is true for the IRS.  With the advancement of computer systems, we no longer need to do tax returns, no longer need the corrupt IRS that makes it their mission in life to ruin people's lives.  Plus, I know so many people that have NEVER filed a return, making six figure incomes.  I never did understand how they managed that, but they do.

It's a Big Club, and you ain't in it.