Special Counsel Robert Mueller issues a statement, Justice Department, May 29, 2019 (Jim Bourg/Reuters)

Special Counsel Robert Mueller says there was evidence that Donald Trump committed a crime during the investigation of Trump-Russia links from 2017 to 2019.

In his first on-the-record statement since he was appointed in May 2017, Mueller said, “If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”

The Special Counsel did not spell out the offenses, but indicated they constituted obstruction or attempted obstruction of justice:

When a subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of their government’s effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable.

The 448-page Mueller Report, issued in April, found that Trump may have obstructed in eight of ten cases. It set out evidence for action, connection to an ongoing criminal investigation, and intent.

But covering for Trump, Attorney General William Burr tried to bury the findings through the assertion — with no attention to the individual cases — that there was no reason to proceed over obstruction of justice.

Justice Department Blocked Criminal Prosecution

Mueller set out the primary reason why he did not pursue criminal proceedings against Trump: the guidance of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

A special counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice, and by regulation, it was bound by that department policy. Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider.

The Special Counsel said that, within those limits, “we concluded that we would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime”.

Over to You, Congress

Mueller rebuffed calls that he appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify about the inquiry and the White House’s handling of the report, “I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the Justice Department or Congress.”

At the same time, by closing off the criminal path, Mueller — announcing the official dismantling of his team and his resignation from the Justice Department — implicitly handed the matter to Congress.

Democratic-led committees in the House of Representatives are pursuing multiple hearings on Trump-Russia links, obstruction of justice, and Trump’s tax and financial affairs.

But the White House and Trump’s lawyers are pursuing an all-out campaign to block the hearings. They are advising witnesses not to comply with subpoenas and refusing to hand over documents. Meanwhile, Barr has still not provided the unredacted Mueller Report to legislators.

Mueller did not comment directly beyond his red line on a personal appearance, but he closed with remarks that could be construed as jabs at Trump.

After more than two years of Trump’s insults and falsehoods about his team — as well as the June 2017 attempt to fire the Special Counsel — Mueller emphasized, “These individuals who spent nearly two years with the special counsel’s office were of the highest integrity.”

Then he closed with a sentence which could knock back Trump’s assertion of “No Collusion” — knowledge or encouragement of the Russian interference by the Trump campaign:

I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that there were multiple systemic efforts to interfere in our election.

And that allegation deserves the attention of every American.

Trump’s Shift

Trump responded on Twitter, minutes after Mueller finished speaking. Significantly, he dropped his “No Obstruction, No Collusion”, substituting another distortion.

Far from seeing “insufficient evidence” or a closed case, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi summarized, “If [Mueller] had any evidence that the president was not guilty, he would have let us know. But he didn’t. He didn’t. And I think that was very, very important.”

She said Congress should continue to press for more information, including the unredacted Mueller Report.

But Trump ended his evening with his standard attempt to deflect any further inquiry, “How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats? WITCH-HUNT!”