I’m not sure exactly how this plays out long term. I do know that it’s hilarious to see even Robert Mueller, the patron Saint of the #resistance, tell Democrats to pound sand over their demands for testimony. Maybe that should clue them in that perhaps they should stop acting like power drunk partisans and start negotiating in good faith? Just spitballing here.
The Washington Post reports that Mueller does not want to suffer fools and be a political pawn for Democrats. Instead, he only wants to address his report and he doesn’t want to do so via a public spectacle. That means he’s not into further speculation on Trump being a criminal or fulfilling Jerry Nadler’s wildest dreams by accusing the President of something he didn’t put in the report.
For those eager to see special counsel Robert S. Mueller III testify, lay waste to misinformation about his report and put Attorney General William P. Barr in his place, you can keep right on waiting.
The Washington Post confirms that Mueller is reluctant to testify publicly beyond the contents of his report. He is at an impasse with the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who wants all of Mueller’s testimony to be public.
I love that first line. Aaron Blake, the writer of that article, is supposedly an unbiased reporter and fact checker. He sounds more like a blogger for the DailyKos. I guess it’s conventional wisdom now that Mueller’s report has been “misrepresented,” even though Mueller himself said that’s not true. Who needs facts when you can push liberal political porn.
Regardless, it appears that Jerry Nadler is being shoved aside again, and that’s no easy task. His unrealistic and purely political demands continue to undermine his investigative authority and it’s causing witness after witness to fail to show. Honestly, I can’t blame Mueller for not wanting to be grilled in front of the cameras by a bunch of half-lucid questioners desperately trying to keep a dead narrative alive.
All of this has Democrats suddenly developing a case of the sads.
But Trump opponents who saw Mueller as their white knight have a difficult time letting go of that. Even after Mueller decided it wasn’t his place to accuse Trump of obstruction of justice, they believe his testimony might reveal something beyond the text of his report, or that he might even just come out and say Trump committed obstruction. The fact that Mueller wrote a letter criticizing Barr’s handling of the rollout of his report’s findings made them feel like he’s got a story he wants to tell.
That’s been the vain hope for a while. That Mueller really wanted Congress to call him in so he could lay into Trump and let them know of all the juicy stuff he didn’t write down. It looks like that isn’t going to happen and was never something Mueller was interested in doing.
But what’s happening now indicates we’re not about to see anything amounting to Robert Mueller, unplugged. If he felt it was important for him to show up to Congress and set the record straight, he probably wouldn’t be haggling over limiting his public comments. You’d think he’d be taking the first available date.
But it’s also remarkable that Mueller is sticking to this posture, even now. It’s understandable that Mueller wants to stay above the political fray, as he has tried to do throughout his time in public office. But he’s now in the fray. The fact that he rarely speaks publicly allowed Barr to define his report before people had a chance to read it. Mueller will forever be judged by the contents of the Mueller report and how it shook out politically, but right now he’s letting Barr own the debate.
Blake almost sounds upset, doesn’t he?
The truth is, Barr didn’t “define his report.” The report was released publicly and it defined itself, flaws and all. While the media continue to lie about the situation, the facts speak for themselves. The idea that Mueller was fuming in the wings, ready to storm into Congress and set Bill Barr straight was always a #resistance fantasy.
Democrats are now left asking “now what?” The President has shunned their witch hunt. Now even Robert Mueller is laughing at their demands and saying nah. How many more hits can Schiff and Nadler make on CNN when it’s just them yelling at the wall? In the end, they just look weak and badly motivated. These “investigations” are already starting to backfire on the Democrats and I’m just here for the show.
Enjoying the read? Please visit my archive and check out some of my latest articles.
I’ve got a new twitter! Please help by following @bonchieredstate.
The post Robert Mueller Laughs at Jerry Nadler’s Demands, Won’t Testify Anytime Soon appeared first on RedState.