Robert Mueller (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Former special counsel Robert Mueller is testifying in front of Congress. Congresspeople are speaking fast, Mueller has said, “I refer you to my report,” approximately 20 times in the first hour. Everything is going according to this (extremely stupid) plan.
I am watching, and tweeting. As are others. Here’s some of what people are saying:
LIVE TWEETING #MuellerHearings Today will determine if #RobertMueller is loyal to the Constitution above all or to his love of institutional procedure. America’s Constitutional Republic could die today or fight back.
— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) July 24, 2019
☕️ Here we go. The Mueller Hearing begins. Judiciary Committee Chair Nadler gavels in at 8:33 am. He praises Robert Mueller’s background and convictions he achieved. Cost of investigation “approaches zero” given the forfeitures from Manafort.
— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) July 24, 2019
Colloquially, there’s a big difference between trolling and threatening. LEGALLY, there’s no crime for “trolling.” So it gets reduced to “true threat” or not.
Saying there was no “threat” doesn’t mean there was no trolling.
Saying there was no conspiracy doesn’t mean no collusion— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
Ratcliffe dead wrong about the Special Counsel regs. I drafted them in 1999. They absolutely don’t forbid the Mueller Report. And they recognize the need for a Report ” both for historical purposes and to enhance accountability.”
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 24, 2019
31/ One thing the Democrats did well is that for *any* question they think Mueller might answer with, “I refer you to my report,” they have prepared how to ask the question should they get exactly that response from Mueller. That was smart of them. Good preparation on that score.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) July 24, 2019
Republican strategy thus far is to attack Mueller for not reaching a decision on Trump.
Nadler HAS to give Mueller enough time to explain that.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) July 24, 2019
The level to which this country relies on 70 plus year old white men is fucking ridiculous.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
I’ll be here all day. I’ll keep updating this post.
. @replouiegohmert: Isn’t it true that you are the real killer?
Mueller: I can’t answer that.
Rep Gohmert: When did you find out Peter Strzok kidnapped the Lindberg baby?
Mueller: I removed him when I
Gohmert: ARE YOU A WITCH, SIR?
Mueller: I take your question
(i’m paraphrasing)— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
(Sorry, I just needed some Beyonce.)
The Special Counsel confirms that the President ordered the White House lawyer to lie about the president’s obstruction of justice and threatened to fire him if he wouldn’t. #MuellerHearings
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) July 24, 2019
“This has been a disaster for the Democrats and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller.” Chris Wallace @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
My lord the commentary on tv about today’s hearing is a sad measure of our politics. Almost nothing about the content of the report or testimony – 98% on whether Mueller “looks old” or who’s strategery is better. The issue is crimes committed by the President, not hairstyles!
— Ian Bassin (@ianbassin) July 24, 2019
Yes! But Pres Trump has been claiming “total exoneration” since the minute the report appeared. That’s a lie. But he has repeated it often enough that some people seem to believe it. So it’s worth restating the truth. https://t.co/pnwbXdcyNX
— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) July 24, 2019
Every smart person I know has been in this situation, where they’ve done the reading, but others haven’t, and so the teacher slows everything down to deal with the people who haven’t done the reading
We just have to sit here playing Tetris until the rest of the class catches up
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
Meanwhile… in Puerto Rico, this is how they roll:
BUCK: Mr. Mueller, you are the kind of American that we should all aspire to be; a true patriot and public servant. But this is 2019, so I’m going to tear you a new asshole and call you a traitor.
— Thornton McEnery (@ThorntonMcEnery) July 24, 2019
I love how Republicans, now Buck, like, FORCES Mueller to say that he absolutely would have indicted @realDonaldTrump if he had been allowed to do so.
And then KEEPS on it, to say that Trump can be charged after he leaves office.#MuellerHearings— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
Excellent questioning (finally) by @tedlieu. He took the individual items on p97 of the Report and showed how it all lays out a full and complete crime. This may sound complicated, with 3 elements and the like, but everyone needs to understand what just happened.
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 24, 2019
Buck’s questioning was particularly good, but he asked a question he didn’t know the answer to, and got the wrong answer.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) July 24, 2019
DEAR MEDIA: The Questioning after the break has gone MUCH BETTER FOR DEMOCRATS than before the break. PLEASE UPDATE your initial hot-takes accordingly! I know it’s hard. I know it’s hard to CONTINUE listening, but PLEASE TRY. #MuellerHearings
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
Mueller finally stands up for himself when GOP jackass accuses him of being sloppy and aggressive. I am not a fan of Mueller but he is the opposite — meticulous and timid, the latter to a fault.
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) July 24, 2019
I’m now feeling like #Mueller is pulling a Maester Pycelle. He seems old and confused and yet, whenever the @HouseGOP tries to bust him up, he kind of snaps back and plays his game hard.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
“It’s a beautiful report.”
— President Trump, May 27
The report was “un-American.”
— Republican congressman, July 24
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 24, 2019
Another very important exchange:@RepRaskin: “you found evidence that the President engaged in efforts to encourage witnesses not to cooperate with the investigation.”
Mueller: “That’s correct.” pic.twitter.com/6a9FRGlGjK
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) July 24, 2019
LOL:
Rep Steube [incredulously]: “So you’re NOT going to speak any more to it but you’re NOT going to agree to my characterization.”
[long pause]
Steube: “is that correct?”
Mueller: “Yes.”— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 24, 2019
STEUBE: You can’t tell this committee if you interviewed Steele?
MUELLER: That is correct, dipshit.
— Thornton McEnery (@ThorntonMcEnery) July 24, 2019
Mueller is every law professor who has assigned reading and who walks into class discovering no one read. #MuellerHearing
— lawprofblawg (@lawprofblawg) July 24, 2019
bold of this gentleman to imagine that the Democrats in Congress would spend months holding someone to account
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) July 24, 2019
Rep. Johnson is closing for the Republican side. Accused his team of bias. Claims that while president’s social media accounts influenced media and followers, claims it did not affect any witnesses.
151/
— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) July 24, 2019
The moment Robert Mueller said lies by Trump campaign officials and the administration officials impeded the Mueller investigation. https://t.co/QOS1Mn0wA5
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) July 24, 2019
Republicans are not challenging any of the actual obstruction arguments on the facts because they can’t. All they have is to smear Mueller as biased, which is ludicrous, but plays well with the conspiratorial base.
— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) July 24, 2019
AND NOW FOR HEARING NUMBER TWO. This time in front of House Intel.
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.