After Mueller Comments, Nadler Declares It's Time For Congress To Take Over

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo



By Kate Riga
May 29, 2019 11:46 am

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) latched onto special counsel Robert Mueller’s comments Wednesday on his inability to charge President Donald Trump with obstruction due to standing Justice Department policy, declaring that it is Congress’ job to take over.

-snip-

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who has skyrocketed into the national spotlight after becoming the first office-holding Republican to call Trump’s actions impeachable, also implied in a tweet that it is Congress’ job to examine bringing obstruction charges where Mueller couldn’t. Read Nadler’s full statement here:

“We would like to thank Special Counsel Robert Mueller for his service to our nation over the past two years. In his statement this morning, Special Counsel Mueller reaffirmed his report, which found substantial evidence that Russia attacked our political system and that the President sought to obstruct Mueller’s investigation over and over again. He also confirmed three central points: he did not exonerate the President of the United States of obstruction of justice, obstruction of justice is a serious crime that strikes at the core of our justice system, and the Constitution points to Congress to take action to hold the President accountable.

“Although Department of Justice policy prevented the Special Counsel from bringing criminal charges against the President, the Special Counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying about the Special Counsel’s findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the Special Counsel’s report, and is lying in saying that the Special Counsel found no obstruction and no collusion. Given that Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the President, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump – and we will do so. No one, not even the President of the United States, is above the law.”

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nadler-mueller-trump-obstruction-congress

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Amash Responds To Mueller Statement: ‘The Ball Is In Our Court, Congress’

By Cristina Cabrera
May 29, 2019 11:47 am

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) responded to special counsel Robert Mueller’s press conference on Wednesday by echoing his push for Congress to take action against President Donald Trump.

“The ball is in our court, Congress,” Amash tweeted in response to Mueller’s statement that he couldn’t charge President Donald Trump with a crime because Justice Department guidelines prevent him from doing so.

Link to tweet

Amash stands out as the sole Republican in Congress who has called for impeachment proceedings against Trump after Mueller’s report showed repeated attempts by Trump to obstruct his investigation.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/amash-responds-to-mueller-statement-the-ball-is-in-our-court-congress

[Delmette2.0]

1. Yes! Thank you Mr. Nadler.

[onetexan]

17. second that

[Achilleaze]

2. Get your ass in gear, US Congress

Decency, honor, truth, and US democracy are depending on you.

[Nevermypresident]

3. Yes, Mueller clearly put the spotlight back on Congress (House) and Nadler is responding.

We need to take over the narrative as well as move in the next month with formal Articles of Impeachment with open televised hearings.

Let the corrupt Senate Republicans show their faces once and for all to all the Independent voters in this country.

[Marthe48]

4. DO IT

The United States of America have been held hostage long enough.

Stop splitting hairs and using euphemisms to describe the treason coup happening right here, right now. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

[INdemo]

5. Amash....well Nadler too,are the only ones in Congress that have

real backbone..Is this Congress of 2019 the same as the Congress of 2010 and has no fight or are scared of their own shadow.."Whiners.."Well it might have political consequences" they say
Damn right it will Pelosi can retire a defeated Congresswoman unless she does what the Majority of Democrats that voted for this Congress wants them to do

If Pelosi wants to stall and run out the clock till election then she should step down as speaker.

[KaDee]

6. Do not

Under estimate Pelosi. She knows what she is doing on more than one front.

[yaesu]

10. I trust in her judgment and that she will do the right thing at the right time. nt

[JudyM]

13. I would, except that she let Bush & Cheney walk and should not have.

[stopdiggin]

7. our new golden boy?

Oh, please. Amash has been running around tooting his little horn .. for all of about a week? Could we maybe hold off on the hero worship for like another week?

I know, I know. Impeach NOW, or you're a turncoat sniveling coward!

[LiberalLovinLug]

12. +1000

Well said!

Now I am cautiously optimistic that a Democrat will win the next Presidency, BUT, if we had to look back from 2020, watching ....hough....Trump sworn in for a second term, do Democrats really want to look back at this last year before that, and remember how we tried and tried and tried to find common ground to pass an infrastructure bill (which the GOP Senate, would be quick to claim credit for). And our pitiful hope that voters would be so enamoured of our pragmatism, our ability to dismiss Trump's abuse of American institutions, his impeachable behaviour, in order to get down and do the "normal" work that the House should be doing?

or looking back and proud that at least we tried to defend the country from him? That at least his crimes were laid out for all to see. At least the rest of the GOP were made to look like the complicit sycophants they are.

Because I think that even IF we lost, but went all out to expose as much as we could about his crimes, and the GOP complicity, through impeachment, eventually it would cloud his second term. There'd be new crimes, and it would be a cumulative effect where eventually even the majority of his base would give up on him.

Meanwhile, to try and initiate impeachment AFTER he was re-elected a second time, with Mueller long gone, probably on some tropical island hoping to never return, and his report long ago put out to pasture by Fox News, and followed by CNN and MSNBC later on, would be too late, too stupid to even think about. We think this normalization today is bad? If we endorse this present day "normal" by pretending Trump's actions and behaviour are not serious enough to even impeach, then that "normal" will shift so far in the next few years to the point where today's "normal" will seem like utopia in comparison.

[cstanleytech]

16. Is Amash doing it because he rediscovered he had a backbone or is it because he is afraid for his

election chances vs a Democratic candidate in his district more than he is worried about a Trump supporting challenger from his own party?

[MGKrebs]

8. I am on board with impeachment hearings now.

The iron is hot, so to speak.

[cstanleytech]

18. True it does have some appeal but all removing Trump would do would be to remove Trump but

Trumps people would still be in the varies positions of power and Pence would then become President and he would be a tougher one to link to the corruption before the election.
No, as much as it sucks I think we are going to have to simply grit our teeth and hold.
Why? Because whats most important is not impeaching Trump its winning back the White House and Senate from Repugnant control and the easiest route for us going forward to do that is to link all the Repugnants to the corruption and nothing shows that anymore clear than their refusal to stop Trump in the Senate.

[MGKrebs]

19. But doesn't holding impeachment hearings do that best?

High visibility, drama. As we all know, this is not a court of law, but it's purpose would be to illuminate the wrongdoing and sway public opinion. Apply maximum pressure to those R Sens.

If we believe there is criminality (no real doubt at this point) then what better way to apply pressure than to make those Sens deny the obvious lawbreaking or vote for impeachment?

The thing I am not clear on is this: Let's say the House votes for impeachment. They would take their articles of impeachment and present them to the Senate for trial. But is the Senate obligated to receive those articles? What if McConnell just never acknowledges them?

[cstanleytech]

20. Sure it potentially can do that but it could also potentially hurt our chances as well as it

could provide Trump with both a platform to rally his base around as well as a ton of free PR with the news media.

[MGKrebs]

21. Remember how trump couldn't help himself when

talking to Lester Holt? Let's hear him try to defend that decision again, and answer to wanting to fire Sessions, and Mueller. Ask him "How is that not obstruction" and see what happens. Even though it would be his lawyers (presumably) answering, you know he won't be able to resist tweeting stupid stuff.

[CanonRay]

9. About fucking time.

[marble falls]

11. The correct and best thing said after Mueller's statement: Mueller delivered the information ...

now Congress gets to act on it.

[GreydeeThos]

15. Go Jerry!

I want to see impeachment yesterday. Today is already too late.

Impeach, subpoena the unreacted Special Council Report, the tax records, and the financial records. Mueller has collected the evidence, it is now up to the House to impeach.