Mueller's Testimony Emphasizes the Seriousness of Trump's Alleged Crimes
Robert Mueller’s taciturn testimony before the House Judiciary Committee broke little news. But it underscored that the evidence of obstruction of justice developed in the Special Counsel’s report could haunt President Trump after he leaves office, exposing him to legal jeopardy and even — though the possibility seems remote — the threat of prison time.
The former special counsel, answering questioning from Republican congressman Ken Buck of Colorado, clarified the immunity Trump now enjoys from indictment, established by a memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, expires with the president’s term.
“You could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office?” Buck asked.
“Yes,” Mueller responded, matter of fact.
A separate exchange, with Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, emphasized that the potential obstruction charges outlined in the second volume of Mueller’s 488 page report, are in fact serious crimes. Under normal circumstances, in fact, they could be punished with multiple years in prison.
The back and forth between Lee and Mueller generated little buzz in the moment, but carries significant weight. Lee had been pressing Mueller on the 10 possible instances of obstruction of justice by the president identified in the report, and the legal thresholds that would be required to prove the charges. Mueller’s answers were characteristically brief and devoid of elaboration. But Jackson Lee got the former special prosecutor to speak to the gravity of the potential criminal conduct.
-more-
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-prison-after-office-mueller-863027/?-mueller's-testimony-em
= new reply since forum marked as read
