"If we had confidence the President did not commit a crime, we would have said so"

[Stuart G]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Yonnie3 (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CNN

Headline only at main page at CNN.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/

---

That one line says a lot more than most people realize. It is an amazing statement.

[SunSeeker]

1. Duplicate. That was the subheader at NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/robert-mueller-make-public-statement-about-russia-probe-wednesday-n1011331

Already posted in LBN here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142321875

[Stuart G]

2. Not a duplicate.The headline is the statement, Headline is the news..and is the total post.

The actual statement is the latest news.

[SunSeeker]

5. Your post is just an excerpt of the already posted NBC News headline.

Here's the full NBC News headline, with the subhead that you quote:

Mueller speaks about investigation for first time, says he won't comment beyond his report

"If we had had confidence that (Trump) clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so," the special counsel said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/robert-mueller-make-public-statement-about-russia-probe-wednesday-n1011331

[Hoyt]

3. I guess, but anyone who read Mueller's report would have found that very statement in Vol II.

"Fourth, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President
clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state." [Page 2, Vol II]


Maybe Mueller saying it again today will change things, but the report already said it almost word-for-word, and Barr came very close to saying it over 2 months ago in his 4 page summary:

"The report's second part addresses a number of actions by the President – most of which have been the subject of public reporting – that the Special Counsel investigated as potentially raising obstruction-of-justice concerns. After making a “thorough factual investigation” into these matters, the Special Counsel considered whether to evaluate the conduct under Department standards governing prosecution and declination decisions but ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment. The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion - one way or the other – as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as “difficult issues” of law and fact concerning whether the President's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

[zentrum]

4. Sounds like

.....there wouldn't quite be enough to impeach.

Would be just an expensive flop.

Better is what Pelosi and Nadler are doing---investigating, naming the issues, teaching and exposing---releasing a final damning report just before 2020 elections.

[Yonnie3]

6. Locking ...

Sorry, but this is a duplicate of https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142321875 which was posted less than a minute earlier.