I saw the bots and the Deplorables going all-out yesterday on Twitter and in the comment sections of various news and gossip outlets, including this one. It was clear that the Russians and Russian-adjacents had their talking points in hand, and they were going to spread the “No Collusion!” gospel far and wide. That being said, not all of the criticism of Robert Mueller’s testimony before two House committees came from bots and Deplorables. Some of that criticism came organically, from people just tuning in and seeing Mueller’s performance. His voice seemed weak at times, he seemed slightly hard of hearing and he just seemed rusty with the whole “testifying before Congress” thing. I mean, he is 74 years old and he was retired when he was appointed special counsel. But still, he seemed to not be hyper-aware of every single piece of the so-called Mueller Report. We knew that Mueller didn’t write the report all by himself, but it sometimes felt mid-hearing that he had only read a staffer’s outline of the report.
Of course Trump and his staffers tweeted dumb sh-t throughout Mueller’s testimony and Politico reported that White House staffers felt “euphoria” over Mueller’s poor performance. That probably would have been the story no matter what, because Trump and his minions did such a good job of clouding the real news from the report months ago. So what did Mueller really say during his testimony before the House committees?
“It was not a witch hunt,” Mueller said during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, part of a grueling, six-hour day of questioning by lawmakers about the findings of his report. “It was not a hoax,” he said later, a word Trump often uses to describe the Russia probe. Mueller repeatedly affirmed evidence he gathered that Trump took actions to impede his investigation, and he refuted Trump’s claim that the report showed “no obstruction” and “no collusion” — a term Mueller said he didn’t even explore because it’s not a legal term. It was a bright spot for Democrats who struggled to get Mueller to all but accuse Trump of committing a crime.
“The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed,” Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee, adding that Trump could theoretically be indicted after he leaves office. He added, “We did not address ‘collusion,’ which is not a legal term. Rather, we focused on whether the evidence was sufficient to charge any member of the campaign with taking part in a criminal conspiracy. It was not.”
He also indulged many of Democrats’ characterizations of Trump campaign officials’ conduct during the 2016 election. At one point, Mueller even panned the president’s own statements, including his encouragement of WikiLeaks’ disclosures of hacked Democratic emails.
“Problematic is an understatement in terms of what it displays, giving some hope or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity,” Mueller said of Trump’s repeated praise for WikiLeaks both on Twitter and at his rallies.
Mueller later walked back his most explosive testimony, after initially suggesting that he didn’t indict Trump because of a technical Justice Department policy — a crucial reversal that marked an unsteady day of testimony.
“The reason, again, that you did not indict Donald Trump is because of [a Justice Department] opinion stating that you cannot indict a sitting president, correct?” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) asked.
“That is correct,” responded Mueller, who declined a chance to retract his comments when pressed later by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.). Mueller, however, corrected himself during the second portion of his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, saying, “That is not the correct way to say it.”
There was a lot of gasping over the statement about why Mueller didn’t indict Trump, but as Politico notes, Mueller halfway took it back. I’ll be real: I don’t think Mueller’s testimony was some amazing moment for the Democratic party or for the American republic. I also don’t believe that the Republicans currently celebrating Mueller’s poor performance really understand anything that’s actually happening. I also think that Dems need to work a new f–king plan for how we discuss and deal with Trump and all of his criminal and treasonous behavior. Mueller isn’t saving us. Impeachment is a non-starter. So Dems better come up with some better plans.
After Rep. Gohmert’s heated accusations of perpetuating "injustice," Mueller replies simply, “I take your question.” https://t.co/tZRyNLZBEQ
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 24, 2019
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
I feel bad that he was trashed so badly. I can see why he was reluctant to testify. I think he was caught off guard by the Republican reps’ grandstanding for Trump and the deplorables and their shrill attempts to discredit him. It was horrific to watch and hear them do everything but focus on the substance of the report. Most of them didn’t even pretend to care about Russian intereference that Mueller says is happening as we speak.
It was a sh^tshow, mostly because the GOP knows how to manipulate the narrative and the media like no one else. I mean, how can his “performance” have been panned so much, while Brett Kavanaugh’s insane histrionics got a pass? Not to mention the “optics” of Trump’s incoherence have almost never been as much a story as Mueller’s testimony was yesterday.
Facts truly don’t matter any more.
Exactly
I can’t believe he let them do that to him. He’s got a lot of self control. I would have have screamed “he’s guilty of obstruction, impeach!” into the mike and walked out. Because I believe that is how he truly feels.
It was impressive to me that he stood up for his staff when they were being maligned, but so telling that he didn’t push back hard when he was accused of impropriety. He’s a throwback, a guy who believes you don’t do that. He was the right man for the job, but not the right man for the job in this crazy time.
He brought stoicism in a time where histrionics are becoming the expected norm.
People (maybe bots) immediately started focusing on his calm, normal voice level instead of content.
CB- Mueller is no performer, and I resent the characterization of his lacking some kk d of magic show. He’s a Plain spoken non partisan official. He did a perfect job to state that trump is guilty of a crime, yet following DOj Guidelines, he did not indict a sitting “president”. We need to get in the same page against trump- it’s the GOP Opinion that Mueller wasn’t “entertaining”. Ugh.
I feel bad for all the facebook types, the wine moms and etc., who believed in grifters like Seth Abramson and the Krassensteins and really thought a life-time bureaucrat was going to act like a character from a film.
Lol. Please. Is that you Ivanka?
…?
What?
The importance of Mueller’s incredibly damning report has been hobbled by grifters like Louise Mensch, the Krassensteins, Seth Abrahmson, and others out to make a buck and get some followers. Their constant lunatic claims, like Steve Bannon being on death row for treason (???) set beyond unrealistic expectations.
I think I get what you’re saying @Kittenheels. A lot of people were expecting a “you cant handle the truth” moment yesterday, and we were never going to get that.
Apologies, KittenHeels. I guess I assumed most people, including the FB moms you mentioned, dismissed Mensch and the Krassensteins as being as kooky as some of the right wingers. I don’t know anyone who truly thought Mueller was going to save the day yesterday (except maybe Eric who used to come here, haven’t seen his name in quite a while). So to me you sounded like Don Junior and the others so gleeful about Mueller’s less than stellar delivery yesterday. The content of his report is pretty damning but everyone seems to be either denying that or overlooking that. Admittedly I’m touchy, wondering how the f^ck we will ever combat the right’s utter disregard for truth.
Not at all.
I thought Mueller did as I expected, and I feel incredibly sad that some people have been misled and lied to about what could have happened. Like Becks1, anything short of him having some Pacino moment and flipping the table before storming off was always going to be treated as a disappointing fizzle, which is unfair.
I don’t blame people who have been led down the garden path – everyone is trying to be more civically engaged and that’s obviously a good thing! – but there are so many ostensibly on “the left” who are spinning tall tales to create clickbait and it’s basically like getting your health advice from Goop.
“Wine moms”?
Kittenheels, you are exactly right. I like to use the term “Resistance Grifters” (not my term, I wish I had come up with it) to describe those people who have instilled unrealistic expectations and crazy claims on line and on TV (I will add MSNBC regulars like Sarah Kendzior as well as Malcolm Nance, who was sitting a few rows behind Mueller at the hearing like some ghoul). Mensch is the worst because as a former British MP she has a veneer of respectability that is unearned. (Americans think Brits are smarter than us. :-))
Another huge problem were shows like SNL who glorified Mueller as some bad-ass sheriff, singing Christmas songs to him, etc. As many have commented here, Mueller is old-school and dignified. He was never going to make it about himself. Those shows built up an expectation that was never going to happen.
I agree! Mueller is no “performer”, and I resent that expectation. He’s a non partisan, near octogenarian War Hero. He said EVERYTHING we need to impeach this criminal fake president. Hello. Hello?
Devin Nunes’ denial that Russian interfered in our elections was irresponsible, indecent, and a slap in the face to every intelligence officer in the US.
I loathe him, so much.
I was listening to that in the background while I worked. And hadn’t been paying full attention to what was being said until I heard him say the Dems colluded with Russia and I lost it laughing – not because it was a genuinely funny moment, but because it was just SO f-cking insane. My cubicle mate got so annoyed he took his headphones off because he couldn’t handle listening to Nunes anymore.
And we’re Canadian!
Mueller’s eye roll when Nunes bashed Comey was epic.
It wasn’t a firework show, it was a testimony before congressional committees. It says so much that people expect a TV show when it’s our nation’s democracy on the line. Has Trump and television made everyone so stupid as to expect some kind of scripted drama like something out of A Few Good Men? Have people lost that much discernment and capacity to treat matters with seriousness? Bread and circuses. It has to be the beginning of the end.
Amen Yami. I’m right there with you.
Exactly, Yami, exactly. I wish I could have said it this well.
Hearing about how the “optics” looked bad made my blood boil.
We had a dignified, well-respected, professional laying out serious charges in a civilized manner against a sitting president and his minions and the focus was on his delivery…….maddening and more than a little depressing.
i think it was a man who supervised a bunch of lawyers in a huge investigation with a million threads that resulted in a ton of indictments and off-shoot investigations. he was in a lose lose situation where if he slammed trump he looked like a democratic operative and if he stuck to the fact – he was a bummer. As Adam Sewer of the atlantic pointed out on twitter – “mueller testified the president and his campaign welcomed russian interference, benefited from it, tried to deflect blame from russia, then tried to block the investigation. the best newspapers in america are reviewing the hearing like a bad episode of game of thrones” i tend to agree.
All of this^^^ I’m not sure what people were expecting, but I guess the circus reality show that Trump and his administration have turned the office of the Presidency into was one of the expectations. The GOP members of the committee certainly tried their best to turn it into a sideshow full of drama and conspiracy theories though, didn’t they? Mueller himself said that if he was called to testify he wouldn’t offer anything outside of the report, which is exactly what happened.
I agree.
And he stuck to the report because it was so incredibly THOUGHTFUL and intentional with its wording. Specific words mean so much when it comes to legal matters, and I don’t think he was being obtuse by referring to the report.
What I heard was that they were offered and accepted help from Russia. That trump and staff obstructed justice. And that trump can be charged when he leaves office. What part of that is good for trump?
And the report detailed they were all too stupid to fully grasp what they were doing was illegal on a grand scale. Ugh…
There’s a difference between can and should. Had mueller said trump should be charged, I would take it as a win…but that’s not what he said.
But he can’t, according to him.
It’s been said time and time again by Mueller that he cannot indict a sitting president (OLC rule) and taken a step further, he cannot recommend indictment–that’s the job of Congress.
And I don’t know anyone who thought that would be a potential conclusion of the hearing as it’s been made clear from the start that it’s not his role.
To be clear, the OLC rule is absolute bullshit, but it’s what Mueller, Barr, etc are sticking to.
Mueller said from the outset that due to the OLC memo that they were never going to make a determination about whether or not Dump should be charged so he was never going to use the word “should”. Saying that he could be charged is as strong as he could get and he did.
Everyone seems to want a “you can’t handle the truth” moment and while I was told yesterday that people are more sophisticated, clearly they are not. The words Mueller used are enough to start impeachment. He doesn’t need to be yelling them to make them more true.
Our discourse suffers when people move the goalposts so that only impossible scenarios are considered a “win”.
Trump could possibly be charged – but with Barr’s dismissal it’s highly unlikely. I know people want to hang their hat on it but I’ll say what I said months ago, when people thought the whole Trump family would end up in jail, etc. – they won’t. They’ll slip out of it like they have every other thing in their lives. Trump will not be charged with a crime, not for the rest of his life. I’d bet the farm on it.
The ship truly has sailed. I do somewhat feel bad for Mueller – he’s a rock-ribbed G-Man straight out of 1989, living in a 2019 world.
When a new president comes on board, he usually asks that the old regime tender their resignations. You think Barr will still have a job if a new sheriff is in town?
It’s not good for Trump, but the Reps know how to structure this to make it look good. Basically, it was a legal document, and Mueller went over the legal aspects. Yes, it’s dry, but still powerful. The Reps know that people were expecting explosions and car chases and something else sensational, so that’s what they gave them: outrageousness.
I got the impression that Mueller was terrified. Or drugged. Maybe I’ve been watching too much of The Americans.
Um…. what?
He’s a government guy and a lawyer. He’s also in his 70s. He’s used to carefully, slowly, deliberately answering questions.
He led the FBI post 9/11. I don’t think some uninformed congresspeople are going to scare him.
He did call Trump “Trimp” and seemed pretty out of it. I don’t think wondering if something was going on with him is that ridiculous.
He misspoke saying a man’s name once. Watch any of the people who had to do 7+ hours of testimony – it happens. He sounded like he has in every other appearance on the Hill that we have footage of.
And cui bono, anyway? Do you think someone slipped something in his water or something?
I mean, I don’t think I am the first or only person to think that he was acting strangely. I think that there are a lot of people who had much to gain from him not being his usual sharp self. As a student of history, far stranger things have happened to people in similar circumstances. Anyway, I respect your opinion and hope that Mueller is okay. He has been through a lot.
The Republicans would love to accuse Mueller of perjury. He had to be very careful with every word and had to see the actual report to make sure Republicans were not misrepresenting the text.
He’s 74 years old and he’s testifying in what is arguably the most important hearing of his life. He sounded understandably nervous, as would be even the most polished and calm public speaker.
He’s not used to doing shit like this in front of a slew of cameras from the international media and I think he did fine given the circumstances.
Yeah, what many took to be confused or bumbling I took to be someone who wanted to be very, very careful and deliberate with his answers. Some of the reps rattled off quotes from a 400 page document, then asked some convoluted-ass, three part question about it, and the public acts all shocked when he asked for a page reference and for them to repeat the question.
@ED, How many times have we heard Don the Con mispronounced a name, spelling is not his friend, truth is not his friend. please Just don’t go there, makes you look petty when discussing the future of the country.
Ok. I can see these other points of view which I hadn’t considered. I’m glad that I could share a thought and impression I had from watching the testimony and receive feedback and more information from others to help me to understand variables I hadn’t considered. It would have been nicer if people hadn’t insulted me or talked down to me, but I guess that’s the world we live in. I am sorry that I offended others. Good day
If that’s the case, I’m going to guess most people in that room were drugged. I heard multiple representatives fumbling words or names on both sides of the aisle. It was painful to listen to some of these people talk.
I think you have a long day, a lot of questioning, high stress, and trying to remain impartial and get his point across without touching anything he felt he shouldn’t. I would have stumbled more than he did in the circumstances.
It blows my mind that people are jumping on him for asking for page numbers from a 400 page report that started two years ago that they haven’t even read themselves. No one would be able to recall all of that information on the spot perfectly by memory especially because he wasn’t the only one working on it. I mean, to even expect that from him but also be ok with Trumps lack of knowledge about literally anything and everything is so frustrating and depressing.
I saw an elderly man who is used to thinking about his words before he speaks them.
I noticed he had some things related to his age. He is in his mid-seventies and was pulled out of retirement after all. My retired parents are in their early seventies and have a lot of the age related behaviors Mueller exhibited.
I’m not going to throw stones because I’ll likely be the same way at Mueller’s age. The shame is on whomever pulled Mueller out of retirement for a role that was going to thrust him into the limelight.
On NPR I heard a reporter talking about (gasp!) Mueller saying “Trimp” once…then she proceeded to make 3 mispronunciations in her remaining 10 seconds of reporting. Clearly, mispronunciations when you are talking for 7 HOURS is a part of being human, especially a human over 70 years old.
Wtf? He wasn’t terrified or drugged. I think people build up a fantasy of him as screaming you can’t handle the truth. No description of his personality by colleagues has ever described him that way. They consistently describe him as quiet, careful, and measured. (And deeply respected I might add) He didn’t want to be there he was complying with a subpoena. And it was clear from the get go he wasn’t going to deviate from his report or do anything beyond answering factual questions. A legal podcast I listen to surmised he was very conscious of the political stakes and was taking every precaution to not have his words show up in political ads on either side. Perhaps that made him be overly cautious in the moment with cameras on, but I’m sorry it’s patently absurd to imply he was terrified or drugged. Please come back to reality.
I got the impression that a lifelong government servant, trained in the military and law enforcement to give straight, detailed, unemotional responses, went through hours of testimony yesterday and had to deal with restrictions on one third of the subject matter and a bunch of idiots badgering him with ridiculous conspiracy theories. He mispronounce a name. Big deal. I see witnesses going through questioning all the time and few perform as well as he did.
One of those braying GOPers forgot which one there were so many unhinged Tom Cruise performances on that side, also called him “Mr. Miller” at one point too. Big deal.
Introverts think before they speak. Add to that his prosecutor background (adding even more caution and thought to the introversion), hours of testimony and his apparent belief that the report should speak for itself.
He was understandably not thrilled to be there. Some of the questions were hostile and/or ignorant diversion attempts. He is not a dramatic showboat-type, which stood in contrast to some of the people rudely hammering him.
Ok. I can see these other points of view which I hadn’t considered. I’m glad that I could share a thought and impression I had from watching the testimony and receive feedback and more information from others to help me to understand variables I hadn’t considered. It would have been nicer if people hadn’t insulted me or talked down to me, but I guess that’s the world we live in. I am sorry that I offended others. I will be more careful with how I express myself in the future. Good day
EzriDax, it is a dangerous time for misinformation. The situation we’re in now is hugely caused by a lot of wild speculation without the facts being laid out or respected. It is actually heartening to see so much push-back on conspiracy style ideas. I’m sorry you feel insulted, but unfounded rumors should be quickly dispatched of so they don’t fester and grow.
This is real life, not a movie. He’s a lawyer discussing a complex legal document.
I thought it was pretty good. It didn’t make for good TV; this wasn’t like James Comey’s testimony from last year. But it was informative. Of course its hard when the reps (on both sides) are like “look at this line from page 151 and tell me the context.”
I kept rolling my eyes at how the Republicans tried so hard to discredit the actual investigation. If you (Rs) think the results are so good for Trump, why are you trying to discredit the investigation itself? Maybe we should have another one?
But overall, while there were no bombshells, I thought Mueller made clear what he has tried to make clear for some time now. The Russians interfered in 2016, and they are doing it again. They wanted Trump to win. Trump is not “innocent.” The report was not an exoneration.
Mueller wasn’t going to sit there and say, “you know what, let me help you draft the articles of impeachment.”
I think in general Mueller is the product of a different time and I think he has been caught off guard by how little the Rs care for the rule of law.
thank god it wasn’t like comey. he came off like a grandstanding college kid in their first public debate. his predilection for attention grabbing stunts is one of the reasons we have trump so i’d much rather have mueller’s one word answers!!!
But without Comey’s testimony, we never would have gotten the iconic line “Lordy I hope there are tapes!!!!”
thank god it wasn’t like comey. he came off like a grandstanding college kid in their first public debate. his predilection for attention grabbing stunts is one of the reasons we have trump so i’d much rather have mueller’s one word answers!!!
I think Mueller being so measured and sometimes thrown off by the five minute questions coming from all angles made it look especially worse for the GOP when they would yell their Hannity talking points at him. I watched both hearings and Mueller was basically saying “ I’m not answering that crazy” every time the GOP would rant at him.
That’s what got to me: they Reps didn’t like the outcome, so therefore there was something wrong with the whole investigation. Sorry, life doesn’t work like that.
Robert Mueller was never going to “save” us.
It was up to the Dems and Nancy Pelosi to hold Trump accountable. But, as usual, they are totally useless. This is why people were against Pelosi becoming speaker. She’s just like Biden–where they think that the Republicans will feel shame over having Trump as the face of their party. They can’t see that the Republicans feel zero shame, because all of this has allowed them to seize power and do what ever the f**k they want with zero consequences. They LOVE Trump and everything he stands for. They just don’t like his delivery.
But you know who does love his delivery? The media. Which is why they were “disappointed” with Mueller’s. It wasn’t loud enough for them. They treated this testimony like some kind of performance.
So Trump will get away with criminal behavior, Russia will continue to mess with out democracy, the media will continue to cover all of Trumps antics 24/7 and he’ll be re-elected in 2020. This is not up for debate. This will happen.
I agree with your whole post. Nothing will happen, Trump will continue to get away with his crimes and be re-elected in 2020. I’m truly afraid for our future, especially my special
needs sons.
Actually, the media is a really big problem. Not because of Fake News but because they focus on Trump and everything he says & does. They give him a platform, free advertising. basically. The media should focus on what he does NOT do, which problems he does NOT solve or even talk about.
The Dems blew it by not subpoenaing Mueller the second the report dropped and the media was still interested. Having hearing months later, days before the summer recess, was a typical Democratic screw up. I don’t know how such smart people keep getting it wrong.
Mueller was still a DOJ employee until the end of May, Barr could have blocked his testimony.
I sadly agree that Trump will be re-elected. I’m bracing myself for it. The Dems can’t get their sh*t together and are practically handing the election over to him. Sigh
What did you hear yesterday that was so good for Don the Con that you believe he re-elected next year? I did not hear anything good coming from Mr Mueller to give me that hope. If you are saying that mr Mueller exonerated Don the Con yesterday, I did not hear it.
Two things from yesterday that GREATLY favor Trump’s re-election:
The fact that Trump and the GOP are perfectly fine with foreign interference in our elections and will do nothing to stop it from happening again. Hell, they’re already doing everything they can to MAKE SURE it happens again in 2020.
The fact that the Dems don’t think that Trump both soliciting and welcoming foreign interference in our election and then trying to obstruct justice is an impeachable offense.
Trump knows he has immunity while in office and he knows Dems will do nothing to stop him or hold him accountable.
He’s bullet-proof–he’s virtually unstoppable. Or at least that’s the message that both the GOP and Dems are sending their respective constituencies.
He’ll make sure that he does everything possible to stay in the Oval and I think he’ll win, I really do.
I also want to add this excellent Twitter thread which I agree 100% with. I think it really covers where we are, what we expect and what’s needed in 2019/2020.
https://twitter.com/AnandWrites/status/1154373307778633729
Beware of self fulfilling prophecies.
The Dems haven’t even picked a nominee yet. There is so much that can happen between now and the election (economy, terrorism, etc). From my perspective, to be so negative this far out is to give up hope AND spread the pessimism to others.
We need to preparing for the battle ahead, not spreading the idea that it is inevitable.
“The Dems can’t get their sh*t together”
Honestly, that’s ALL OF US. “The Dems” aren’t just people that we elected, they are the voters and citizens of the party, and as such, we have a responsibility to act. If Democratic voters were bombarding their Reps and Senators with demands for impeachment, we’d be there now, but we’re not.
I really wasn’t surprised by his demeanor or testimony..people expecting a Joseph Welch moment are like people who think every trial should have a Perry Mason ending. Of course, the trump party was busy trying to demean him or toss out conspiracy theories that will ensure a sound bite on faux and to make sure that russians pick our next prez, they are killing bills to protect the vote. Same old stuff. Ms. Pelosi, throw a panic into DC and announce now that impeachment hearings are on..now. Stop trying to win over those idiots who think trump is a poor victim–I don’t even want to be in a party with them.
This tweet explains what I think was going on with Mueller’s testimony. In addition to having trouble hearing he was being extra careful to use the exact right words and not go beyond the report.
https://twitter.com/11kelleyk/status/1154194588502020097?s=21
Also, as I said yesterday, Mr. Mueller is an honorable man, most certainly taken aback by the screaming banshees the Republicans have become. Collins, Gaetz, Gohmert, Jordan, et al put on disgusting performances in fealty to the toad squatting in the WH and the brain dead trumpanzees ate it up. None of them-the congressmen, the trumpanzees, the toad-are fit to lick the soles of Mr. Mueller’s shoes.
Gaetz and Jordan particularly are so utterly loathsome.
DUI Gaetz and Gym Jordan-perfect representatives of the Republican Party.
Yes, Jerusha. People are panning him for declining to answer certain questions, when he said upfront there were many things he couldn’t speak to because of ongoing investigations. Not to mention that AG Barr himself instructed him to stick to the report itself. You could tell some of the Republicans thought they’d had a gotcha moment when he didn’t answer something, when his refusal made it clear that the subject was still being investigated elsewhere.
The smug, snarky disrespectful tone that Gym Jordan reserves for people who can run circles around him intellectually and morally just kills me every time. He’s garbage. Don’t even get me started on Gaetz.
Some of those guys were just screaming at him for five minutes without asking any question.
RATcliffe. Perfect name for the perfect creep.
This man has served his country his entire life, with an impeccable record, and came out of retirement to do so again. He’s entitled to feel a little annoyed and I, for one, am glad he was calm and measured. This was never going to get us anywhere. It was to get him to state ON RECORD that Trump et al are lying about everything he reported.
History will be kinder to him than the toadies and so-called Dem leadership. Future generations may wonder why the public and media became focused on the guy’s normal voice tone instead of the glaring content in the report.
This headline is another disappointing headline among many this morning. I don’t get the criticism of Mueller at all. He was not performing because he is not an actor, a gymnst or a clown. He is a lawyer who was behaving like a lawyer. Why were people expexting him to act like he was in an Aaron Sorkin movie/tv show? This is riduiculous and irresponsible.
The substance of his testimony and not how he delivered the message should be the focal point of every discussion about what Mueller did yesterday. He confirmed in public that Dump, the idiot racist (first of his shitty name), and the racists who work for him, are lying liars who lied. He confirmed that Dump is a criminal and all the people that worked for him are criminals, but the most important take away from those hearings is that the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS A CRIMINAL. A criminal who can be prosecuted once he is out of office.
Please excuse the spelling errors. You got what I was trying to say.
I’m in complete agreement. The fact that the press was focusing on Mueller’s voice instead of the content was a nasty surprise to me.
Exactly. And the Democrat’s questions in the first hearing laid out each and every single one of Trump’s crimes of obstruction.
Exactly. All of this.
I’m so shocked that people are like “He wasn’t very excited and he looked tired. Not entertaining,” Um…did you hear what he was saying? Not only did the Republicans actively cheat in the last election but they’re going to do it again.
How…I feel like I’m taking crazy pills reading all these ho-hum responses from people. Are we really this incapable of listening to words if they don’t come from someone exciting.
This so much! Just proves that the press is worthless. They are part of the reason why DT was elected. He gave them high ratings so they followed and reported everything he said and did nonstop. Meanwhile, MSNBC refers to Mueller’s testimony as boring. Ridiculous.
@Patty — This ^^^. You nailed it.
Yep. I, in part, blamed the media in 2016 for Trump. They failed to do their job. I might be in my late-30’s but I clearly remember Trump filing for bankruptcy in the 90’s & him being kind of a joke. But all they saw were ratings.
I completely agree.
If you subscribe to the NYTimes just stop it. Stop it right now. I don’t know what’s happened to it, but it’s not the same paper it used to be.
https://twitter.com/philippereines/status/1154192030752477185?s=21
Dems need to get their act together and present some good political ideas instead of just focussing on the con and themselves. Republican voters don’t CARE about Trumps crimes, they will vote for him or any other GOP candidate anyway. Dems will only have a chance when they focus on uniting their party and getting a strong, authentic candidate.
They can’t decide, as a group, if they want to constantly explain how Very Upstanding and Noble they’re being, or slide down into the gutter with the GOP.
Short of a second coming of an Obama type candidate, I don’t see how they unify. It’s always the issue of the “big tent ideology”.
I am not sure when people are going to figure out that the only person who is going to save us is ourselves. There is no easy fix, no impeachment vote to get him out of office and we magically transport back to 2015. He must be defeated in the 2020 election and that’s done by everyone who is hand-wringing getting off their butts and their keyboards and registering voters, block walking and/or donating to candidates. Look at Puerto Rico this week – that’s how you go after corruption. Honestly, if you are on here upset or disgusted or terrified of the state of our nation, what are YOU doing about it?? If you need ideas or help getting involved, check out SwingLeft as a good starting place or Indivisible. Even putting in a small amount of effort would make a huge difference if everyone did it. Please, think about doing something.
And just an idea, maybe like the great sponsored posts CB makes, there’s an opportunity to post a weekly “get involved” post highlighting some organizations around the country that are working hard to preserve our democracy. Sometimes giving direct links makes it easier for people to take action. Groups like Postcards to Voters, etc. are fun, easy and effective. Just a thought.
This. It is easy to wring our hands and call our democracy doomed. That is a great way to suppress interest and incentive to vote. And we know when more people vote, Democrats win. So quit calling it over, and get out to a rally, or register voters, or have a postcards for Congressional critters party, write letters to the editor, and make those ridiculous calls to elected officials who barely respond. We settle for bread and circuses when we could have impact.
hnmmom and Toocan-Anj, great posts! I agree 100%!!!
As corrupt as this administration is, we DO have the ability to work and make progress towards a better future. It takes work, but there are ways for each one of us to use our unique skills and assets to help get this fool out of office.
In some ways, it is easier to be pessimistic, because that requires less effort.
I totally support a weekly call to action post that lists ways that voters can put their anxiety into productive action.
aiobhan targaryen YES!!!! Mueller is not going to put on a show. He is going to reiterate the facts that he has already laid out in his report. Seriously, what did people expect from a former Marine, lawyer, and long time LEO? He stayed out of the spotlight during his entire investigation… he is NOT Ken Starr mugging for the cameras and being provocative. But that is what people are looking for, so all the testimony where he confirmed that 45 obstructed justice, accepted assistance from Russia, etc. is lost because he didn’t scream it.
Exactly, The facts should have been more than enough to have all of the pundits in the media screaming for him to get out of office. I know exactly why it is not alarrming them but it is just so sad and disgusting to read.
If you want Trump to be prosecuted, vote him out of office. The only thing protecting him from the law is the POTUS title.
The only branch of office still standing is the judiciary. They are ready, we the people just have to turn him in by voting him out.
WaPo-still getting it right, unlike the NYT.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/24/two-big-mueller-exchanges-that-capture-russia-scandal/?utm_term=.2120b686b876#click=https://t.co/bYKd143RjT
And
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/24/robert-mueller-kneecaps-president-trumps-no-collusion-no-obstruction-mantra/?utm_term=.acdf2986ccaf#click=https://t.co/Vc5VHAho0h
I’m honestly a bit shocked of how the coverage of yesterday seems to focus on Mueller’s appearance. Mueller is a geezer with geezer voice and geezer face, and he was a reserved, if not reluctant witness. Did anyone expect anything else.
And I’m dismayed that that’s what we’re talking about, instead of Mueller confirming that Trump ordered subordinates to create a false public record, tampered with witnesses, and had corrupt intent while doing so.
Yeah NPR was doing it, twice! Chatting for a good ten minutes about how he “doesn’t seem as on his game as he did years ago” instead of focusing on any of the substance of his remarks or the outlandish accusations from the GOP. I truly wanted to smash the radio.
That’s so disappointing and irresponsible. The NPR, I mean.
NPR jumped the shark years ago. Very sad what they’ve become.
I’m three months younger than Mr. Mueller. I’m not a geezer and neither is he. As has been stated many times here, he was being super careful with his words in order to not misspeak. Also, he had no problem with the clearly stated questions from the Democrats, only with the hate filled screaming from the Republicans.
If you insist on using geezer, try the two years younger trump who can barely string together two coherent sentences.
I’m so sad about it! This was such a landmark testimony and people are not paying attention because his voice was boring. I’m…maybe we deserve Trump as a dictator if this is the best we can do with information.
I didn’t see it as a bummer. He said as much as he was able to say that if Trump were not president, he’d be indicted for obstruction of justice. That’s no small thing. That is MORE than enough to start impeachment proceedings. If the only thing stopping you from going to prison is that you are THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, you need to be shown the door.
I strongly disagree that Mueller was “a bummer.” He did an excellent job threading the needle between providing factual answers and carefully shielding information that needs to be held back due to ongoing investigations. Yes, investigations continue. My wife is an attorney, and believe me, her presentation would have been just as pedantic and studied as Mueller’s. And his statements on the record will bury Trump. Unfortunately, our citizenry seems to have become enthralled by reality TV to the point that they cannot absorb information any other way. That has to change.
We seem to expect “central casting” for everything these days.
Prior to his testimony, media talking heads were describing it as being the movie version of the book (report) for the public. Seriously? Is he supposed to spend hours in hair and makeup, and work with a voice coach?
Another thing to bear in mind is that RM was basically hogtied by reporting to the deputy / attorney general. He was not as free as some seem to think to go rogue.
I am not disappointed in Mueller. I am deeply disappointed in Pelosi. What the ever loving F is she waiting for??? Her press conference yesterday made me want to rip my hair out. All this information she’s waiting on is information that can still be discovered and used during impeachment proceedings so start already!!!
And Elijah Cummings can bite me. I like him a lot but literally begging people to pay attention during a press conference that was only watched by people who are already paying attention is infuriating. Impeachment will get everyone’s attention so just f’ing do it!
I felt so bad for my BF. He came home bubbling with excitement, saying “they’re going to impeach him” as we waited to hear the press conference. He almost threw the remote at the TV when Pelosi made it clear that she doesn’t believe that what Trump did rises to the level of impeachment. If Trump wins in 2020, she needs to step down immediately. Same with Schumer.
I have given up on Dem leadership. Chuck and Nancy seem to be wanting to ride out their time and the heck with it.
I will be happy to be proven wrong.
We all know what’s worthy of impeachment, wink wink.
Same, Christin. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and supported Nancy’s re-election but at this stage, I cannot conceive of any acceptable reason why they haven’t at least started an impeachment inquiry. That’s like, the least they could do.
An impeachment vote will pass in the House and die in the Senate. So what exactly will that accomplish? It’ll be just another feather in Chump’s cap that he defeated a Democratic motion.
And, oh yeah, it doesn’t remove him from office. Something more to crow about.
Wanna get rid of our Grifter In Chief? He has to be voted out.
Not sure how it was a bummer. This whole thing was what, 7 hours? It lasted over two different sessions. If you paid attention, especially during the second session, he made it clear that Trump did lie on that written form and he can be charged with obstruction the moment he leaves office. Bringing about the charges, though, is up to Congress. He also confirmed that it was never a witch hunt, that the Russians did interfere in the 2016 election and are still doing it. Muller is also old-schooled & a professional. Not sure what some were expecting-fireworks? yelling? I mean he shot down that one Republican during the second session when they kept trying to say those working for him were bias because they were Democrats. He was a class act during this whole thing. This wasn’t a movie.
Mueller did his job. Dems need to get a fucking grip and do theirs. Mark my words, if they do not follow with the impeachment procedures, Trump is going to win the election because without the following step that follows from the report is not taken, the optics are disastrous. I mean even Congress member did not read the report, so moat americans definitely are not planning to read it. And more and more people start believing it is a witch hunt because it all just moves in circles of research, evidence and procedures. He may have been reluctant, but he did say clear and loud that there is enough in the report to charge Trump when his ass is out of office and so enough for starting impeachment. While Republicans used the hearing to get across their message of witch hunt, no collusion and just barrade a war veteran for being unpatriotic, democrats were operating on the low level that Trump and his deplorable operate: they were trying to get some juicy soundbite out of Mueller and did not succeed
It was foreseeable because Mueller said that he is not going to talk and everyone should just read the report. Either Democrats grow some balls and change the tune Trump has everyone dancing to or we all are going to loose.
Everytime Dems get their hopes up about nailing Trump for collusion it ends up falling flat. It’s time to focus on nominating a Democratic candidate who can excite the base and lead the opposition.
I’m glad he testified. I was hoping for more to come of it though. Many people were talking about Mueller seeming confused, I feel like a huge part of the problem was that he couldn’t hear. He was a marine who saw combat, he displayed the exact hearing loss traits that my father has who was also a marine as well as a retired army colonel. The time in combat damaged my fathers hearing as well as that of many other military personnel. I’m sure Mueller would have been less confused if that issue had been addressed. Mueller is a fair man and I applaud him for that. I was just really hoping he could end the Trump nightmare we are living through. Everyone get out an vote in the 2020 election