Nadler Doubles Down: Trump Committed Crimes, New Subpoenas Authorized
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York stated on Friday his investigations of Donald Trump will continue, alleging the president has committed crimes and must be held accountable.
Nadler sought to dismiss the notion that former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony on Wednesday in any way weakened the Democrats’ claim that Trump is guilty of wrongdoing.
“Some have argued that because Director Mueller was reluctant to testify and seemed older than some remembered him, his work is somehow diminished, it is not,” the Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Nadler argued that Mueller’s testimony built upon the information contained in his report.
“He told us that Donald Trump obstructed justice and abused his office by tampering with witnesses, attempting to block the investigation and attempting to block the special counsel,” Nadler said.
“He told us that Donald Trump lied to the public about the Trump Tower meeting in New York. Lied to the public about his plans for Trump Tower in Moscow and lied in his written responses to the special counsel,” the lawmaker added.
Nadler on Trump after Mueller testimony: Some have argued that because Mueller was reluctant to testify and seemed older than some remembered him, his work is somehow diminished. It is not.. We will continue to seek testimony from key fact witnesses https://t.co/A8n3LDS9gB pic.twitter.com/Ntcrvk4M0q
— POLITICO (@politico) July 26, 2019
Nadler then claimed that Mueller confirmed during his testimony that but for an opinion issued by the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel determining a sitting president cannot be indicted, Trump would have been.
“Indeed, it is clear any other citizen of this country who has behaved as the president has would have been charged with multiple crimes,” said Nadler.
Mueller actually corrected himself on Wednesday afternoon in his opening statement before the House Intelligence Committee. He said that he had misspoke in an exchange with Judiciary Committee member Rep. Ted Lieu of California regarding the OLC opinion preventing the special counsel from recommending charges against Trump.
“As we say in the report and as I said at the opening, we did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime,” Mueller said.
Nadler indicated his committee will continue to seek testimony from “key fact witnesses,” noting the Judiciary Committee has authorized several additional subpoenas.
“Finally, today we are filing an application [in court] for the grand jury material underlying the Mueller report,” he said. “That information is critically important for our ability to examine witnesses, including former White House counsel Don McGhan and to investigate the president’s misconduct.”
Nadler also tried to tamp down talk that he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are at odds over the issue of impeaching Trump.
“I should note that the committee could not have brought these lawsuits without the help and support of Speaker Pelosi, who is as dedicated to holding the president accountable for his crimes as any of us gathered here today,” he said.
The chairman would not commit as to whether his committee would recommend impeachment over the objections of Pelosi.
“We will consider what we have to consider, including whether we should recommend articles of impeachment to the House,” he said. “There is no use speculating whether the speaker will agree with our decision at that point.”
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, Trump stated that he is innocent man.
“I didn’t do it. They create a phony crime,” Trump said. “And then, they say, ‘He obstructed.’ They said there was no collusion, but ‘he obstructed,’ and there has never been anything like this ever in this country.”
“This should never happen to another president of the United States again,” he insisted. “This is an absolute catastrophe for our country. This was a fake witch hunt.”
Following Mueller’s testimony on Wednesday, Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow reiterated to Hannity that Mueller made no determination regarding Trump obstructing justice.
.@JaySekulow and @RudyGiuliani on @SeanHannity moments ago… pic.twitter.com/Ecz4K3sOwh
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
“And he said if you read his letter in his report, he said it presented difficult questions of law and fact, and you know what happens when you have difficult questions of law and fact? You don’t bring the case,” Sekulow said. “And guess what? They did not. Was the president exonerated? Absolutely.”
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