Rudy Giuliani slams Mueller's lack of conclusion on obstruction as "pathetic"
While the White House continues to hail the special counsel's final report on the Russian probe as a win, President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani blasted special counsel Robert Mueller's impasse on whether the president committed obstruction of justice. In an interview on Fox News Tuesday night, Giuliani called it "totally inappropriate and totally unethical" and "pathetic."
Giuliani told Fox's "The Ingraham Angle" that Mueller's findings, as they relate to the charge of obstruction, were "weak," criticizing the FBI official for not "making up his mind."
"I think there are two sides of Mueller. There's the good side and the [Andrew] Weissmann side and I think Weissmann won a few of those battles. And I do think it's pathetic that Mueller couldn't make up his mind. I actually do," said Giuliani. Weissman, who is the chief of the Justice Department's criminal fraud section, helped manage the special counsel's team.
In his letter summarizing the report, Attorney General William Barr said Mueller described the facts surrounding his investigation into allegations of obstruction of justice but made no determination as to whether Mr. Trump committed a crime, and instead deferred to the Justice Department. The report "does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him," Barr quotes Mueller as writing.
But Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined the available evidence was insufficient to establish Mr. Trump had obstructed justice.
Here are some other highlights from Giuliani's conversation:
- Giuliani suggested former FBI Director James Comey is guilty of "gross negligence" for failing to properly investigate the claims of Russian collusion. "He is guilty of it, not just Hillary. This guy has to be investigated. He's got to be investigated," Giuliani said.
- Giuliani said that "half" the prosecutors on Mueller's team were "totally unethical prosecutors, the kind of prosecutors that I would have fired in two minutes when I was U.S. attorney." He said Weissmann was "horrible" and "should never go near a courtroom in his entire life," later questioning his ethics for having supported Hillary Clinton.
- Giuliani said the the president and his team of lawyers "had a nice dinner" Sunday evening to celebrate after the release of Mueller's report and Barr's summary. He said the team was invited over again for lunch on Monday and the president "let us fool around with the Washington Capitals" during the NHL team's visit to the White House with the Stanley Cup.