Keller @ Large: Both Sides Got What They Wanted From Robert Mueller Testimony
BOSTON (CBS) - Rep. Doug Collins (R-Georgia), the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said it all about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's appearance early on in the proceedings Wednesday. "Nothing we hear today will change those facts," he said.
The facts, that is, held to by partisans on both sides.
Surely, no Republicans or Trump sympathizers will be swayed by what they heard Wednesday morning. Instead, a parade of Republicans replayed their unvalidated spin about the Mueller probe, that it was a partisan effort to smear a president they detest.
There was little pushback on this from Mueller beyond a defense of his hiring practices and this exchange between Rep. Tom McClintock (R-California) and Mueller:
McClintock: "Having desperately tried and failed to make a legal case against the president, you made a political case instead. You put it in a paper sack, lit it on fire, dropped it on our porch, rang the doorbell and ran."
Mueller: "I don't think you reviewed a report that is as thorough, as fair, as consistent as the report that we have in front of us."
But as passive as Mueller was, largely making good on his promise not to go beyond what he said in his report, the Democrats also got much of what they wanted out of this hearing.
Did the probe find no evidence of conspiracy or collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians during the 2016 election? No, said Mueller, just "insufficient" evidence.
Did Mueller urge no indictment of the president because, in Mr. Trump's oft-repeated phrase, he "exonerated" him? No again. Mueller made it clear he didn't indict because Justice Department rules forbid it.
And a kicker: Mueller confirmed that Trump might still face criminal charges after he leaves office.
The bottom line, with the House Intelligence Committee questioning still to come: if you thought Trump was a liar and a traitor before today, you believe it even more now; if you are persuaded that the whole affair is a partisan anti-Trump charade, ditto.
Polls suggest the president and his allies have made headway impugning Mueller's integrity over the past two years, so it remains an open question how many neutral observers will be swayed by what he's saying today. And for political purposes, perhaps it doesn't even matter.
Voter opinions about Trump's character and integrity are pretty much baked into the cake by now – they have been for awhile.
We'll have to wait for November 2020 to get the final verdict on whether or not a majority of us want another four years of it, and for the exit polls to tell us what – if any – role the Russia affair played in it.
