Reality Check: 1 Year Of The Mueller Investigation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Thursday marks one year since the special counsel was appointed in the election investigation.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is looking into possible collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian interference.
After 365 days, is it time to wrap it up?
If you listen to President Trump and the people around him, the investigation has gone on long enough.
In fact, the Mueller investigation is still young by Washington standards -- just ask Hillary Clinton.
Congress investigated Clinton over the attack on the United States embassy in Benghazi for 28 months, producing a tree-killing, 848-page report that found no new evidence of wrongdoing.
So, how long is too long?
We researched past investigations and found there is no simple answer, except investigations tend to last a long, long time.
To keep it simple, we separate out Congressional investigations, like Benghazi, from special counsel investigations, like Mueller's.
The Benghazi investigation took 28 months.
The 9/11 investigation: 19 months, 28 days.
Watergate: 16 months, 21 days.
Mueller is investigating "the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," and whether there was any coordination with people in the Trump campaign.
Mueller is allowed to investigate anything else that might come up.
The independent counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton began as a questionable real estate deal, but morphed into perjury about his affair with an intern.
That Clinton/Whitewater/Lewinsky investigation lasted 2,978 days.
Iran Contra: 2,420 days
Mueller's Russian Meddling: 365.
The average special counsel investigation over 30 years: 904 days.
In the year since Mueller's probe started, the special counsel has charged 22 individuals or entities.
President Trump's former national security adviser and a former campaign adviser both pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contact with Russians.
Here Are Some Of The Sources We Used For This Reality Check:
Department of Justice Appointment of Special Counsel
Fact Check: Special Counsel Q & A
Business Insider: How Long Do Special Prosecutors Last?
Articles of Impeachment: William Jefferson Clinton
House Select Committee on Benghazi Report
New York Times: Benghazi Report Finds No New Evidence Of Wrongdoing
