Mueller issues a rare public statement disputing his former right-hand man's claim that he didn't...

[sabra]

Source: Business Insider

The former special counsel Robert Mueller issued a rare public statement on Tuesday denying some claims that Andrew Weissmann, his right-hand man in the Russia probe, made in a newly released memoir.

"It is not surprising that members of the Special Counsel's Office did not always agree, but it is disappointing to hear criticism of our team based on incomplete information," Mueller said in his statement, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The special counsel's office operated "knowing that our work would be scrutinized from all sides," Mueller's statement continued. "When important decisions had to be made, I made them. I did so as I have always done, without any interest in currying favor or fear of the consequences. I stand by those decisions and by the conclusions of our investigation."

Mueller's statement comes after Weissmann's book, "Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation," was released to the public on Tuesday. In the memoir, Weissmann provides a scathing account of the former special counsel, writing that Mueller and one of his top deputies, Aaron Zebley, did not do enough to hold President Donald Trump accountable.



Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-issues-statement-disputing-andrew-weissmann-book-2020-9

[Yeehah]

1. Mueller is a coward. n/t

[LizBeth]

11. +1

[lark]

29. He is first and foremost a repug, American only 2nd.

He disgusts me because he tricked me into actually trusting (for a short time) a repug to do the right thing.

[LovingA2andMI]

37. +2

F**k Mueller

[cstanleytech]

45. You are being extraordinarily kind there. nt

[Faux pas]

2. I

call BULLSHIT on mueller.

[ananda]

33. Agree!

A Reep is a Reep.

[kairos12]

3. I wonder if Mueller fumbled through his notebook looking for

a response. Mueller completely failed the country.

He should keep his mouth shut.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Says the man who said he would never say another word about it. /nt

[SunSeeker]

44. LOL Good point! He said that under oath to Congress! nt

[Walleye]

5. Stuff it! Mueller. We know Barr is his good buddy.

[marybourg]

6. Good. That will give Weissman's assertions,

especially that they didn’t follow where evidence might have led to rRump’s door, more exposure.

[Raster]

7. Dude, you dropped the ball...

...not sure if it was willingly or just careless omission, BUT. YOU. DROPPED. THE. BALL.

Not to worry. I'm sure there will be others speaking out. Oh, and not to mention, a FULL INVESTIGATION of ALL EVENTS surrounding the electoral malfeasance of (s)Election 2016.

[DonaldsRump]

8. Sorry, Bobby Three Sticks

You blew it. Someday soon, we'll understand the REAL reason of how badly you bungled it when your dear friend William Barr is no longer in a position to cover-up.

The last call for Mueller Time ended in July 2019 during your rambling and incoherent testimony before Congress. That was your last clear chance to do a service to your country, and you squandered it, putting your party and your fear over any concern about the American people or the American legal system.

And, by squandering the opportunity, look what you effectively allowed Trump to do in the subsequent months. You're an enabler. Just think about it. Forever.

It's now Ridin' with Biden Time!

[Historic NY]

9. Milk toast

[AnnaLee]

10. He seems to put himself above the country in determining when to open his mouth.

[LizBeth]

13. +1

[dansolo]

55. Just like Comey

Both of them try to portray themselves as "boy scouts" staying above the fray of politics. But it was all an act in order to continue to enable the lawbreaking of Republicans.

[bluestarone]

12. THEY own you mueller

FUCK YOU!!!!

[jrthin]

14. He can't dispute the obvious: they didn't do enough.

Investigation 101, follow the money. They didn't do that.

[hlthe2b]

15. Weissman was genuinely tortured when answering some very critical questions re: investigation and by

extension, Mueller. He (Weissman) knows with all that has come out since, how badly they blew it while trying to shield Mueller out of respect. Frankly, if the whole situation weren't so devastating, I might find it tragic all around.

[LiberalFighter]

16. I have no respect for Mueller.

[stillcool]

17. the ego thing again

spares no one. Pride goeth before the fall...or is it pride wenteth

[Hoyt]

18. Mueller is a wimp. He has 35 days to come clean and tell the truth, or remain a wimp for eternity.

[Marthe48]

50. I hope mueller doesn't talk any more

Look what happened when comey spoke right before the 2016 election.

I don't see a single post on this story that defends mueller. Not usual to see such unity in the posts.

[Kris Mac]

19. What Mueller should have issued was an indictment

But here we are...I know SEVERAL Trump supporters that would have turned on Trump had Mueller just pulled the trigger. You can lump him in with Comey now. Cowardliness, over Country.

[DonaldsRump]

24. He clearly could have done what Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski did in 1974 with Nixon

Name Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator in a conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruct justice and keep it sealed.

This nonsense about "collusion" vs. "conspiracy" was insane, and this was an apparent technicality that is totally a distinction without a difference. Barr used it to totally muddy the waters, and Mueller let him do it.

[brush]

25. And he should've insisted on interviewing trump in person.

Instead that written "I don't recall" crap prepared by trump's lawyers.

trump would've lied and been caught lying.

Mueller was past his prime though, wasn't all the way there, as we all saw when he finally testified before Congress. That's probably why Rosenstein chose him to lead the investigation.

[stopdiggin]

20. "incomplete information" ...

"It is not surprising that members of the Special Counsel's Office did not always agree, but it is disappointing to hear criticism of our team based on incomplete information," Mueller said in his statement

The dude was your right hand man! If he did not have the "complete" information -- then who the f*ck did!? Sorry, man -- you made the calls here. Buck stops with YOU.

[mazzarro]

27. Exactly! n/t

[lostnfound]

43. The incomplete information the voters were provided

Is your fault. And that may well be a terminal illness for the country?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

21. Aaaand this right here i why I never bought into the whole "Mueller Time" shit. His

Something didn't seem right from the beginning. And let's not forget uber weasel Rosenstein. That piece of ass kissing shit chose loyalty (based on fear) to the grotesque meat goblin over his own country.

[Roy Rolling]

22. For years he is silent...

Why say something now? With this one comment, he’s undid all the goodwill I gave him as a sober, fair-minded investigator.

I now lean toward believing he deliberately left holes in the investigation for Barr to drive through. If not deliberate, ridiculously careless.

Bummer.

[FakeNoose]

23. Then tell us your side of it, Robert Mueller

... and do it quickly. PLEASE!

[WhiteTara]

26. womp womp Bobby. Your

reputation is in tatters and you will never redeem it.

[Earthshine2]

28. They played us for years with the Mueller investigation.

We were led to believe it would be comprehensive.

And then, after the fact, we learn it was highly limited in scope.

[rockfordfile]

38. nope

Only to those

[LudwigPastorius]

30. History will not be kind.

Mueller had a chance to protect the country and the Constitution by not equivocating in his assessment of Trump’s crimes.

[yaesu]

31. If the mule couldn't put a lifelong con like tRump in the clink he has no biz being in charge of

anything, well, maybe a lemonade stand.

[Mike Nelson]

32. Well...

... "incomplete information" is correct. Apparently, Robert Mueller did not find it necessary to get all the information.

[chowder66]

34. Mueller seems full of contradictions in this response. Very weird. nt

[DallasNE]

35. Very Disappointing

If something is "incomplete" then fill in the missing information Mueller. The response is unsatisfactory as written.

[Demsrule86]

36. I think Mueller Ron Rosenstien ...all of them let the country down. As a former Marine Mueller

should be ashamed.

[Paladin]

39. Don't send in a Marine when the job requires a hitman.

Thanks for nothing, Mueller.

[lostnfound]

42. Thanks for nothing is right.

How could he sleep at night knowing that Trump is such a traitor and so compromised? And leaving him unpunished and in the seat of power when no one else in the country was able to do anything about it.

[BigmanPigman]

40. That seems like he is taking 100% responsibility for not investigating

the financial issues with tRump. This was his poor decision alone. He could have checked into the $$$ and saved our nation's security. He is saying, "the buck stops here and I alone fucked up". Of course Rosenstein and Barr made the treasonous trio complete.

[SunSeeker]

41. Muellers's statement does not and cannot dispute the facts described by Weissmann.

Mueller refused to subpoena Trump and he refused to follow the money, shutting down his deputies' efforts.

Mueller failed us.

[onetexan]

52. K&R

[DeminPennswoods]

46. Mueller was used by Rosenstein and Barr

Both men knew Mueller would never "color outside the lines", that he would stick resolutely to the exact language of the investigative charge Rosenstein gave him no matter what. They used Mueller's rectitude to hide their own duplicity. Et tu, Brute' as it were.

[ihas2stinkyfeet]

47. we sent a boy scout to do

an assassin's job.

[pbmus]

48. Dudley Do Right speaks again...and repukers throughout the land sigh...

Oh my, oh my...our boy speaks, listen up all you Dudleys out there, this is how you do it...

[TomSlick]

49. I remain genuinely surprised that someone with Muellers CV lacked the courage to do his duty.

I have been frequently disappointed by people in the last four years. Never more so than by Mueller.

[not_the_one]

51. Barr completely misrepresented the report, and all Mueller could summon was a sternly worded letter.

Barr even offered Mueller another chance, said the Mueller COULD have brought forth indictments IF he felt it was warranted.

Mueller's response?: Crickets

We put so much faith and hope into him, and all we got was a "merry fitzmas".

[generalbetrayus]

53. Read Michael Schmidt's new book, Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop

a President. He makes it clear that the Mueller of the Russia probe was not the bulldog Mueller of the past. He rarely showed up for major meetings, and seemed to be just as out of it at the ones he did as he did testifying before Congress. I'm sure Rosenstein and his buddies knew Mueller was in early dementia.

[Duppers]

54. K & R for thread posts.

Not Mueller's ass-covering statement.