If ever a hero could have ridden to rescue of truth, justice and the American way, it could have and should have been Robert Mueller.
But it wasn’t.
Part of the reason may have been politics. The Mueller hearings were more than hearings. People (including the Director of the FBI) wouldn’t read the over 400 pages (some estimates indicate only 3% of the country read it), so Democrats had to put it on TV to get eyeballs.
The Party of Trump didn’t attempt to refute a single conclusion of the report. They knew it was rock solid. Instead, they attacked Mueller and the motivation for the report in a typical Trump move: if you can’t win on substance, attack the messenger; if you can’t attack the messenger, distract by attacking something – anything- else.
If you paid close attention, you saw Mueller make some damning statements, but they were the equivalent of whispering “Fire” in a theater filled with screaming people.
Here are some of those statements:
* Mueller said Trump was not exonerated, despite Trump’s claim to the contrary.
* He said Trump did obstruct justice – at least 5 times – and could have been indicted, but for the Justice department policy to not indict a sitting President.
* He said witnesses supplied by Trump lied, repeatedly.
* He said Trump asked his staff to falsify records.
* He said Trump was unpatriotic because of looking for campaign help from Russia.
* When asked about Trump’s glee at Wikileaks leaks, he said, “problematic is an understatement.”
* He said the only option for holding the President accountable was Congress.
It’s worth repeating: in nearly six hours of hearings Republicans did not even attempt to refute the basic facts of the report.
So, that’s all pretty damning, right?
Beyond that, Mueller brought a sterling reputation to the investigation. He served in the Marines in Viet Nam, won a Bronze Star for saving a wounded Marine and a Purple Heart for being shot. He was a homicide prosecutor in Washington, US assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the Justice Department, and headed the FBI. He went after and convicted Mafia kingpins and foreign kingpins, such a Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.
This was a man of courage and strength, of thoroughness and old-school integrity. He was Superman in a button down shirt.
Then he turned into Clark Kent.
He gave mostly one-word responses. He hesitated and stumbled on longer answers. He consistently just reiterated portions of the report. Many times, he just refused to answer. His whole appearance was weak, uninformative, and without conviction.
He’s famous for disliking the spotlight. But he has made stands in the past when it was important to the country. One example: a lifelong Republican, he stood up to Bush and Cheney, refusing to allow the FBI to do “enhanced interrogation” (torture).
And that’s what’s so disappointing.
He knew Trump had tried to obstruct his investigation. He knew Russia had tried to swing the election to Trump. He knew the country needed to be informed, clearly and forcefully.
But he didn’t do it.
He could have made a short statement at the beginning, simply listing the points from his own report that I noted above – with page numbers, but without commentary. That would have made clear to the whole country the main facts of the investigation – no more, no less.
But he made no statement. Why?
He let these major conclusions get buried in the barrage of electioneering by both panels. Why?
The Mueller hearings were the last chance to inform the public. Instead, Mueller hid behind 400+ pages that no-one will read. Why?
Astoundingly, when asked, he even refused to read aloud passages from his own report.
At a time when we most needed – and had – a Superman to inspire the country against Russian attacks on our democracy and bullying by the White House, he turned into Clark Kent.
The question is: why?