Special counsel
Robert Mueller (pictured, above) made a statement on Wednesday about his investigation,
reiterating the decisions he made in his report. While Congress has been trying
to hold a hearing with Mueller, he said during the press conference that the
report he presented to the American People earlier this year is his testimony
and that he would not go beyond anything that has already been revealed. Below
is a transcript provided by Vox.com of his remarks. Click here.
For a video: C-Span. Click here.
Thank you for being
here. Two years ago, the Acting Attorney General asked me to serve as Special
Counsel, and he created the Special Counsel’s Office. The appointment order
directed the office to investigate Russian interference in the 2016
presidential election. This included investigating any links or coordination
between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump
campaign. Now I have not spoken publicly during our investigation. I’m speaking
out today because our investigation is complete. The Attorney General has made
the report on our investigation largely public. We are formally closing the
Special Counsel’s office, and as well I’m resigning from the Department of
Justice to return to private life. I’ll make a few remarks about the results of
our work. But beyond these few remarks it is important that the office’s
written work speak for itself.
Let
me begin where the appointment order begins: and that is interference with the
2016 presidential election. As alleged by the grand jury in an indictment,
Russian intelligence officers who were part of the Russian military launched a
concerted attack on our political system. The indictment alleges that they used
sophisticated cyber techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the
Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that
information through fake online identities and through the organization
Wikileaks. The releases were designed and times to interfere with our election
and to damage a presidential candidate.
And
at the same time as the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private
Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed
as Americans in order to influence an election. These indictments contain
allegations, and we are not commenting on the guilt or innocence of any
specific defendant. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
The
indictments allege, and the other activities in our report describe, efforts to
interfere in our political system. They needed to be investigated and
understand. And that is among the reasons why the Department of Justice
established our office. That is also a reason we investigated efforts to obstruct
the investigation. The matters we investigated were of paramount importance and
it was critical for us to obtain full and accurate information from every
person we questioned. When a subject of an investigation obstructs that
investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the
government’s effort to find the truth and hold wrong doers accountable.
Let
me say a word about the report. The report has two parts, addressing the two
main issues we were asked to investigate. The first volume details numerous
efforts emanating from Russia to influence the election. This volume includes a
discussion of the Trump campaign’s response to this activity, as well as our
conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy.
And
in a second volume, the report describes the results and analysis of our
obstruction of justice investigation involving the president.
The
order appointing the Special Counsel authorized us to investigate actions that
could obstruct the investigation. And we conducted that investigation and we
kept the Office of the Acting Attorney General apprised of the progress of our
work.
And
as set forth in the report after that investigation, if we had had confidence
that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.
We
did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a
crime. The introduction to the volume two of our report explains that decision.
It explains that under long-standing Department policy, a President cannot be
charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional.
Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that too is
prohibited. The special counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice
and by regulation it was bound by that Department policy. Charging the
president with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider.
The
Department’s written opinion explaining the policy makes several important
points that further informed our handling of the obstruction investigation.
Those points are summarized in our report, and I will describe two of them for
you. First, the opinion explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting
President because it is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh
and documents available. Among other things, that evidence could be used if
there were co-conspirators who could be charged now. And second, the opinion
says that the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice
system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrong doing. And beyond
Department policy we were guided by principles of fairness. It would be unfair
to potentially — it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime
when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge.
So
that was Justice Department policy. Those were the principles under which we
operated and from them we concluded that we would not reach a determination,
one way or the other, about whether the President committed a crime. That is
the office’s — that is the office’s final position, and we will not comment on
any other conclusions or hypotheticals about the President.
We
conducted an independent criminal investigation and reported the results to the
Attorney General, as required by Department regulations. The attorney general
then concluded that it was appropriate to provide our report to Congress and to
the American people. At one point in time I requested that certain portions of
the report be released. The Attorney General preferred to make that — preferred
to make the entire report public all at once, and we appreciate that the
Attorney General made the report largely public. And I certainly do not
question the Attorney General’s good faith in that decision.
Now
I hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak to you in this
manner. I am making that decision myself. No one has told me whether I can or
should testify or speak further about this matter. There has been discussion
about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not
go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis and the reasons for
the decisions we made. We chose those words carefully and the work speaks for
itself. And the report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond
that which is already public in any appearance before Congress.
In
addition, access to our underlying work product is being decided in a process
that does not involve our office. So beyond what I have said here today, and
what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for
me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the
Justice Department or Congress. And it’s for that reason I will not be taking
questions today as well.
Now
before I step away, I want to thank the attorneys, the FBI agents, and
analysts, the professional staff who helped us conduct this investigation in a
fair and independent manner. These individuals who spent nearly two years with
the Special Counsel’s Office were of the highest integrity.
And
I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments — that
there were multiple, systematic efforts to interference in our election. That
allegation deserves the attention of every American.
Thank
you. Thank you for being here today.
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