| | | | What's Robert Mueller afraid of? |  | | The news Tuesday that special counsel Robert Mueller's team isn't sure whether he should testify in front of Congress about his nearly two-year long investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election is a very big deal.
Here's why: There's no one in the country, other than Mueller (and maybe former White House counsel Don McGahn), who can shine a light on some of the trickiest questions involving Donald Trump raised by the probe -- most notably whether or not Trump committed acts of obstruction of justice.
And why is Mueller -- or at least his team -- worried about his potential testimony in front of a House committee on Capitol Hill? Because, politics. Writes CNN's team:
"The special counsel's team has expressed the notion that Mueller does not want to appear political after staying behind the scenes for two years and not speaking as he conducted his investigation into President Donald Trump."
HA HA HA. Dude, that whole "apolitical" ship sailed the second Mueller was named as special counsel by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Or the moment that Trump abandoned the advice of his first set of lawyers and began savaging Mueller and the members of the special counsel's office on an almost-daily basis on Twitter.
Or the moment Mueller wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr saying that Barr's topline memo of the broader report didn't fully cover the extent of the possible obstruction by Trump.
Mueller, and those advising him, are fooling themselves if they think that if he refuses to testify on Capitol Hill it will somehow preserve a patina of impartiality around him.
Now, it's also possible that the whole he-doesn't-want-to-be-political thing is simply cover for Mueller's discomfort with answering some questions that he knows would be coming his way from lawmakers. Questions like: Why didn't you offer a recommendation on obstruction of justice? If there had been no precedent that a sitting president can't be indicted, would you have charged Trump? Did Barr mislead the public about your conclusions in his initial four-page topline letter to Congress? And so on and so forth.
If that's the reason for Mueller's hesitancy, I get it. But to claim "politics"? Come on!
The Point: I still think Mueller testifies because he's too central to, well, everything not to.
-- Chris | | "You've got a thing called the sun. We like the sun better than the artificial not sun."
-- President Donald Trump making an aside as he talks about the bright stage lights shining on him while at a rally Monday in Pennsylvania. | | |  | Why Donald Trump is feuding with Fox News | | President Donald Trump's relationship with his favorite news channel, Fox News, is on the rocks. Why? They're giving airtime to Democrats.
But have you given any screen time to The Point on YouTube? Subscribe! | | You probably don't know Leonard Leo is. You should.
Darren Samuelsohn watched 20 hours of Robert Mueller previously testifying before Congress
Pete Hegseth, call your office
Donald Trump's 2020 campaign is spending a whole ton of money on Facebook ads
This is the best "Game of Thrones" take. Period.
So. Many. Loose. Ends. | | | Chris is really digging the new album -- "So that you might hear me" -- from Bear's Den | | 🚨SPOILER ALERT 🚨: GAME OF GROANS | | | Count Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren among the viewers disappointed by the "Game of Thrones" series conclusion.
"I feel like we were getting so close to having this ending with just women running the world," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"Exactly," Warren interjected. "And then the last two episodes, it's like, 'Oh, they're too emotional. The end.' It's like, ugh, this was written by men,'" Ocasio-Cortez continued. "We need to get some feminist analysis up in HBO." The pair shared their thoughts on the series finale in a video Warren posted on Twitter today (more than 24 hours after the episode aired, so fewer people would fall victim to the video's spoilers). | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Beto O'Rourke: Gets the CNN town hall treatment tonight at 10 ET amid a push to reach a national audience.
Cory Booker: Will travel through Iowa in an RV for four days, concluding in a Memorial Day BBQ at his campaign HQ in Urbandale.
Kamala Harris: Now supports independent investigations of fatal police shootings
Elizabeth Warren: Actually did follow up with a plan for that comedian's love life.
Donald Trump: Told supporters in a Pennsylvania rally on Monday night that Biden "deserted you" but that Trump himself will "be here a lot."
Joe Biden: Turned Trump saying Biden left Pennsylvania into a fundraising opportunity. | | | | | | |
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