{"id":644176,"date":"2019-05-29T17:24:56","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T17:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"
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\"Special<\/div>\n

Special Counsel Robert Mueller said on Wednesday that charging Donald Trump with a crime of obstruction was not an option because of Justice Department policy not to indict a sitting president.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder longstanding department policy, a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office,\u201d Mueller said in his first public comments in two years. \u201cThat is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Special Counsel\u2019s Office is part of the Department of Justice, and by regulation, it was bound by that department policy,\u201d Mueller said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider,\u201d the former FBI director said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrongdoing,\u201d Mueller added, in what appeared to be a suggestion that any further action would lie with Congress.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Mueller reiterated that his report into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice did not exonerate the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cWe did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mueller also said that if he was called to testify before Congress \u2014 as some Democrats are demanding \u2014 he would say no more than what is already in report.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak about this matter,\u201d he said. \u201cI am making that decision myself \u2014 no one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mueller ended by reiterating what he called \u201cthe central allegation of our indictments \u2014 that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat allegation deserves the attention of every American.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mueller said that with the completion of the investigation he was resigning from the Justice Department to return to private life.<\/p>\n

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