Finally breaking his silence this week, Robert Mueller delivered a brief press conference. Democrats have been trying to get the special counsel to talk for months now, looking for blood in the water--any drop of it. But Mr. Mueller simply reiterated what his report had said weeks earlier. He would neither press charges against a sitting president (DOJ policy) nor declare innocent Mr. Trump on obstruction of justice. This matter is now one for politics, and he's not going to participate.
Mr. Mueller is a lot of things. He's a Marine Corps vet who served during Vietnam, a skilled lawyer and prosecutor, a former FBI director, a grandfather, and all-around honorable, by-the-book rules man. ("We at the FBI do not have senses of humor that we're aware of.") He is not a leaker to the press, as evidenced by two years of stone-cold silence from his office while he investigated Russia and the president. He's a rare breath of fresh air in these divided times: a hard worker who follows his mandate to get the job done without taking political sides.
Speaking for the first--and last--time to the press about his report, Mr. Mueller announced his retirement. Job done, he said, and he's going home.
Now we look to the remainder of President Trump's first term. And it seems he's pretty safe from any attempts to remove him from office, much to the frustration of progressives who are seething to sack him.
As for impeachment? That's unlikely. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is determined to avoid that at all costs. See: President Clinton's impeachment in 1998, acquittal in 1999 and record approval numbers afterward. House leadership, no matter how badly some want to lash out at the president, is not going to stomp on that landmine. The politically savvy lady from San Francisco won't allow it.
So that's that. Mr. Mueller is done. The House will keep investigating, of course. That's what the loyal opposition does: It opposes. A loyal opposition makes a good administration better, and a bad administration gone.
As for President Trump, he should take this win to the house.
For the rest of us, the world keeps on spinning. And sometimes flooding.
Editorial on 06/01/2019