LIVE: Mueller testifies before Congress.

[Roy H.]

I didn’t see the testimony, but from clips Muellers doesn’t look nearly as dynamic or confident as I expected.  That doesn’t make for good 2020 sound bites, which, lets be honest, is what this is all about.

The only semi-interesting thing I heard was that he denied knowing what Fusion GPS is?  I assume he doesn’t live in a cave, so I was surprised by that.

[blink]

So after Mueller contradicted Trump on numerous items in today's hearing, naturally once the hearing is over Trump wants to get the spotlight back on his crazy statements.  Trump just said in an impromptu Q and A with the press:  "they tried to do an illegal overthrow" umm no.

Trump is just off the rails nuts.

[Ilikesports17]

I watched for about 2 hours and he didn’t answer a single question of consequence

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

[Celtics4ever]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?   I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

[Neurotic Guy]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?   I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

Well... I think the people spoke about the emails: In an election where a reasonable dem should have slaughtered Trump, she lost. 

Now the people should be equally outraged by his obstruction. If both Clinton and Trump are wrong... then both are wrong. She lost. Will he?

[nickagneta]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?  I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

Patently not true. Mueller came to discuss the report he oversaw and only that. Mueller made that quite clear.

He wasn't there to discuss Hilary, deleted emails, Strzok's and Page's texts, the Steele dossier, the investigation into the original FISA warrant or any other whataboutism that people/Republican politicians wanted him to talk about. He reluctantly testified about the report and that was all he was going to testify on.

[Roy H.]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?  I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

Patently not true. Mueller came to discuss the report he oversaw and only that. Mueller made that quite clear.

He wasn't there to discuss Hilary, deleted emails, Strzok's and Page's texts, the Steele dossier, the investigation into the original FISA warrant or any other whataboutism that people/Republican politicians wanted him to talk about. He reluctantly testified about the report and that was all he was going to testify on.

I saw him decline to answer some questions, too. Was that stipulated to you in the rules of his testimony? It was weird to me, seeing a witness decide which questions he would and would not answer. That is certainly not the norm.

I think some of the stuff you listed as “whataboutism” should have been fair game, because it involved Mueller’s team and/or his investigation.  I think that it is fair to question him on things that he knew about or had control over.

[bellerephon]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?  I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

Patently not true. Mueller came to discuss the report he oversaw and only that. Mueller made that quite clear.

He wasn't there to discuss Hilary, deleted emails, Strzok's and Page's texts, the Steele dossier, the investigation into the original FISA warrant or any other whataboutism that people/Republican politicians wanted him to talk about. He reluctantly testified about the report and that was all he was going to testify on.

He did say that, but in truth it's not his call. When people are called to testify before the House or Senate they cannot decide what questions they want to answer. Congress has the authority to compel testimony similar to a court. In this case, the people in charge of the hearing have decided not to force him to answer these questions, but that's because it suits their purposes (both Rep and Dem) not because they don't have the power to compel testimony.

[nickagneta]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?  I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

Patently not true. Mueller came to discuss the report he oversaw and only that. Mueller made that quite clear.

He wasn't there to discuss Hilary, deleted emails, Strzok's and Page's texts, the Steele dossier, the investigation into the original FISA warrant or any other whataboutism that people/Republican politicians wanted him to talk about. He reluctantly testified about the report and that was all he was going to testify on.

He did say that, but in truth it's not his call. When people are called to testify before the House or Senate they cannot decide what questions they want to answer. Congress has the authority to compel testimony similar to a court. In this case, the people in charge of the hearing have decided not to force him to answer these questions, but that's because it suits their purposes (both Rep and Dem) not because they don't have the power to compel testimony.

And Mueller can then choose which questions to answer. And since he made it clear he was there reluctantly and would only discuss his report, it would be a waste of everyone's time(which all this pretty much was anyway), to bring up other issues, some of which he may know little or nothing about. All we would have heard if he was asked about Hilary, or the deleted emails, or the validity of the FISA warrant or a host of other whataboutisms from Mueller on any of it would be:

I can't speak intelligently on that issue as I was not involved with it?

I do not know if in the rules of testimony he was limited to questions just on the Mueller report, but Mueller asked the DOJ for some guidance in a letter two days ago and the DOJ instructed him to only answer questions regarding the report and even then limited him on that due to Presidential privilege, current trials underway and national security redacted areas of the report.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha~!

[slamtheking]

This made me a bit confused as to why he came at all. Democrats and Republicans got to ask their questions and as time expired they all got to make their mini speeches but from what I could tell virtually no new information was exposed

Much Ado about nothing..... Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas was impressive in his line of questioning if what he said was true.   But I thought both sides will claim victory when in reality nothing changes.   People are already polarized and President Trump is a liar which was before this hearing and after.   Maybe when they have their investigation into the origins of the Steele Dosier we will get some answers.

How can people be out-raged over Pres. Trump obstruction and not even raise an eyebrow over 32,000 deleted emails?   I know Mueller would not discuss this today because he loves his institution but both the left and the right were harmed by the FBI, in the past few years and if one organization should be non partisan it is our Justice Department.    This means Comey, Strzok, and Barr types need to go.

I had the complete opposite impression regarding Ratcliffe --> pompous, grandstanding jackass kissing up to Trump.

most Reps did the same but to a lesser degree than Ratcliffe.  Gaetz was just about as bad. 

Nadler was the most solid questioner in the first round.  Dems should have followed up on his line of questioning.

Mueller was weak and disinterested.  Reps impugned his credibility as well as his team's credibility.  If nothing else, he should have been a stronger witness is supporting his team as well as his findings even if he was determined to frustrate Dems by not reading his report's quotes nor elaborating on the findings

[Ty_Unabi]

I heard someone say that the person who learned the most about the Mueller report is Mueller.  He didn't seem to know what was in the report. It was obvious he  had less to do with the investigation.  Andrew Weisman seems to be the real lead on this, and Mueller was a figure head. 

[Ogaju]

sooner or later somebody has to say this, regardless of your politics, just from an observers viewpoint, the Republicans have been dancing circles around the Democrats in the public case.

[Celtics4ever]

Hopefully, they put Hillary and Pres. Trump in jail because both of these individuals sought dirt on the other with the Russkies.  I think the sad thing is that we worry more about Pres. Trump's guilt than stopping future interference and face it, the Russian Bots are still out there dividing people and still active.  To me, that was Mueller 's finest moment and something that should have united the chamber briefly but it did not.

Nadler was the most solid questioner in the first round.  Dems should have followed up on his line of questioning.

Nadler was decent but he was leading Mueller in fact, most of them were.  The things that hurt the Dems here, is that they are not united. Some want impeachment and some know that impeachment can backfire like it did Bill Clinton.   I bet Nancy Pelosi is happier today, because I think this hearing makes impeachment less likely.

I had the complete opposite impression regarding Ratcliffe --> pompous, grandstanding jackass kissing up to Trump.

Yet he had Mueller on his heels the most with his line of questioning.   Did he go outside the scope of the probe?

Mueller was weak and disinterested.  Reps impugned his credibility as well as his team's credibility.  If nothing else, he should have been a stronger witness is supporting his team as well as his findings even if he was determined to frustrate Dems by not reading his report's quotes nor elaborating on the findings

Agree, and I think this is the reason no one won the lines of questioning.   I felt bad for Mueller, he is an true American hero who has served the federal government for years.   He also is not party of the faction with the FBI that thinks it has a right to play Kingmaker (aka Strzok and Comey).  It certainly, looked like he did not even read the report in terms of knowing his content.  It was obvious he did not want to be there.

I think the Dems had more to gain or lose here and they did not gain much. 

the Republicans have been dancing circles around the Democrats in the public case.

Agree, and Chuck Todd agrees:

    SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS: When the Democrats were asked why, why would they put Robert Mueller on the witness stand, why did he come before Congress when he's issued this report, they said, because you needed to have this report come alive, because the movie will be better than the book, that it would capture and captivate America's attention and focus them on the issues here. And to our panel, I ask the question, is it mission accomplished, if that was the goal?

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: If that was the goal, it's a complete failure on that front.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/07/24/chuck_todd_mueller_hearing_a_disaster_didnt_help_advance_the_cause_for_trump_impeachment.html

and Pelosi and her gang, did not help with their Democratic Response. 

In short, this was all about playing to the base for both parties.  The average American, did not watch this and sick of this issue only 11% favor impeachment..  People in their echo chambers will still find comfort in their news catered to them.

[SHAQATTACK]

Hopefully, they put Hillary and Pres. Trump in jail because both of these individuals sought dirt on the other with the Russkies.  I think the sad thing is that we worry more about Pres. Trump's guilt than stopping future interference and face it, the Russian Bots are still out there dividing people and still active.  To me, that was Mueller 's finest moment and something that should have united the chamber briefly but it did not.

Nadler was the most solid questioner in the first round.  Dems should have followed up on his line of questioning.

Nadler was decent but he was leading Mueller in fact, most of them were.  The things that hurt the Dems here, is that they are not united. Some want impeachment and some know that impeachment can backfire like it did Bill Clinton.   I bet Nancy Pelosi is happier today, because I think this hearing makes impeachment less likely.

I had the complete opposite impression regarding Ratcliffe --> pompous, grandstanding jackass kissing up to Trump.

Yet he had Mueller on his heels the most with his line of questioning.   Did he go outside the scope of the probe?

Mueller was weak and disinterested.  Reps impugned his credibility as well as his team's credibility.  If nothing else, he should have been a stronger witness is supporting his team as well as his findings even if he was determined to frustrate Dems by not reading his report's quotes nor elaborating on the findings

Agree, and I think this is the reason no one won the lines of questioning.   I felt bad for Mueller, he is an true American hero who has served the federal government for years.   He also is not party of the faction with the FBI that thinks it has a right to play Kingmaker (aka Strzok and Comey).  It certainly, looked like he did not even read the report in terms of knowing his content.  It was obvious he did not want to be there.

I think the Dems had more to gain or lose here and they did not gain much. 

the Republicans have been dancing circles around the Democrats in the public case.

Agree, and Chuck Todd agrees:

    SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS: When the Democrats were asked why, why would they put Robert Mueller on the witness stand, why did he come before Congress when he's issued this report, they said, because you needed to have this report come alive, because the movie will be better than the book, that it would capture and captivate America's attention and focus them on the issues here. And to our panel, I ask the question, is it mission accomplished, if that was the goal?

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: If that was the goal, it's a complete failure on that front.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/07/24/chuck_todd_mueller_hearing_a_disaster_didnt_help_advance_the_cause_for_trump_impeachment.html

and Pelosi and her gang, did not help with their Democratic Response. 

In short, this was all about playing to the base for both parties.  The average American, did not watch this and sick of this issue only 11% favor impeachment..  People in their echo chambers will still find comfort in their news catered to them.

agree with this last statement .  I ve grown tired of lip service and bickering and 24-7 coverage .  Do,something or move on.