'Very substantial evidence' Trump is 'guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors,' House Judiciary Chair says

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Washington (CNN) House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler on Sunday said Robert Mueller's report presents "very substantial evidence" that President Donald Trump is "guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors" -- an impeachable offense.

"We have to ... let Mueller present those facts to the American people, and then see where we go from there, because the administration must be held accountable," Nadler, whose committee would lead impeachment proceedings , said on "Fox News Sunday."

Mueller, the former special counsel for the Department of Justice and former director of the FBI, will testify before Congress on July 24 after House Democrats issued a subpoena for his appearance. Earlier this year, Mueller concluded a nearly two-year-long investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats are deeply divided on whether to pursue an impeachment inquiry, and Mueller's public testimony may provide an opportunity for the party to unify and decide whether impeachment proceedings should go forward or not. More than 80 House Democrats have called for starting an impeachment inquiry into the President -- the first step in a lengthy process, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Nadler have so far resisted the pressure to open an inquiry. Behind the scenes, Nadler has lobbied Pelosi to open an inquiry.

Schiff said on CBS "Face The Nation" that the report contains "a pretty damning set of facts," and said, "Who better to bring them to life than the man who did the investigation himself."

"We want the people to hear it directly from him," Schiff said.

Mueller said in a rare and remarkable public statement in May his investigation could not clear Trump of obstruction of justice , and that charging the President was not an option his office could consider.

"If we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller said. "We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the President did commit a crime."

The former special counsel's probe, which also investigated possible collusion, found that members of the Trump campaign knew they would benefit from Russia's illegal actions to influence the election, but did not take criminal steps to help.

Mueller delivered a road map of how the investigation played out and the possible role that Congress could play in holding Trump accountable. He highlighted how the "Constitution requires a process other than" the criminal justice system to hold officeholders accountable, a clear signal his obstruction investigation into Trump could be carried on by Congress.

8VizHelmet23 on July 21st, 2019 at 19:41 UTC »

He is destroying America. Laughing at his twits or dismiss as “here we go again” are not going to MAGA. America had NEVER been Great this way!

JesusWearsTimbs on July 21st, 2019 at 17:30 UTC »

Anyone who read the Mueller Report knows this information already.

Edit: thank you everyone for the silver and gold. I don’t know what it means but I appreciate it.

Edit: English isn’t my native language and I added a comma by mistake. Relax grammar police.

CaptainNoBoat on July 21st, 2019 at 16:41 UTC »

Is this what /r/politics is going to be for the next few months? Every single comment section devolving into frothing-rage at the Speaker and other Dems? I'm not a huge fan of Pelosi either, but I understand the hesitation.

The American voting public is very different than people who follow politics. Only 27% of Americans support impeachment. only 48% of Democrats. 95% of Americans haven't read a single page of the Mueller report, and most could not tell you any specifics of what Trump has done wrong.

Unpopular opinion here, but now is a really stupid time to impeach. Can anyone give me a solid argument as to why impeaching now versus several months from now is the best strategy for democrats?

I won't pretend to know what Pelosi is thinking, but it seems to me impeachment would be much more impactful closer to election time.

If you impeach now, sure it may expedite some legal proceedings and bring Trump into the spotlight. But then it's going to be over months before the election. Trump will scream vindication, 42% of the country will believe him, and our goldfish memories will move on to the next scandal. What the hell will that have accomplished?

By delaying it, you let Mueller, Epstein, and other investigations have their own spotlight and outrage, you let support for impeachment grow. And you put it squarely into the 2020 election, making it impossible to screech how he was exonerated, and hamper his campaigning.

Is Pelosi planning on impeaching at a strategic moment? I can't predict that, but I can tell you if the GOP could pick a time for Democrats to impeach, they would 100% pick right now, the same timing everyone in this sub seems to be supporting.

People need to step back and realize impeachment will NOT result in Trump's removal. The Senate will never convict. Therefore, it is no longer an obligation, but a political tool. We should be smart and use it as such, not let our outrage cause us to botch the advantage this could give us and turn against our own party.

Edit: The bottom line is that when half the actors (Congressional R's) refuse to cooperate, choosing when to impeach is not black and white. I wish this sub would have healthy discussions (like a lot of us are doing now - thank you to those that are) rather than blanket-rage against career politicians who have different motives than you. Hell, if there's one thing Russian trolls would probably want to fan the flames on, it's this very subject. I'll join the Pelosi outrage too if nothing is done in a few months, but I'm not there yet.

Speak your case - argue your point with people like me who see differently. Put pressure on representatives and peers for what you believe. But let's not spiral into excessive outrage that hurts the party as a whole. The past few weeks, it has been really over-the-top on this sub.