(ABC News)
Alexander Mallin May 29, 2019, 11:56 AM
Special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday broke more than two years of silence about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, saying he does not intend to testify to Congress and explaining why he did not have the "option" of charging the president with a crime.
Mueller spoke amid demands by congressional Democrats that he testify in public.
He said he would make "a few remarks" but that it was "important that the office's written work speak for itself."
"The report is my testimony," Mueller
The special counsel said he was speaking out because his "investigation is complete," his office is "formally closing" and that he is "resigning from the Department of Justice to return to private life."
"The matters we investigated were of paramount importance," Mueller said. "When the subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators it strikes at the government's effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable."
With regard to why he did not make a decision about whether the president obstructed justice, Mueller said charging the president with a crime was "not an option we could consider" because of Justice Department policy.
Comments