Nadler promises Congress will 'respond to' Trump's 'crimes' after Mueller statement

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday responded to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's first statement in two years by promising Congress will take action.

Mueller spoke to reporters on Wednesday to announce his resignation as special counsel and reiterate the findings of his investigation, which did not establish a criminal conspiracy between President Trump's campaign and Russia and did not conclude whether Trump obstructed justice but outlined instances of potential obstruction. Mueller said on Wednesday that when it comes to obstruction, "if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," and that charging Trump was not an "option" due to Department of Justice guidelines.

Nadler in a statement said that Mueller "confirmed" that Trump has not been exonerated on obstruction of justice and that "the Constitution points to Congress to take action to hold the president accountable." He went on to say that Mueller has "clearly demonstrated" that Trump is "lying" about Mueller's findings by claiming he has been exonerated.

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"Given that Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the president, it falls on Congress to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump — and we will do so," Nadler said.

Nadler's statement did not reference the fact that Mueller on Wednesday indicated he does not wish to testify before Congress, as Nadler wants him to, and it did not clarify whether Democrats would subpoena him. Brendan Morrow