After hours of non-answers and referrals back to the report, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) managed to get a compelling answer out of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller with a very direct question: "Why didn't you subpoena the president?"
Mueller in response to Maloney's question about the lack of a subpoena during this House Intelligence Committee hearing explained that his team spent a year attempting to secure an interview with Trump to no avail.
"We decided that we did not want to exercise the subpoena powers because of the necessity of expediting the end of the investigation," Mueller said. "The expectation was if we did subpoena the president, he would fight the subpoena, and we would be in the midst of the investigation for a substantial period of time."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump ultimately answered some questions for Mueller in writing, but the former special counsel admitted during his testimony that these written responses were "certainly not as useful as the interview would be."
Maloney seemed critical of this decision by Mueller, suggesting either that he "flinched" or that he "didn't think you needed it" because there was already a "substantial body of evidence" against Trump without an interview. But Mueller, clearly, would directly not comment on this, only saying they had to balance "how much evidence" they had with "how much time" they were "willing to spend in the courts."
Later, when asked by Val Demings (D-Fla.) if it's "fair to say that the president's written answers ... showed that he wasn't always being truthful," Mueller said that it "generally" is. Brendan Morrow
-
August 24 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Putin at Donald Trump's circus, gallons of whitewash, and a foldable cartoon
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBISpeed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summitSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
