Mueller In The Middle: What The Special Counsel's Testimony Revealed

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Published July 25, 2019 at 10:06 AM EDT

Robert Mueller, former special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

On Wednesday, former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress about his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The Justice Department made a redacted copy of the report available to the public in April. Did we learn anything new in Mueller’s testimony?

Here’s one take from CNN:

The biggest takeaway from Robert Mueller’s appearances on Capitol Hill is not that Donald Trump may have obstructed justice, although that’s what most people continue to argue about.

It’s that Russians are still interfering in US elections.

“They’re doing it as we sit here,” Mueller told lawmakers of Russian interference. Earlier he’d said how that aspect of his investigation has been underplayed will have a long-term effect on the US.

In his report, the former special counsel disclosed that Russian hackers compromised local election systems of two Florida counties in 2016, a development later confirmed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, although he said no votes were changed. And while Mueller did not bring conspiracy charges, it’s been well documented that Russians in 2016 were doing their best to help Trump, not Clinton, win.

Yet despite Mueller’s testimony, the special counsel report and alarming statements from elsewhere in Washington, public urgency on addressing Russian interference for the 2020 election appears lacking.

We analyze Mueller’s testimony and talk about the threats against our elections.

GUESTS

Josh Gerstein, Senior legal affairs contributor, Politico; @joshgerstein

For more, visit https://the1a.org.