The real reason Robert Mueller hasn’t testified yet
Despite quite a bit of buzz about Special Counsel Robert Mueller publicly testifying in mid-May, some of that buzz having come directly from Congress itself, it still hasn’t happened yet. Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee hinted that Mueller’s testimony might not happen for another two weeks. This has made a whole lot of people, and pundits, angry and confused. But it’s become very clear what’s going on here.
Before Robert Mueller testifies, he’ll resign from the Department of Justice, in order to limit William Barr’s ability to meddle with what he’s allowed to discuss. So why hasn’t Mueller resigned yet? His own spokesman keeps announcing that Mueller’s employment will end within a few days, and then it never happens. But on Thursday we got our answer as to what’s really going on here.
Robert Mueller’s team – which apparently still exists on some level – made a court filing out of nowhere on Thursday in the Michael Flynn case, despite not being up against any sort of deadline. This was clearly done for the sole purpose of publicly exposing what Flynn gave up on Donald Trump and others in Trump’s orbit. Mueller forcibly unredacted one of the most damning pieces of his own report. Because it was done through the courts, and thus was under the purview of the Judicial Branch, there was nothing Barr could do to stop it.
This means that when Robert Mueller testifies, he can now discuss what Michael Flynn gave up on Donald Trump. He can talk about the incriminating voicemail that Trump’s lawyer left for Flynn, who on Trump’s transition team knew Flynn was conspiring with the Russians, and so on. It’s now clear why Mueller hasn’t yet resigned: he’s using what’s left of his position to get the things out there that need to be out there. Once he’s accomplished that, he’ll resign, and he’ll testify about it all.
There are a number of pundits jumping up and down and screaming about how Robert Mueller is too much of a coward to testify, or that House Democrats are too big of cowards to have him testify, or whatever other baseless histrionic nonsense gets people to tune in. And a number of people across social media are buying this crap, causing them to become enraged at everyone involved. But the Flynn filing makes it blindingly obvious what’s really going on here. Mueller will publicly testify soon. But first he’s forcibly broadening the topics he’ll legally be able to testify about.
