President Trump responded to Robert Mueller’s widely panned testimony Wednesday by offering a mocking “thank you” to House Democrats who insisted on holding televised hearings with the former special counsel.
“I would like to thank the Democrats for holding this morning’s hearing,” the president tweeted after Mr. Mueller’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.”
The president added, “Now, after 3 hours, Robert Mueller has to subject himself to #ShiftySchiff - an Embarrassment to our Country!” It was a reference to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, California Democrat who was presiding over a second hearing with Mr. Mueller.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s lawyer said former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday proves that “this case is closed.”
“The American people understand that this issue is over,” attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement.Mr. Mueller told House lawmakers that his two-year investigation didn’t find evidence of collaboration between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016. He also said his findings did not exonerate the president of possible obstruction of justice.
“This morning’s testimony exposed the troubling deficiencies of the special counsel’s investigation,” Mr. Sekulow said. “The testimony revealed that this probe was conducted by a small group of politically biased prosecutors who, as hard as they try, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.”
SEE ALSO: Mueller refuses to answer Judiciary Committee questions more than 120 times
He added, “It’s also clear that the special counsel conducted his two-year investigation unimpeded.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted before Mr. Mueller’s appearance with the House Intelligence Committee: “The last three hours have been an epic embarrassment for the Democrats. Expect more of the same in the second half.”
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said the hearings were “a disaster for Democrats.”
“This entire spectacle has always been about the Democrats trying to undo the legitimate result of the 2016 election and today they again failed miserably,” Mr. Parscale said. “Robert Mueller confirmed what we already knew: No collusion, no obstruction, and the way President Trump has been treated is unprecedented.”
After three years, he said, “it is even more apparent that Democrats are completely consumed with their hatred of the President and their obsession with overturning the will of the people who elected him.”
Former White House aide Sebastian Gorka tweeted that Mr. Mueller’s testimony destroyed Democratic dreams of impeachment.
Thanks Bob! pic.twitter.com/5dwur9mXbS
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) July 24, 2019
Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani suggested it’s now time to probe Mr. Mueller’s team.
My co-counsel I were encouraging people to tell the truth. And it was true…no collusion. Mueller’s Angry Dems were pressuring them to lie,eg.,indicted oligarch Firtash,Manafort,Corsi. Plenty of proof. Hopefully this will accelerate the investigation of the dirty investigators.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) July 24, 2019
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Twitter as well, calling the Mueller report a “leftist attempt” to unseat his father.
“If anyone still believes that this hoax was anything more then a leftist attempt to overthrow @realDonaldTrump, this fact should end that notion once & for all. It’s time to investigate the investigators!!! They perpetrated this crime against America, they should pay for it,” he said.
“How can anyone credibly say they investigated something without looking at any of the origins of the entire thing… it’s dumbfounding. 2 years and almost $50,000,000 & and he doesn’t have a clue to how it started? GTFO,” he tweeted.
Outside the Executive Branch, conservative media figures also praised the hearings as a victory for the president.
Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton tweeted “No collusion. No obstruction, No impeachment” and added it was time to “shut the coup cabal down!”
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham also ripped Democrats for building “a big hearing around a lawyer who told you he didn’t want to be there.”
Fox Business host Stuart Varney criticized Mr. Mueller’s candor during his testimony, adding he looked “frail.”
“Forgive me for making almost a personal comment. Robert Mueller seems frail. He does not seem really sharp and in line with answering the questions. Yes or no is what he’s been giving,” he said.
His guest, Judge Andrew Napolitano agreed, saying he didn’t seem as quick on the draw as during previous hearings when he was FBI director.
— Staff writer Bailey Vogt contributed to this report.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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