Robert Mueller Says Donald Trump Could Be Charged When He Leaves Office

Former special counsel Robert Mueller acknowledged Wednesday that President Donald Trump could feasibly be charged with obstruction of justice after he left office.

While being questioned by Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) during testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller agreed that authorities could charge the president with a crime.

You could charge the president of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office? Buck asked.

Yes, Mueller responded.

BUCK: Okay. But the -- could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?

MUELLER: Yes.

BUCK: You believe that he committed -- you could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office?

MUELLER: Yes.

Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 24, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Manu Raju","author_url":"https://twitter.com/mkraju","cache_age":86400,"description":"BUCK: Okay. But the -- could you charge the president with a crime after he left office? MUELLER: Yes. BUCK: You believe that he committed -- you could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office? MUELLER: Yes. Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 24, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Manu Raju on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1154041304516444160","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5d3873ece4b0419fd3365925","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/mueller-hearing-trump-charged-obstruction-justice_n_5d3873ece4b0419fd3365925","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,robert-mueller,united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary,obstruction-of-justice,mueller-testimony,@developing","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/b2e060c4-f3ba-41f9-9a67-014283a59a76/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":2},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5d3873ece4b0419fd3365925","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Robert Mueller","slug":"robert-mueller","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/robert-mueller","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/robert-mueller","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/robert-mueller"},"relegenceId":3628965,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Robert Mueller","slug":"robert-mueller","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/robert-mueller"},{"name":"United States House Committee on the Judiciary","slug":"united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary"},"relegenceId":3462623,"url":"https://action.news/topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary"},{"name":"obstruction of justice","slug":"obstruction-of-justice","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/obstruction-of-justice","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/obstruction-of-justice","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/obstruction-of-justice"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/obstruction-of-justice"},{"name":"mueller testimony","slug":"mueller-testimony","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mueller-testimony","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-testimony","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-testimony"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-testimony"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

BUCK: Okay. But the -- could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?

MUELLER: Yes.

BUCK: You believe that he committed -- you could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office?

MUELLER: Yes.
Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 24, 2019

Earlier, Mueller confirmed that his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election didnt exonerate Trump , despite the presidents insistence that Muellers investigatory report cleared him of obstructing justice in the probe.

Mueller wrote in the report that he personally couldnt make the call on whether the president committed a crime during the investigation. Instead, he cited an Office of Legal Counsel opinion saying a sitting president couldnt be indicted. His testimony on Wednesday makes it clear that that opinion doesnt hold once the president leaves office.

While testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee later on Wednesday, Mueller added that investigators didnt reach a conclusion about whether Trump obstructed justice because the OLC opinion precluded his office from doing so.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Mueller clarifies that he was not saying he didnt charge Trump with obstruction of justice because of the OLC opinion barring indictment of a sitting president. He was saying it precluded him from making a decision on whether Trump should be charged.

Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 24, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Peter Baker","author_url":"https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt","cache_age":86400,"description":"Mueller clarifies that he was not saying he didnt charge Trump with obstruction of justice because of the OLC opinion barring indictment of a sitting president. He was saying it precluded him from making a decision on whether Trump should be charged. Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 24, 2019\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Peter Baker on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1154077646994714624","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5d3873ece4b0419fd3365925","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/mueller-hearing-trump-charged-obstruction-justice_n_5d3873ece4b0419fd3365925","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,robert-mueller,united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary,obstruction-of-justice,mueller-testimony,@developing","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/b2e060c4-f3ba-41f9-9a67-014283a59a76/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5d3873ece4b0419fd3365925","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Robert Mueller","slug":"robert-mueller","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/robert-mueller","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/robert-mueller","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/robert-mueller"},"relegenceId":3628965,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Robert Mueller","slug":"robert-mueller","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/robert-mueller"},{"name":"United States House Committee on the Judiciary","slug":"united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary"},"relegenceId":3462623,"url":"https://action.news/topic/united-states-house-committee-on-the-judiciary"},{"name":"obstruction of justice","slug":"obstruction-of-justice","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/obstruction-of-justice","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/obstruction-of-justice","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/obstruction-of-justice"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/obstruction-of-justice"},{"name":"mueller testimony","slug":"mueller-testimony","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mueller-testimony","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-testimony","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-testimony"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-testimony"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

Mueller clarifies that he was not saying he didnt charge Trump with obstruction of justice because of the OLC opinion barring indictment of a sitting president. He was saying it precluded him from making a decision on whether Trump should be charged.
Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 24, 2019

This article has been updated to include comments from Muellers testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee.