Mueller Report Did Not Exonerate Trump, Mueller Says | HuffPost Latest News

Despite President Donald Trump s repeated insistence that former special counsel Robert Muellers report was a total exoneration, Mueller on Wednesday confirmed it was not.

In an exchange between him and House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Nadler asked directly whether the report totally exonerated the president.

No, Mueller said. It is not what the report said.

\r\n\r\n","

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

The statement came during Muellers testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice committed by the president.

This is not the first time that Mueller has said the investigation didnt exonerate the president. At a press conference in May , he was clear that if we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that.

In his report, Mueller wrote that he could not determine that the president did not commit a crime, but cited an Office of Legal Counsel opinion that a sitting president could not be indicted while in office an opinion which was reiterated during the testimony.

Is it correct that if you had concluded that the president committed the crime of obstruction, you could not publicly state that in your report or here today? Nadler asked.

The statement would be that you would not indict, Mueller said. Under the OLC opinion, a sitting president cannot be indicted. It would be unconstitutional.

Some time after the exchange, the GOP doubled down on theirs and the presidents claim that the report had found no collusion.

It was true months ago, and its still true now.

Look no further than the words of Mueller Report-- NO COLLUSION.https://t.co/5jqBQxm2Rg

GOP (@GOP) July 24, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"GOP","author_url":"https://twitter.com/GOP","cache_age":86400,"description":"It was true months ago, and its still true now.Look no further than the words of Mueller Report-- NO COLLUSION.https://t.co/5jqBQxm2Rg GOP (@GOP) July 24, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"GOP on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1154017524457050113","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":"5d38621be4b0419fd33617c3","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/mueller-testimony-exoneration_n_5d38621be4b0419fd33617c3","entryTagsList":"robert-mueller,mueller-report,obstruction-of-justice,jerry-nadler,2016-united-states-presidential-election","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","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":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","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":2},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5d38621be4b0419fd33617c3","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"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":"Mueller Report","slug":"mueller-report","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mueller-report","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-report","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-report"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mueller-report"},{"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":"Jerry nadler","slug":"jerry-nadler","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jerry-nadler","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jerry-nadler","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jerry-nadler"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/jerry-nadler"},{"name":"2016 United States presidential election","slug":"2016-united-states-presidential-election","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2016-united-states-presidential-election","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2016-united-states-presidential-election","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2016-united-states-presidential-election"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/2016-united-states-presidential-election"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

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

It was true months ago, and its still true now.

Look no further than the words of Mueller Report-- NO COLLUSION.https://t.co/5jqBQxm2Rg
GOP (@GOP) July 24, 2019

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

In his opening remarks, Mueller stated that he did not address collusion in his report, because it is not a legal term.