Follow along with VICE News as Robert Mueller testifies before Congress.Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe somehow used part of his brief five minutes in front of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller to call Democrats “socialists.”“Americans need to know this as they listen to Democrats and socialists on the other side of the aisle, as they do dramatic readings from this report — that volume two of this report was not authorized under the law to be written,” Ratcliffe said closing his allotted five minutes to question Mueller.Ratcliffe accused Mueller of failing to follow special counsel regulations, since “nowhere in here does it say ‘write a report about decisions that weren’t reached.’” It’s worth noting that unnamed sources told CNN that Ratcliffe is under consideration for a White House gig, although it’s unclear for what position.
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Mueller declined to indict President Trump for obstruction of justice because Department of Justice policy prohibits indicting a sitting president.When Rep. Jerrold Nadler asked whether Trump could be indicted after he left office, Mueller responded that he could.Mueller appeared before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday for an anticipated five hours of questioning about his landmark investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and the Trump campaign’s alleged efforts to obstruct that probe.Mueller declined to charge the president but specifically did not clear him of obstruction.“Respectfully, respectfully, by doing that, you managed to violate every principle in the most sacred traditions about prosecutors not offering extra prosecutorial analysis about potential crimes that aren’t charged,” Ratcliffe said.
Cover: Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) questions former Special Counsel Robert Mueller as he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in the Rayburn House Office Building July 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)