Robert Mueller cited Justice Department guidelines as reason he did not make a determination on whether President Trump obstructed justice.
“Under long-standing department policy, a present president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view — that too is prohibited,” he said.
“The special counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice and, by regulation, it was bound by that department policy,” he said. “Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider.”
Mueller’s nearly 450-page report laid out 10 possible instances Trump may have committed obstruction, but the special counsel did not conclude one way or the other whether there was obstruction.
Attorney General William Barr made the determination instead. In defending the president, Barr said Trump’s actions stemmed from frustration over what he viewed as an investigation that was politically motivated.
Mueller, however, said his report did not exonerate the president despite the lack of charges.
“If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that,” Mueller said.
