Possible impeachment by House Democrats still threatens the president.
The partisan battle over the results of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation broke out within seconds of the Justice Department’s letter on “topline” findings reaching Capitol Hill Sunday afternoon.
Two things were quickly clear: first, the end of Mueller’s exhaustive two-year probe means the political war over whether to impeach President Donald Trump – a battle that has already begun to consume Congress since Democrats took control of the House in November – is only just beginning; and secondly, Mueller gave both sides enough to keep pounding their own message for weeks and months to come.
Trump may have escaped any criminal charges from Mueller’s probe, yet impeachment is clearly still on the table as far as many Democrats and progressive outside groups are concerned.
For Republicans, the message from the Mueller report was clear and insistent – “The country needs to move on.” Meanwhile, Democrats immediately countered with “Release the whole Mueller report.” The struggle is now over which side wins that messaging war with the American public.
After months of twisting in the wind over what Mueller would find, Republicans gleefully pounced on the special counsel’s statement that “the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
From the White House on down to rank-and-file Republicans, that was the green light to push the “move on” message.
“I understand that Democrats today are struggling with their own deep divisions and that it might be easier to attack President Trump than work together for a common cause,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a close Trump ally. “But after months upon months of manufactured outrage on this issue, it is time we move on for the good of the nation and focus on the job we were sent to Washington to do: work to address the real challenges facing our country.”
“I am glad that the special counsel’s investigation has finally drawn to a close and we can put this outrageous chapter behind us,” declared House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) “Rather than focus on the issues that affect the lives of everyday Americans, like jobs, health care, and border security, Democrats and their allies in the media have chosen to spend the last 674 days perpetuating conspiracy theories and lies in a shameless effort to discredit a President whose election they still are trying to overturn.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took a less in-your-face tone than his House GOP counterparts, but the Kentucky Republican made clear that he considers the investigation into Trump’s actions during the 2016 campaign closed.
