Republicans Used Mueller’s Conservatism to Discredit Him

Jonathan Chait: “Mueller’s attempt to place himself above the fray, by refusing to call a crime a crime or to recommend impeachment, became the Republicans’ best evidence against him. His caution allowed a series of Republicans, beginning with William Barr, to mischaracterize his findings. And when he contradicted their lie, they accused him of smearing Trump.”

“Republicans used Mueller’s caution and occasional uncertainty to discredit all the damning facts he produced. In fact, it suggests the opposite point: Mueller did not chase down every possible lead or rule out every possible crime. He never got to the bottom of the nature of the contacts between the two Trump advisers, Stone and Manafort, who worked with Russian cutouts during the campaign.”

“Perhaps Mueller was outwitted, or at least outwilled, by Trump. What does that tell us? That Trump got away with even more than we think.”