Robert Mueller’s statement sparks renewed calls to impeach Donald Trump, ramping up pressure on Nancy Pelosi and Congress
- Several Democratic presidential candidates demand start of proceedings minutes after special counsel reiterates that his report did not exonerate Trump
- Mueller said US Constitution requires process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing
Several Democrats running for US president demanded that Congress immediately begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, increasing the pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been reluctant to do so.
Half a dozen presidential candidates issued the demand just minutes after Special Counsel Robert Mueller reiterated that his report did not exonerate Trump.
“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller said.
He added that the Justice Department policy that forbids indicting a sitting president explicitly refers to alternatives.
“The opinion says the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing,” he noted.
“What Robert Mueller basically did was return an impeachment referral,” Senator Kamala Harris, who has previously supported impeachment, said on Twitter as she campaigned in South Carolina.
