Representative Val Demings (D-FL) questioned Robert Mueller at both the Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee hearings.
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:
DEMINGS: Director Mueller, a couple of my colleagues right here wanted to talk to you or ask you about lies, so let's talk about lies. According to your report, page 9, Volume 1, witnesses lied to your offices and to Congress. Those lies materially impaired the investigation of Russia interference according to your report other than the individuals who plead guilty to crimes based on their lying to you and your team. Did other witnesses lie to you?
MUELLER: I think there are probably a spectrum of witnesses in terms of those who are not telling the full truth and those who are outright liars.
DEMINGS: Thank you very much, outright liars. It is fair to say then that there were limits on what evidence was available to your investigation of both Russia election interference and obstruction of justice.
MUELLER: That's usually the case.
DEMINGS: And that lies by Trump campaign officials and administration officials impeded your investigation?
MUELLER: I would generally agree with that.
DEMINGS: Thank you so much, Director Mueller. You will be hearing more from me in the next hearing, so I yield the balance of my time to Mr. Correa. Thank you.
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE:
DEMINGS: Thank you so much Mr. Chairman and Director Mueller, thank you so much for being a person of honor and integrity. Thank you for your service to the nation, we are certainly better for it.
Director Mueller, I too want to focus on the written responses that the president did provide and the continued efforts to lie and cover up what happened during the 2016 election. Were the president answers submitted under oath?
MUELLER: Yes, yes.
DEMINGS: Thank you, they were. Were these all the answers your office wanted to ask the president about Russia interference in the 2016 election?
MUELLER: No, not necessarily.
DEMINGS: So there were other...
MUELLER: Yes.
DEMINGS: ...questions that you wanted to answer.
Did you analyze his written answers on Russia interference to draw conclusions about the president's credibility?
MUELLER: No, it was perhaps one of the factors, but nothing more than that.
DEMINGS: It was one of the factors? So, what did you determine about the president's credibility?
MUELLER: And that I can't get into.
DEMINGS: Director Mueller, I know based on your decades of experience, you've probably had an opportunity to analyze the credibility of countless witnesses, but you weren't able to do so with this witness?
MUELLER: Well with every witness, particularly a -- a leading witness, one assesses the credibility day by day, witness by witness, document by document. And that's what happened in this case, so we started with very little and then by the end we ended up with a fair amount -- fair amount.
DEMINGS: Thank you. Well let's go through some of the answers to take a closer look at his credibility, because it seems to me, Director Mueller, that his answers were not credible at all. Did some of President Trump's incomplete answers relate to Trump Tower Moscow?
MUELLER: Yes.
DEMINGS: For example, did you ask the president whether he had had at any time, directed or suggested that -- that discussions about Trump Moscow project should cease?
MUELLER: Should what?
DEMINGS: Cease.
MUELLER: Do you have a citation?
DEMINGS: Yes. We're still in Appendix C, Section 1, 7.
MUELLER: The first page?
DEMINGS: Yes. Because the president did not answer whether he had at any time directed or suggested that discussions about the Trump Moscow project should cease, but he has since made public comments about this topic.
MUELLER: OK. And the question was?
DEMINGS: Did the president -- well let me go onto the next. Did the president fully answer that question in his written statement to you about the Trump Moscow project ceasing? Again, in Appendix C.
MUELLER: No. And can you direct me to the particular paragraph your inverting (ph) to?
DEMINGS: It would be Appendix C-C1, but let me move forward. Nine days after he submitted his written answers, didn't the president say publicly that he, quote, "decided not to do the project, " unquote. And that is in your report.
MUELLER: I am not -- I'd ask you -- I'd ask you if you would to point out the particular paragraph that you're focused on --
DEMINGS: OK, we can move on. Did the president answer your follow-up questions? According to the report there were follow-up questions because of the president's incomplete answers about the Moscow project.
Did the president answer your follow up questions either in writing or orally? We're now in Volume 2, page 150-151.
MUELLER: No.
DEMINGS: He did not. In fact, there were many questions that you asked the president that he simply didn't answer, isn't that correct?
MUELLER: True.
DEMINGS: And there were many answers that contradicted other evidence you had gathered during the investigation, isn't that correct Director Mueller?
MUELLER: Yes.
DEMINGS: Director Mueller, for example the president is written as or stated (ph) he did not recall having advanced knowledge of WikiLeaks releases, is that correct?
MUELLER: I think that's what he said.
DEMINGS: But didn't your investigation uncover evidence that the president did in fact have advanced knowledge of WikiLeaks public releases of e-mails damaging to his opponent?
MUELLER: And I can't get in to that area.
DEMINGS: Did your investigation determine after very careful vetting or Rick Gates and Michael Cohen's that you found them to be credible?
MUELLER: That we found the president to be credible?
DEMINGS: That you found Gates and Cohen to be credible in their statements about WikiLeaks --
MUELLER: Those are areas I'm not going to discuss.
DEMINGS: OK. Could you say Director Mueller that the president was credible?
MUELLER: I can't answer that question.
DEMINGS: Director Mueller, isn't it fair to say that the president's written answers were not only inadequate and incomplete because he didn't answer many of your questions, but where he did his answers show that he wasn't always being truthful.
MUELLER: There (ph) -- I would say generally.
DEMINGS: "Generally." Director Mueller it's one thing for the president to lie to the American people about your investigation, falsely claiming that you found no collusion and no obstruction -- but its (ph) something else altogether for him to get away with not answering your questions and lying about them.
And as a former law enforcement officer of almost 30 years, I find that a disgrace to our criminal justice system.
Thank you so much, I yield back to the Chairman.