Trump 'Guilty Of High Crimes, Misdemeanors,' House Judiciary Chairman Says

Jerry Nadler (D-NY), whose House Judiciary Committee will initiate impeachment proceedings against president Donald Trump, on Sunday declared there is very substantial evidence "the president is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors."

Nadler made these remarks ahead of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before his committee on Wednesday.

On March 22, Mueller submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) his 448-page report about the result of his investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 United States presidential election, allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, and allegations of obstruction of justice.

At the time he made the report public, Mueller made it clear his report did not exonerate Trump from any of the charges he investigated. Mueller also said he didn’t pursue the obstruction charges partly because a DOJ opinion contends a sitting president can’t be indicted. He also said his work would speak for itself.

On Sunday, Nadler said the stakes are high in Mueller’s testimony because the latter’s report contains “very substantial evidence that the president is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors,” which are the requisites for impeachment.

The chair of the judiciary committee said his committee has to present, or Mueller has to present “those facts to the American people and then see where we go from there because the administration must be held accountable and no president can be above the law.”

“It’s important that we not have a lawless administration and a lawless president,” said Nadler. “And it’s important that people see what we’re doing and what we’re dealing with.”

“The administration must be held accountable and no president can be above the law,” said Nadler.

Democrats intend to focus their questions on a narrow set of episodes revealed in Mueller’s report. Their aim is to focus Americans' attention on the most blatant examples of Trump's impeachable conduct.

They will ask Mueller about Trump's directions to former White House counsel Donald McGahn to have Mueller removed, and orders from Trump to McGahn to deny that happened later on. Democrats will also ask about a series of meetings Trump had with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski where Trump ordered Lewandowski to persuade then-attorney general Jeff Sessions to limit Mueller's investigation.

Mueller himself listed several instances where Trump tried to influence his investigation. His report said he can’t exonerate the president on obstruction of justice.

"If we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," said Mueller. "We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the President did commit a crime."

Trump, however, continues to falsely and repeatedly claim Mueller’s report exonerates him after spending months calling his investigation a hoax and a witch hunt. On Sunday, Trump again tweeted about “presidential harassment” and continued his blatantly racist attacks on four progressive Democratic congresswomen.

Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the judiciary committee, said attorney general William Barr and Trump have created a “fog of propaganda” that continues to confuse Americans.

“We just want to clear the fog,” said Raskin.

He said there are still millions of people “who think, absurdly, that there is no evidence of presidential obstruction or collusion in the report.”

Democrats remain deeply divided on whether to impeach Trump. Political analysts said Mueller's public testimony on Wednesday is an opportunity for Democrats to unify and decide whether impeachment proceedings should go forward.

More than 80 House Democrats have called for starting an impeachment inquiry into Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Nadler are fending-off calls to open an inquiry.